I upgraded my Peugeot AO-8 a few years back to a fairly nice set of 700C wheels with clinchers.

I will be looking for replacement tires soon and wanted advice for the right size. I use the bike for casual riding but like to be efficient.

Currently running 700x25c. I feel like these are too narrow but they do run smoothly and fast. I just wonder if they are possibly too fragile for the "real road".

I spent some time researching my old books, magazines and the net, but have found few recommendations on what size works well for what type of riding. Do any of you have suggestions about what size works well for which types of riding?

Mark

Would you be talking about sometimes traveling on gravel/hard packed earth? Or just regular road riding? I don't see 700 x 25c as being too narrow, myself.

East Hill

A high quality 700c x 28 is a good size for real world riding. Panaracer Pasela, Schwalbe Marathon, Rolly Polly. If you weigh more than 200 or value comfort look to 30 to 35mm tires. They will feel different but you won't lose any speed due to increased rolling resistence.

I agree with everything MKharl said and I like his choice of tires, but remember to make sure it will fit between the chainstays before you buy any of the larger sizes. The practical limit for my road bikes is a 28mm tire. There's a big variation in sizes, too. I have one set of 28mm tubulars that are actually 28 millimeters wide. The rest are clinchers and are really 25 or 26mm.

I also agree with MKahrl. You might also consider tires with puncture-resistant belts if you want more reliability: ruffy-tuffy rather than roly-poly; pasela with tourguard. I think the Schwalbe has a belt.

The AO-8 should accept at least a 32 mm tire.

Thanks all for the advice - sorry to be so long in replying but have been off line for a while!

I think the 28c is likely my next choice though East Hill makes a good point. Definitely enough space for a wider tire.

Mark

It depends on how heavy you are, but a 25mm training tire is fine for general road riding. If you are very heavy, then go for the 28. Depends on the width of your rims too. A true 28 will fit, but it might not give you the best handling on the typical narrow road rim. I've ridden the same bike with 25's and 28's. The 25's seem a lot more snappy to me. But to be honest, I didn't think there was that much difference. But for a period bike like that, I suppose you might want a wider tire similar to what might have been on the bike originally.

Good point about the rim size. I hadn't considered the 3mm difference to be significant but I am used to motorcycle wheels.

The 25c rides very nicely, and makes the bike feel very snappy and smooth gliding. My main concern is that most of my road riding is done out in the country and I just felt that the 25c might be to fragile (lots of grit, buckled pavement, etc). Back in the day I rode sew-ups and got tired of fixing them - even the 8 oz training tire seemed too easy to puncture (I also remember wearing out my gloves trying to remove grit from the tire as I pedalled).

My thought was that the 28c might be a bit more robust, and is closer to the "oem correct" 27 x 1 1/4 size original (not that the original was in any way a performance tire!).

So I've flip flopped - I think the final choice will be made by what's the best quality tire I can get locally without breaking the bank.

The AO-8 will have ample clearance for 28mm tires, probably even 32 or 35mm. In fact, until recently I ran huge 27x1-3/8" knobbies on my UO-8.

I recommend REAL 28mm tires for your application, not the 700Cx28 Continental Ultra-2000s, which are actually about 25mm wide, that I use on my Bianchi, which does not have enough clearance for real 28mm tires, such as Specialized Armadillos.