Part of my commute is on a "chip seal" road. It is quite a bit rougher than normal pavement, and really slows me down and makes that part of the ride not very enjoyable.... I currently run 28mm tires...and am thinking of upgrading to 32 for this reason. Is this a good idea? would you go even bigger? I really hate this stuff and hope they don't use it on any more roads.

Chipseal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IMO, if 28mm is bad, 32mm should be better, and if the frame will handle them, wider will be even better as far as comfort is concerned.

worst chip-seal i've ever had the displeasure to ride on was a West/East transit of the Lone Star State. nasty!

Bigger tires are the best solution for a fully chipsealed road.

The best (though expensive) tires I know of for comfort are the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme's - they come in sizes from 28c to 40c to 2".

A new bike also might help. ;-) But seriously, I rode around 15 road bike last summer, and the Trek Emonda in 500 level carbon ($2,800 for the cheapest model) would bomb over a pothole without losing stability or having it hurt. It was amazingly impressive, and that's with the stock tires on the bike so I assume 23c.

Wide tires with supple casings, run at low(er) pressure. The 38mm Compass Barlow Pass Extralight tires on my Salsa soak up chipseal vibration and perform equally well on dirt roads/trails.

+1 on bigger tires and/or lower pressure to soak up that buzz. If you haven't already, consider setting your tire pressures per 15% tire drop guidelines.

Madison did a bunch of chip-seal a couple years ago. If it's any consolation, the stuff does get smoothed out over time.

It was sold as a way to extend the life of the road surface before having to rebuild it.

Like my "new" bike, a 40+ yo 531 frame with old school 72 degree head tube angle and about 3" of fork rake. Bikes built for roads that we would now call "bad".

Ben

I hate chip seal. If you're looking for suggestions, Panaracer Pasela 32s are nice comfy tires and relatively light weight if you get the folding (PT) version. Available in black or with tan sidewalls. They also are pretty flat resistant and wear well.

I'm running Surly Knards (700c x 41 @ 27tip) and deal with significant chipseal in deep South Texas.

700 X 28's Lower the PSI.

+1 - that was my advice too, lower pressure! I use my Kona Dew Drop on gravel centuries with 700x28 T-SERV, just drop the pressure. This is the same set up I use for commuting including limestone trails.

I have a wide variety of bikes/tires, and the best 'learning' for me was the fatbike, run that thing at 10psi or lower and you can run over a log and barely know it! When riding the roads in/out of our neighborhood, my wife points her Pugsley at the potholes, it just soaks it up!

In summation, work with your tire pressure before replacing tires.

I've run the Hotter 'N Hundred a couple of times in Wichita Falls, TX. My hands would actually go numb from the chip-seal vibrations coming through the bike. I agree... Texas has some of the roughest roads I have ever ridden.

I ride 32's on a dirt road no problem, but that might actually be smoother than your chipseal.

23's on chip seal with no problem. Maybe yours is in worse shape than ours.

Pricy supple and wear the tread down Vs A harder compound that will wear longer but the casing wont be High thread count..

Suit yourself .. [10 month tour Nokian utility tires still looked almost New when I came back ]

Wider tires are definitely the way to go for chip seal, but watch out that you don't get a stiff tire in the process. My may complaint with wide tires is that most of them are thick and stiff. I'd look for something like a Panaracer T-Serv or, if your budget allows, a Schwalbe Marathon Supreme (not the Marathon Plus which is as thick and stiff as tires come). I haven't tried them, but if your frame will take a 700x40 tire the Schwalbe Little Big Ben might be worth a look.

I generally run at 70-80psi anyway, sometimes 60 if I get lazy and don't pump for a while...Tires say max 100. SHould I go lower than that, or maybe just experiment at 60 and see how it feels?

I'm not sure where the point is, there's some sort of point where with to low of tire pressure you start risking pinch flats. This applies more to skinnier tires than fatter ones - you can run 4" fat bike tires at 5psi fine, but I wouldn't run skinny 23c road tires at 20psi.

Not sure if 60psi on 28c tires is fine or not.

Wow, looking at that picture, it's a lot different than what Madison uses, which is a really fine grained gravel mixed with asphalt.

I occasionally run 28mm tires @ 60psi, and it's fine.

Is that what you call chip seal? I have never seen that kind of material used in Wisconsin. What kind of rocks are being used as the aggregate? They seem to have very sharp edges.

Grespc15C, I was thinking the same thing - made me wonder if the stuff we see in Madison is better or worse? I've heard that the seal we have on our roads causes more flats, but I haven't experienced that (yet!). And, yes I still see new applications of it in the suburbs.

Here in Boulder County, Colorado they use chip seal gravel that is claimed to be less harsh on bike tyres. Is there no surface a Panaracer Pasela can't handle? I run 28mm and 32mm Paselas all year long on chip seal.

How much do you weigh?
IF you have pot holes, too low of a pressure and you may even bend the rim, besides getting pinch flats.

You might consider just a wider front tire if you aren't OCD.

Paselas are outstanding tires for the price. Panaracer's Gravelking rides a little nicer, but it does cost more.