I have an aluminum frame GT Grade that still has the stock 28mm Kenda Kwest tires. I primarily ride on a local greenway that contains a lot of imperfections (bumps/cracks) in the pavement as well as debris from the woods. I知 looking for a way to make the bike more comfortable when going over these bumps. I find the ride quality of the bike harsh, but have limited experience on other bikes and do not know what is normal.

The bike shop I went to suggested double wrapping the handlebars. This helped, but I知 wondering if switching to a wider tire would make things even better. I can go as wide as 35mm on the frame.

Any other ideas? Getting another bike is not an option at this point.

What pressure do you ride on? If you haven't already done it, lowering the pressure should increase comfort. But if you lower it too much, you increase your vulnerability to flats....

Yes, wider and smoother rolling tires than the 28c Kenda, at lower pressure.

Coincidentally, I rode my 28's (Continental not Kenda) at 30-40 psi on the last couple of commutes and they were very nice over bumps and debris. But you can't really do that with 28's without being ultra-cautious and taking it easy cornering, and even then it's not really advisable, hence wider tires that can run at lower pressure.

GT triple triangles are quite stiff IME.

I would imagine the 28's are all that is going to fit through the stays. Perhaps one of the fancy carbon seat posts, cobblr gobblr or some thing that the pros use for Paris Roubaix, and some high end bar tape with well placed gel?

I would also note, I use a set of (much larger) Kenda Kwest tires on my city bike and they are far from supple in feel, in spite of the size.

The max psi on the tire is 85. I致e played around with the pressure and have gone as low as 70 and as high as 85. Honestly, I didn稚 notice much of a difference. I知 currently doing 75 and haven稚 had any issues with flats.

On rigid bikes, tire squishiness tends to be by far the largest determining factor in how well the bike smooths out bumps. What's your bike+rider weight, and what PSI are you running those 28s at? You might be able to get big improvements by reducing tire pressure.

Wider tires can help, because they function better at higher squishinesses than narrower tires. Tires are a form of suspension, and because a wider tire is also taller, it has more "travel." So it can be run squishier without increasing the risk of bottoming out the tire on the rim. Also, the deformation of the tire as it rolls is a major contributor to rolling resistance; at high squishinesses, a wider tire will tend to lose less energy to this than a narrower tire.
But, remember that wider tires are only more comfortable because they allow you to get away with running them squishier. If you don't run a wider tire at a lower PSI, it will be just as harsh (potentially even harsher) than a narrower tire.

How the tire is constructed is also important. Lower-quality or bombproof tires will tend to be stiffer. This makes them ride harsher at a given PSI, and it also increases how much energy they lose to deformation as they roll. You can make a stiff tire ride nicely by pumping them extra-squishy, but then the rolling resistance penalty would be especially large.
If you go a bit wider with the goal of improving comfort, you should probably avoid switching to a less performance-oriented style of tire. The trick here is that performance-oriented road tires in high widths (i.e. >30mm) aren't very common. Panaracer Paselas are a decent non-super-pricey option.

I weigh 175 pounds. I think the bike weighs 23 pounds. I run the tires at 75 psi. How low can I run the tire pressure if I want to minimize the risk of flat tires?

The only way to answer this question is to lower the pressure until you start getting flats. However, it's not outrageous to drop down to 60, then 50, then 40 psi, to see how it feels. The front tire can probably be run at lower pressures than the rear, under most circumstances, as well. Try it, and see what you think. Unless you're renting a compressor or using the machine at the gas station, air is free!

^ I am unsure where (I didn't search), but there is an online calculator that has been referenced here that shows how much pressure to weight to tire size as a guide.

start off with these tyres:

Compass 700C x 28 Chinook Pass



experement with tyre pressures

then, get a saddle that flexes such as a Brooks Cambium C17 Carved:

My first suggestion is to get better tires. I have yet to hear experienced riders liking Kendas. (I've never ridden them and probably never will so I cannot speak from experience but I do have decades of experience riding a variety of tires.)

There are lots of choices out there. In general, tires can be thought of as all adhering to an equation that is something like: cost, supple sidewalls (comfort), flat resistance, road adhesion and rolling resistance always adding up to the same number. I find supple sidewalls make a huge difference in tires being a satisfying ride. The more supple, the lower the pressure I can ride and feel like the tires are rolling efficiently.

Two tires I like a lot, both available in 28c are the Paselas and the Vittoria Corsa G+, priced at around $35 and $70. For double the price, the Vittorias give better rolling resistance, much better adhesion, especially in the wet, are much lighter and cut and flat significantly more. For ride comfort, the Paselas are good, the Vittorias very, very good (both for a 28c tire, bigger would improve the ride a lot; easily done wiht the Pasela which comes in every size op to 38c but 28c is the Corsa G+ maximum size).

This is my experience. There are a lot of tires I haven't tried and some manufacturers I have had poor experiences with in the past that others like a lot.

Ben

To say I don't like them would be harsh. They were priced right, in the size, locally available, and are durable as hell. I have had zero flats or other issue with them, and they were actually round, unlike the tires that came on the bike I bought them for. Actually, my only complaint is that they aren't as supple as tires that cost twice as much...and I am cheap, so what bike I bought them for then, and transferred them to now have been perfect placement.

You probably need to experiment. General guides are tough because the road conditions matter a lot here. Also your bike handling skills and general awareness. Some riders are gentle to wheels and can ride low pressures with no issues at all, others are wheel killers and will find every pothole and hit it hard. (Ask any seasoned mechanic. He will rattle off names of both.) Another factor - how willing are you to accept that occaisional pinch flats happen. If OK with that, you can ride lower pressures.

You can probably see from this and my previous post that tires are a matter of compromise. The trick is to find the compromise that works for you (and sometimes to have bicycles that allow an acceptable to you compromise - ie allow big enough tires).

Ben

Springer seat or suspension seat post an option?

can you ride somewhere else?

Lots of good suggestions here. I find wheels to be a big factor. Make sure they're true, tensioned, and if necessary, hubs have been serviced.

One other thing, you may be feeling more due to your aluminum frame. Have you considered a steel frame?

https://www.missionbicycle.com/blog/...el-vs-aluminum

Tubeless tires have many benefits, a more comfortable ride is just one of them.

I find that my butt usually hurts a lot more from bumps than my hands. Less impact from the tires will help, but like others have said you could consider a carbon seatpost or something that is more compliant. If you do go carbon, make sure to use a carbon compound rather than grease with the post and your frame.
I would think saddle comfort would play a big role as well.

Best of luck!

Best investment I ever made.

Get the smallest diameter post and use shims. That way you can use it on the next bike

Getting into a crouch, with your butt off the saddle, while going over the bumps is the cheap way to improve the ride. That assumes the bumps are relatively infrequent. And of course it's not the easy way...

Get the largest tires that will fit and slightly lower the pressure. Also look for thinner, pliable tires, or at least tires with soft sidewalls. The flats one gets from lower pressure are pinch flats or "snake-bites" where the inner tube gets pinched between the rim and the road because the tire didn't support it.

My main commuter, a 2015 Charge Plug, came with Kenda "Small-Block 8's", a sort of micro-knobbie. Not a great road-tire tread-wise, but very soft and comfy. Right now I am enjoying the most comfortable of the 4 different pairs of tires I have put on my Plug; 700x35 Forte Metro ST Tires, $12/each on sale at Performance Bicycle, normally still only $24 each. I ran them at 75psi and they were very, very plush. I now run them at 90psi as that feels best to me. They're basically slicks with a hint of siping. Dry pavement, dusty pavement, sandy, gravel, dirt and rain, they are still grippy and secure.

Get the best tires you can afford in the widest size that will fit your frame, and run them at the right pressure.

I would get 35mm tires and run them at no more than 45-50 psi rear and less than that in the front.

Changing tires or running them at a pressure will only give small changes in comfort. Changing the saddle will similarly only result in small changes.

What you really need to do is maximize the shock absorbers you have built in...i.e. use your arms and legs. When you go over bumps, you need be off the saddle and let your arms and legs flex. That does more than anything else to ease your way over bumps. It sounds like you are riding "heavy" which means that you are sitting on the saddle with your full weight. The saddle supports your weight but it isn't a chair. Try to lift your weight (slightly) off the saddle as you ride. That's what is called riding "light".

When you can see something coming, lift off the saddle entirely with your feet parallel to the ground with your knees and elbows flexed. At the moment of impact let your arms and legs absorb the hit and your ride will be smoother.

Bicycle tire pressure calculator

Worked good for me. Went from "Max Pressure" on sidewall of 120 to 80/100 F/R on my 28mm and 240# total weight, and it's night and day, comfort-wise. Feels a bit faster too, but I'm sure that any actual difference, if any, is so small that it's just a placebo effect.

Hello, so here's my 2016 GT Grade Sora aluminum framed bike. I still have the lends kwests sitting the basement somewhere. I just didn't like them much if at all and straight from the LBS I didn't like the harshness of the ride either.

I'm 255 pounds and commute on this thing daily. I have had 28mm GP4000SII'S and now I've moved on to 32mm GP4seasons that I love.
I've also added an axiom streamlined disc deluxe rack and planet bike 35mm hardcore fenders. I left the stock bar tape that was like a grey cork and just laid lizard skin 3.2mm bar tape over that cork. It took the sting out of most bumps in the bike. My bike is very comfortable for me. Again, the triple triangle as has been noted by other is pretty stiff. Just kinda use your legs to lift your butt off the saddle for bumps and you should be good.

I hope that helps