Hi all,

I'm riding a commuting style bike with flat bars equipped with a SRAM S7 internally geared hub. The majority of my riding is on city streets with trips of less than 5 miles, but I do some light touring on this bike also. Recently, I upgraded to a Brooks Flyer sprung saddle.

Currently I've got Nokian 700x35 snow studs on it, but the stock tires are 700x38. I'm not thrilled with those, and I'm planning on getting something kevlar-belted in another month or two.

Question is, with a sprung saddle that absorbs most of the bumps, what width tire would you all recommend for my purposes (mostly short trips, occasionally quite long)?

Thanks greatly.

If you're relying on the saddle to absorb the bumps, then those tires are probably more than sufficient. I have a sprung saddle on my commuter and 26 x 1.75" tires, though as soon as they wear out, I plan to upgrade to a much wider tire for better shock absorption in the front and a narrower, unsprung saddle. The springer saddle causes me to bounce around and I feel that it wastes energy. Just a matter of personal preference of course.

I like wide tires,I currently have 26x1.75 with the flyer saddle and it rides great.
The rails on the saddle help for bumps and stuff but the tire absorbs most of the impacts and vibrations.
So if your looking for comfort go with wide tires,of your looking for speed train more and get skinny tires.