Best tire width for hybrids?
 

My original was 35. now I'm with 28 but next time I think to go back 35 or even 38.
What do you think ? and what tire do you use ?

32.

"Best" is an individual thing depending on your use & needs. IE, where are you riding & what is your goal?

I ride 70% MUP, 20% gravel and 10% street. My needs are decent speed (15mph) w/ a relatively plush ride.

Using a 700x40mm cyclocross tire now, but will probably switch to a high-end touring style 38 or 35 in the winter months. (mostly for the flat protection)

The bike in question is a flat bar, fitness-type, XL frame, 3x9 gears. Rider is 6'-2", 205lbs.

hybrids covers a range of different types of bikes I know, but there seems to be a trend with the new offerings to go to wider tires. With my Toughroad (a PerformanceHybrid) I stayed with the standard 50mm (2") and love them. The stability over gutters and across grass is reassuring and I have 3 railway crossings that I do twice each, out and back, and on 2 the lines are at a rather oblique angle. I still line them up at around 90-degrees but it's nice to know I have a natural edge.

I did the Goldilocks thing with the pressure, starting at the max, 65, (too hard) Then 45, (too soft/slow) now I have settled at 55-PSI and that seems right. It's one of the easiest mods you can make and one that makes a world of difference. Even a difference of 5-PSI would be a noticeable to some I would think.

"Best" depends on what type of riding you do.

My riding is about 90% country roads, and 10% rail trails. My bike* came with 28mm tires which were functional for this type of riding, but at 80-100 psi I noticed every bump. For a long time I avoided getting wider tires, thinking it would make the hills more difficult.

But recently I decided to give some 35mm CX tires a try. Wow, what a difference! At 35-65 psi, they really smooth out the road chatter nicely and give me much better control in loose material... all without slowing me down much at all. Running them at 60 psi, there's no appreciable loss in speed compared to my 28mm tires. I think 35mm is the sweet spot for me.

But again, it all depends on the surface conditions you ride on. There's no single "best" tire width.

* As per coominya's suggestion, I'm adding information about my bike. It's a 2014 Fuji Absolute 1.5. I would call it a fitness bike; Fuji calls it a flat-bar road bike. It has an aluminum frame, carbon fork, and 3x9 Deore/Acera drivetrain.

Like others here I'd say it depends on the type of riding and terrain you're mostly on. I went from 38s to 35s on my Fuji Traverse for 85% paved trails/15% hard pack trails and I'm happy with the result. I'm thinking going smaller would sacrifice some comfort for me at 200lbs. The 35s seem like the right size for my needs.

Last week I swapped out the stock Giant 32's that I ran at 80 psi with Schwalbe Marathon 28's and pumped them up to 100 psi. I'm thrilled with how it rides. Gained a ton of speed, easily 3-4 mph. I don't find them harsh on the road at all. The trails I ride are all very hard packed limestone and are like riding pavement so they should be fine. I'll find out on the Tour the Montour ride this Saturday.

I had a neighbor try 28's and he loves them.

Do what I did, and mix sizes. I put a 40 on the back for capacity and ride comfort, and a 35 on the front for handling improvement. Works great!

On my Sirrus, I have 30s, because that's the widest that will fit!

I've got 700 x 40 Marathon Mondials and love them. Plenty of tread for my off-road excursions and any speed changes are not important to me as I start slow and taper off with most of my riding.

I ride 75% MUP & paved bike paths and 25% mostly bumpy potholey urban streets, although some are smooth. I ride with 28's. Started at 35's, went back to 28's and then to 32's and now back to 28's. I don't mind feeling a few bumps - besides the steel frame and carbon fork absorb a lot of street irregularities - I'm going for speed.

Hey it would be great if everyone had included in their post the style of bike they are referring to when talking about tire sizes. Cyclocross, MB, city bike, comfort-road, etc. It would make the thread a lot more useful as a future reference. We can all easily go back and edit our posts to include this data in a conspicuous way.

For those visiting the thread and in doubt as to the styles mentioned here is a bit of a rundown on them.
Bicycle Types: How to Pick the Best Bike for You - Century Cycles - Cleveland & Akron OH
Of course these aren't all what are referred to as hybrids but a lot of posters here ride some of them

Currently have 35's for more road usage, but when they are worn out, and 38's for when I ride on gravel trails. I've got a Crosstrail Sport disc, but mountain bike wheels on them, so these wheels really couldn't fit anything less than 35's. My prior wheels could fit 28's and my shop did try to get me to buy into them. Glad I didn't.

I ride paved road surfaces. My preference is 35s. I have ridden 38s, but didn't like their cumbersome feel. To each his own.

2.1" suits MY needs ( mostly trail) :)

I'm not fast and never will be again, so I want stability and comfort for my 12 mph average loafing pace on mixed terrain ranging from smooth pavement to chipseal to lumpy gravel. No single track, no tricks, just leisurely rides of 10-50 miles a few times a week. So far I'm satisfied with 700x35 up to 700x40, and may go wider after the current tires wear out.

My Globe Carmel, a compact frame hybrid with simple spring suspension fork, wears 700x40 Michelin Protek Cross Max with chevron pattern most-terrain tread. They're heavy, bulletproof, secure and comfortable once I found the right pressure for me: around 50-55 psi front, 60-65 psi rear, well below the 75 psi recommended by Michelin. These tires look wider than 40, and I might go even wider still after these tires wear out. The bike weighs about 35 lbs as I usually ride it, with rear rack, full 24 oz water bottle, a few basic tools and first aid kit, and handlebar pouch for my phone or camera, etc. I might replace the heavy padded springy saddle with something firmer that should also be a bit lighter. Otherwise I'm satisfied with the bike as-is.

My Univega Via Carisma is an early 1990s mountain bike style -- horizontal top tube, chromo frame, rigid fork, weighs in the mid to high 20s. It came with a new set of Innova tires -- 700x35 front, 700x38 rear -- that were nearly identical to the Michelin Protek Cross Max chevron tread pattern, although I don't know yet whether the Innovas equal the puncture resistance and durability of the Michelins. I do know the Innovas are just as stable and secure on loose gravel, etc. These tires look skinnier than the nominal specs, but ride well. I liked 'em at 55-60 psi front, 60-65 psi rear, below the sidewall specs that were identical to Michelin's suggested 75-85 psi.

However, just out of curiosity, I swapped out the Innovas after a couple of weeks and put on the Specialized Hemisphere tires that originally came with the Globe Carmel. The Hemispheres are lighter, with a thinner 1 mm puncture shield and block tread rather than chevron. They're faster rolling but noisier. At the maximum 95-100 psi the ride was harsh and uncomfortable. At 80-85 psi front, 85-90 psi rear, the ride is much more comfortable yet still feels fast -- and the cycle apps show I'm riding a bit faster than with the Globe Carmel over the past month.

I had four flats in one month last year on the Hemispheres, so I'm not sure yet how long they'll stay on the Univega. The tread is good, but it's a thinner tire between the tread blocks and along the flexible sidewall, compared with the thicker and more rigid Michelins and Innovas. If the Hemispheres prove unsatisfactory I may try something up to 700x50 balloon tires, which should fit the Univega frame and cantilever brakes.

flat roads in south florida.. switched stock Giant 32s to Conti 28s GP4000 S2s and gained 3-4 mph.....the difference is amazing

For me, 50mm +. Anything less is skinny. I don't care about speed and riding long distances bores the hell out of me. Getting out on my bike and going wherever my impulse takes me is my preferred riding style and fat, cushy tires give me the versatility to do that. I'm to the point where the deciding factor on purchasing a bike is tire clearance. If Schwalbe made a 3" Big Apple, I would be upgrading to a frame that can fit those.

This is a good template, but with regular MTB handlebars:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psxsxacexq.jpg



This is what I'm currently riding:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ps0wiap6nu.jpg

Try looking at 650b wheels as well. Can run the same outside diameter of 700c with the plush ride of a thicker tire without sacrificing too much of anything.

I run 35c Continental Cyclocross Speed tires on my hybrid. Find them very good indeed.

I have 700x45 on mine. I like them. I'd like to try something a bit wider, but as it is now I can't remove my front wheel without either deflating the tire, or removing a brake shoe. Specialized goofed on their design and the brakes won't open wide enough when released for the tires they put on the bike. The brake pads hit the fork and won't allow the brake to open all the way. So I may be going to a 38.

I find that 28s work well for me. I use my hybrid mostly as a "road bike" meaning that I'm on pavement 99% of the time.

Short answer - 35's

Longer answer:

The 'expert independent advice' seems to be trending towards use of wider tires for road/trail cyclists. While there is no uniformity in such opinions, I am a convert - but at 69 yrs I put a premium on comfort.

In addition to tire width, the key criteria for me include:
~ trade-off between suppleness of tire / puncture resistance / durability (I favour 'suppleness');
~ tread pattern (heavily dependent on when/where one is riding);
~ rim width (again, I favour the wider rather than narrow rims)
~ 'actual installed' width of tire vs 'nominal-on-package' width
~ tire pressure (also little uniformity of opinion - I favour lower rather than higher.)
~ price (I am fortunate in being able to regard this as being of lower importance).

General rules I suggest re tires (only my opinions - worth what you pay for them)
(i) get best quality you can afford
(ii) width no narrower than you currently use, and likely wider (upto width accommodated by bike specifications)
(iii) pressure no more than you currently use, and likely lower

I like 28s for commuting & paved trails but just rode some 40s on hard packed dirt in the rain & didn't think they were too wide at all

I just got a set of those this past week. Conti apparently offered a wider version labeled Speed RIDE for city/trekking, nominally 700x42 but actually closer to a 38 width. At the recommended 50 psi they're comfortable on bumpy roads but don't feel sluggish. On my second ride with 'em, Friday, I logged my quickest ride on a familiar hilly, windy rural route. And I wasn't even feeling well that day, so I'll give some credit to the tires. Good all around tires. Good value at $25/each but I snagged a pair at half price on a one-day sale through Amazon last week, so $25 for the pair.

Thanks a lot for the advices
 

Ordered today 2
Schwalbe Land Cruiser 700x35 tires
http://www.wiggle.com/schwalbe-land-cruiser-road-tire-700c/