Wogster

I picked up new tires for the road bike today, was aiming for 28's realized when I got home one is a 25 and the other a 28, there are 2 possible solutions, returning one isn't an option, the place I got them from is 3½ hours away....

Put the 28 on the rear, as that gets the most weight, pump them to the same temp.
Put the 28 on the front as that gets the most workout.

Tires are Continental Ultra Sports.....

Comments welcome....

10 Wheels

Put the 28 on the rear, as that gets the most weight, better ride.

StanSeven

28 on the rear. Lots of people ride with a wider tire on the rear all the time.

1nterceptor

25 on the front, 28 rear. Better aerodynamics

sstorkel

In theory, putting a wider tire on the rear will tilt the bike forward a smidge, which might make the steering feel different. In the real world, 25s and 28s are so close in size you probably won't notice a difference. I'd put the 28 on the rear...

Also in theory the 28mm tire will need slightly less pressure than the 25mm tire.

Mr. Beanz

I run a 23 in front and a 25 in rear.

Wogster

I figure that I can run these tires at about 110PSI, front and back and that should work well for my 220lbs, while satill leaving me with a decent ride. I was going to wait for the outdoor riding season, but I may just put them on, and give it a try on the trainer

digger531

Well let be be the kid doing his own thing. I would put the larger tire in front to help with the pot holes and take some pounding off my wrists. I think Sheldon does an article about tire size and he recomends larger up front for comfort. I understand there is also the weight issue to consider and I wouldn't ride on less than 30s (210) but if you already have them... I would save my wrists. MY $.02

1nterceptor

Mr. Beanz, the rear wheel you retired at 20k miles, I have a few questions:

1 Make and model of spokes? What butting, gauge?
2 How many?
3 Which hub? Did you reuse this on another wheel?

Thanks a bunch.

Wogster

I don't think between a 25 and a 28 there is a whole heck of a lot of difference, other then the 28 went on fairly easy and the 25 was a little harder, surprisingly neither was as hard as the !@#$%^& 27" tires that are on the old wheels, they were dirt cheap and practically needed a crowbar to get on..... Bike looks good with it's new boots, I need to give it a test ride on the trainer, to see how they work.... I thought the hardest part would be getting the freewheel off after 35 years, I don't think the bike has had many power riders on it, because I put the tool on, added a 12" adjustable wrench, and it came right off, not sure what I will do with the old wheels, the rims are scrap metal, the spokes are no better, hubs seem to be okay though, so I will probably clean them up and stick them in the parts box, if I blow a hub, I still have a spare....

As for the ride, it's 35 year old steel, it will ride nice no matter what I do with it, it's more about getting used to the narrower and higher pressure tires, if I find the 25 works okay, then when I replace a tire, I'll get another one, if it doesn't then I'll reverse them and put a new 28 on the front, and try it that way, if I still don't like it, then when I retire a tire again, I'll pick up another 28 and the 25 will go away..... I don't really worry about tires much, it's just that 27" are getting impossible to find, so, given that the brakes would work with a 700C, I put 700C wheels on it. I did pick up another on-bike pump, so I have one set up for Schrader and one for Presta if the wife wants to ride along, I'll either take the MTB or carry both.

Mr. Beanz

1) DT Swiss straight gauge 2.0
2) 32 spokes
3) It was a new Ultegra 9 speed hub when I first built it up. Now as a rebuild it's back on my other bike. Only about 100 miles so far.

I read lots of stuff about going double butted to absorb flex. I used straight gauge with great results (rec from a wheelbuild friend) so why worry about it.

But the rear wheel on my tandem has been rebuilt twice on the same hub. This last time seems to be the best of the three so I have no problem reusing a hub.

The wheel on my most used roadie is a reused hub (Shimano 600 from 1997), 28 spokes, straight gauge 2.0 DT Swiss spokes. I have 8,000 miles on it now with zeo problems.

I rebuilt the 20,000 retired hub as a replacement wheel fo this bike. But in the meantime I rebuilt these 1997 600 hubs for temp use on this roadie. They now have 8000 miles and still going strong so I haven't used the new rebuilt wheel that I have. So I am usuing these to see how long they last. 8000 going strong. BTW, the LBS had problems keeping these straight, said I was too big at 230 lbs. I rebuilt them myself and no more problems @ 250 lbs.

1nterceptor

Thanks again, Mr. Beanz!

My rear der caught on a spoke, I'm trying to repair it myself
this time. Bought a chain whip, socket to remove cassette and
spoke wrench. I think I'm stopping there and won't be getting
a truing stand and dish tool though I'll let the shop true the
wheel after repairs.

Also thinking of lacing a backup wheel(a good learning experience
for me) and having a shop do the tensioning, stress relieving
and truing. That's why I was asking those questions. But a local
shop told me the charge would be the same if he did the work
from scratch

captnfantastic

rear tires wear almost 2x as fast as front tires. Put the bigger one in the rear. Easy fix.

seenoweevil

There you go. Larger tire on the rear means you are ALWAYS TRAVELLING DOWNHILL! How awesome is that?

sstorkel

That's because lacing the wheel is the easy part. A good wheel builder can probably do it in ten minutes or less. Tensioning, truing, and stress-relieving are what eat up all of the time. Speaking honestly, knowing how to lace a wheel doesn't buy you a whole lot. You're more likely to need to true or tension a wheel than to lace one from scratch... unless you're planning a career as a professional wheel builder.

zjrog

On my old roadbike, I had 27" wheels. I rode with a 1" tire in front and a 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 (depending on the wheel I used or chosen gearing). My cirrent MTB I use a wider tire in front and slightly smaller in the back.

Pinyon

I ride with 28c in the back, and 23c in the front. It is very difficult to tell the difference between 25s and 28s, but I get many fewer pinch flats with the 28s. The slightly wider tires don't bottom out as easily when you have a slow leak. I much prefer catching the slow leak when checking my tire pressure before the next ride, to changing the tire on the side of the road. Especially when it is cold outside.

StephenH

Make sure the 28 fits the frame or it won't matter.

Saltybeagle

I do the opposite, 23 in rear at 120 psi, 25 in front at 115 psi, my hands need less vibration than than my arse.

Mr. Beanz

BTW, I must mention that ultra sport have a bad rep with flatting. I myself have used them. For the smae price, I have MUUUUUUUUCHbeter luck with the Serfas Seca tires.

At a minimum, Continental Ultra Race but the price has soared rediculously from $24'ish to $32'ish.

billydonn

Correct. But likely a little less pressure in the 28.... check he label on the tire to confirm.

Wogster

The frame is old enough that a 27 x 1¼ will fit, but it seems some bicycles were built in the mid to late 1970's where it was clear that they were switching over to 700mm in the near future, so the brakes are placed to fit perfectly with either a 630mm (27") rim or a 622mm rim (700mm), this is one of them.

Wogster

I've read a few reviews, one will say that a specific tire is crap and they get a flat every 5 minutes, another replaces a tire after 4000km without one flat, we shall see.
I average one flat every 1000km or so, so if they hold to that, I'll be happy, if it increases to one every 500km, then I will switch them out for something else, and put them on trainer duty. I changed
from a primarily urban area, to a primarily rural one, since last season, so we shall see if the roads up here are harder or easier on tires.....

Mr. Beanz

I'm one of the "every 5 mintues" riders. I took one off after 3 rides cause I flatted twice.

But you being a rider that mentions wider more durable tires, PLEASE don't form any opinions on narrow roadie tires based on these ultra sport tires.

IF anything, they will leavea bad taste in your mouth about narrow tires. Try the inexpensive Sefas Tires before you form opinions on roadie tires.

I get them at REI for $24, can also order online (REI) and I believe it's TenWheels that gets them online at Jenson for $10 (?), only in certain colors.

Wogster

I live in Canada, and lots of stuff that is cheap in the US, is &*%$#@! expensive here, the Conti's were on sale, maybe that's why, they have a bad reputation, if they flat out fast, then I'll throw them in storage and put some others on, they can come back for trainer season. As for the Serfas, I need to ring up the nearest dealer, I wouldn't be surprised if they are $20, I wouldn't be surprised if they are $40, because I know if I order them from the US they will be, once I pay shipping, brokerage, customs and taxes.