Old Dirt Hill

Alright, so I've been commuting for months now on my first real bike. Over the weekend, I finally purchased some tools and whatnot for the (what seems to be) rare brakedown or flat tire.

The only thing I haven't purchased yet is a spare tube for my tires. According to Trek's website, my 7200 has 700x35c tires. I checked out Sheldon's site and from what I can gather, this means that I need 28" tubes.

Since I have no idea what I'm doing, could someone please let me know if this is correct or if I'm simply missing something here?

Thanks

RonH

Just go to your LBS and tell them you want to purchase a tube for a 700x35 tire, probably presta, but you may want to take the bike with you so they can double check the size and valve type.

huhenio

Extra tubes to carry with you, patching kits at home.

Dont try to patch on the road ...

Paul L.

I disagree on the patch thing. Having had 14 flats in one ride once the patch kit came in incredibly handy. I carry my patch kit everywhere and use the tube as a last resort. The 14 flats happened on a double century in a heavy rain that lasted much of the day and night incidentally. If I had only carried a tube I would have been sunk.

webist

I carry a patch kit and a tube. I use the tube for the first flat and make a repair should I have a second or subsequent flat. Worst ride to date for flats - 3. i repair tubes at home unless forced to do it on the road.

dynaryder

For a 7200,you'll need schrader valve tubes,700cc,that go to 35mm. The box will be marked with something like 700x32/38 or 700x32-38. Basically,you're looking for 700(the wheel size) with secondary numbers whose range includes 35(your tire width) with a schrader valve(what your rim is set up for).

Some shops may try to sell you 27" tubes. I personnally wouldn't use them;rubber gets thinner when it stretches,so expanding 27" tubes to fit into a 28" tire(converting from metric) will make you more vulnerable to flats.

Since we're talking tubes/tires,I'd advise swapping tires. The stock Bontragers have too much drag,and too many little crevases for trapping nasty bits of glass. I put Vittoria Randonneurs on mine,and love them. WTB Slickasauruses are also good choices(have them on 3 bikes).

tink20seven

good advice dynaryder!

And I second the idea to swap out the tires - especially for commuting.
They may be a little more expensive, but go for the Armadillo brand tires.
They're lined with kevlar and are tough as hell to puncture.
Which is just what you need for city streets and all the junk that's on them.

best luck!

Old Dirt Hill

Any idea where can I find these online?

Nubie

REI

https://www.rei.com/product/47793200.htm

https://www.rei.com/product/47793199.htm

Then if anything goes wrong with them, you can always return them! I love REI's return policy.

Old Dirt Hill

Forgive me for asking what I'm sure is the obvious, but what's the difference between these two linked tires? The 26x1.75 looks huge in the picture. (getting out my sheldon brown tire size guide now)

And also, will a 700x28c fit my bike (it came with 700x35c)?

halfspeed

While the first part of your post is correct, the quoted section is not. 27" and 700c tubes are interchangeable and often the box marked "700c" will contain a tube marked both 27" and 700c. Secondly, 27" inch tires are =bigger= than 700c tires. "700c" is not a measurement, it's a french sizing designation for tires with an ISO bead seat diameter of 622mm. 27" tires have a bead seat diameter of 630mm.

Sheldon's got the goods: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire_sizing.html

MediaCreations 

Works for me too. I usually do my patching at home but if I need to patch while on the ride I'm ready for it.

Old Dirt Hill

Did you go with the 700x32 or 700x28 on your 7200?

dynaryder

I went with 700x35's,the same size as stock. The 32's should be ok,you're only losing 3mm. Try to see if you can get the ones with reflective sidewalls,those things really show at night.


Just as a weird aside,anyone care to shed some light on why the 700 and 26 have a different tread pattern? My 700's have motorcycle-style grooves,whereas my 26's have a raised pattern of wedges. My WTB Slickasauruses all have the exact same tread,and I've got them in both 700 and 26. Any ideas?

swandog1

If you have a 7200 FX purchased in the past few months, it should be a PRESTA valve rather than a Schrader for the stock wheels / tires. Least that's what mine came with. The 7200 (less FX) may have a Schrader though.

taylor8

The first part of the tire size refers to the rim size not the overall size of the tire once it is mounted and inflated.

The 26" tire goes on a rim that is about 660 cm in dia the 700 is 700 cm in dia. the 1.75 and the 35 refer to the size of the tire itself. I don't recall if it is the circumfrence or the diameter. the 1.75 and 35 refer to inches and mm respectivly, they are aproximations because the air pressure affects the size and sometimes tire companies like to fudge the tire size up or down to make it sound even. The 1.75 is way fatter than the 35 tire.

my Rockhopper takes 26x2 tires the Super Le Tour takes 27X1 1/4 my wifes bike takes 700xsomething size tires as does my sons road bike.

None are interchangeable!

part two if the 28c tire fits the width of the rim it would work but I don't know how well it would work as the skinny tire might have then sidewalls on the road because of the rim width or it might not make any difference at all.

going the other way putting a 35c tire on a bike designed for a 32c tire might have problems with fram clearance.

Since you are new to biking I strongly advise uing the LBS for a while until you get a hang of sizing. You could end up in RMA heck excanging worng size tires and other parts that don't fit.

Joe

halfspeed

I'm only going to post this URL is this thread one more time: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire_sizing.html

Please read it before posting about tire sizing again. Just to give you an idea of how far off some of your information is, a 700cm diameter wheel would be almost 23 feet tall.

I'm really not trying to be a jerk but misinformation is contagious and confusing.

Portis

Does that count this time? Or will you actually post it one more time?

It is possible that his bike is pictured here in the background.

taylor8

So I got mm and cm backwards what's the big deal.

Joe

halfspeed

1) The mm and cm are backwards
2) "700" and 26 aren't rim measurements, they are diameters of the mostly obsolete tires the bead seat diameter was originally designed for.
3) 1.75 and 35 refer to neither the circumference nor the diameter. They refer to the width.
4) The bead seat diameter of a 26 inch rim is 559mm, not 660cm or even mm.
5) The bead seat diameter of a 700C rim is 622mm, not 700cm, mm or any other measurement.

Why are things like this important? Suppose you've got an old bike built for 27" wheels and you want to upgrade it to 700C. If you assume that 27" and 700mm are rim sizes and you do the metric conversions you'll "discover" that the 700C rim is .59" inches bigger than the 27". This may tell you that you don't have the frame clearances for the new wheels and that your brakes won't work. Thing is, you'd be using bad data. 700C rims are smaller than 27" rims.

Old Dirt Hill

Where did you buy these at? I can't seem to find them (the 700x35) online anywhere.

Prosody

I, too, have these tires on a 7200 that I used on the road for about 3000 miles before I bought a road bike. These days I ride the 7200 primarily on crushed limestone trails--The KATY in Missouri--and the Randonneurs work fine.

Old Dirt Hill

Where did you buy these at in the 700x35 size? I can't seem to find them in anything bigger than 32...