![]() |
Switching to wider tire, will standover height increase by same amount as width?
My bike has 700x32 tires. Interested in trying out wider tires 35-42mm. My standover is pretty close right now, very little clearance. If I switch to 42mm tires, which are around 10mm wider, will the bike's standover height also increase by 10mm?
|
The extra 10 mm in width is 5 mm on each side. So maybe 5mm in the radial direction, too.
However, Sheldon Brown has a computer calibration chart, showing 700x32 at 2155mm circumference, 700x44 at 2224. (Computers count the distance of each revolution on the ground) Circumference = Pi*radius*2, so the radius = C/2/Pi 2155 gives radius of 343 mm (googling "343*2 mm in inches" gives 27.008 inches. That sounds about right.) 2224 gives radius of 354 mm That's interesting, 11 mm difference. More than I would expect. Tires do flatten out at the contact patch, so maybe that helps reduce the difference? (Cateye says 32mm is 2155, 40mm is 2200. That's 7mm height difference.) |
thanks for doing the math! maybe I'll give 35's a try :p.
|
Circumferences/diameters indicated for cycle computers are (should be) for loaded tires. They will be less than stand over height (which is based on unloaded tires).
The maximal width of a tire (the center of the circular cross section) is on a circle with a circumference/diameter larger than the rim side walls. That means the addition to the stand over height is > 1/2 the tire width (and < the tire width). It's not clear if it's going to be closer to one or the other. If it's a road bike, it likely doesn't matter if the stand over height is a bit more than optimal with the larger tires and the original stand over was OK (that is, it would be a problem only if the stand over was too large with the narrow tires). |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:59 AM. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.