Bike Forums - Tires Explained

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Quote:

Originally Posted by meyers66 (Post 16392604)

Hi,
Thanks for the interesting discussion that shines a light on tire size.
I'm currently using Conti Touring tires with a flat bead and a grooved (side?) Size 700x32. My rims are WTB 22?, Tiagra hubs, that came stock when I bought the bike in 2007.

I'm interested in exploring the idea, or buying a new set of wheels, so I can ride my Volpe (cycle cross) bike on dirt roads that can be slippery when wet. I'm interested in exploring some tea field farmer roads. My idea is to have a second set of wheels I can simply swap out for riding off road in a size like 700x38.

If it matters: My brakes are Cane Creek cantilever. My STI shifters are Tiagra triple with front crank sizes 28,38,48.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it better to buy a mountain bike for this purpose? (I doubt I will do any single track here.)

If someone can drive a truck on it, you can ride a cyclocross bike on it. Having an extra set of wheels is great, but make sure you take the following into account:
1. You need wheels, tires, tubes, rim strips, cassette, and skewers to be the most convenient. The cost of everything can add up.
2. Make sure that your "off-road" tires clear everything - fenders, seat stays, chain stays, and fork. This should not be a big problem for the Volpe. You should have room for at least 35mm without fenders, and surely 28mm with fenders.
3. Try and get a rid width near what you have now, or you will have to make brake and/or pad adjustments when you swap wheels.

Plan correctly, and swapping wheels will be a 90 second affair.

learn ISO 5775 measurements as it makes everything easier.

622 (ISO) is 700c (French) and 28 Zoll (German)

23-622 is what I ride on my FGSS
57-559 is what I ride on my MTB

once you know those, you can communicate with everyone and never make a mistake as they're always stamped directly on the tire.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrickards (Post 16124224)

My 700Cx35 Schwalbe Marathon has an ERTO of 37-622 which suggests that the 35mm tire (700Cx35) is actually 37mm tall (ERTO 37-622) which is apparent when you look at the tire because it has a slight aero-shape whereas my Michelin Pilot Sport (700Cx32) appears round and the ERTO bears it out, 32-622.

I ran into that, trying to fit 700x37 Marathons on an old Raleigh frame...they're a very tall (in comparison to width) tire.

meyers66, it depends on your riding. I also happen to have a Bianchi Volpe. I have 32mm tires on it and also fenders. I haven't tested to see what width I can put on, but I suspect I could put on at least 35mm tires while keeping the fenders. With the fenders off, I could probably put even wider tires. My Volpe is from the mid 90's, so the geometry has probably changed a bit, but not necessarily the tire width tolerance.

Changing your wheels makes things convenient, but I'm pretty adept at changing tires, and I wouldn't bother with that expense. I'd prefer to get another bike. It's more fun.

I don't have an off road bike. One of these days, I'll get around to it. In the fall, I took a long trail ride with a bunch of guys. Some had road bikes, and some had off road bikes. All of them had wider tires than I did. I guess that means I'm OK with off road riding with a road bike and road tires. I could have done it with narrower tires, but I wouldn't have wanted to. This was on the Old Croton Aqueduct trail in NY state.