Tire Widths?
 

I want to upgrade my tires sometime in the future. Confuse on widths. Have 700 X 38. Go smaller to 28? 32? 35?
Doing a lot of research but can't find what's the best size for a Hybrid.
Looking at the Vittoria lineup.

Very similar question asked yesterday http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...n!!!-SIZE-only

There is no 'best size' too many factors, bike type, weight, rim capacity, frame clearance, fender clearance, what is it carrying, surface travelled on, puncture protection needed, ice spikes needed, etc

Measure Rim width, It should not be wider than the tire being installed.

Thanks a little better. I have Weinmann XC260 Double Wall 700C. How do I find the rim width?

Go 28's

28's will be pretty squirrely on gravel and such. if thats OK with you, go for it. I'm on 35's right now and likely will go 32 next time.

rim width is measured two ways. there's the outer width, you cam measure this with a caliber, its just how wide from the outside to the outside of the rim. cheaper hybrid rims are typically 24 or 25mm outer width.

the official number is the inner width, this can only be measured with the tire off, and its the space between the beads, a 24mm outer is probably 20-21mm inner width.

I swiped this from sheldon's site...

http://sheldonbrown.com/images/bead-seat-diameter.jpg

on a 25mm-ish outer hybrid rim, I wouldn't go under a 28mm tire.

I've read lots of threads here over the last year and a half. Apparently, one tire size isn't necessarily "better" than another, just different. Each is better suited for different purposes. The narrow ones are suited for road use. The wider ones are better suited for a variety of surfaces. Smaller ones require higher pressure. Wider ones have better stability, etc. If you are more specific about the kind of riding you anticipate, you'll probably get lots of answers here.

I been riding mostly paved streets thru my urban neighborhood.

Still researching I am down to these tires:

Freedom ThickSlick 700 X 28
Schwalbe Delta Cruiser Brown RLX Wire Bead Tire (700X35)
Panaracer Pasela Grey 700 X 28
Fyxation Session Brown with white sidewalls 700 X 28
Continental Touring Plus Reflex 700 X 47

Looking at different color tires to go with a Brooks Pre age B17 saddle and saddle bag / brown color on a dark grey bike.
But I am leaning to the Freedom ThickSlick 700 X 28. Have a deal from Jenson for $ 30 @ for the Elite Urban.

Before I pull the trigger. Anyone have any last thoughts to help me to decide.
Thanks

never heard of Freedom or Fyxation. Continental, Schwalble, and Panracer are all highly respected tire brands. 28,35,28,28,47 ??? thats a rather BROAD spread of rather DIFFERENT tires.

in the 28-32 range I'd put on a hybrid, the Schwalbe Marathon is supposed to be excellent.


my experience with colored tires many years ago (red tread on sewups/tubulars) was that they didn't last very long, and they get dirty really fast and lose the color that makes them distinctive. black rubber is more durable because the carbon that makes it black strengthens it.

now, for a urban hybrid, I'd highly recommend tires with reflective sidewalls, as those really show up in car headlights when you're crossing.

I recently went from the stock 700x35 Bontrager Invert Hardcase to 700x28 Continental Sport Contact tires. The bike seems livelier and a bit quicker but before I made the switch I went to my lbs told them what I had and asked what sizes would fit. Considering my stock wheel set they though that 28's would be the thinnest I could go. If there is a lbs close to you I would suggest you ask them, advice is usually free.

28's are plenty skinny enough.

you know, the tour d'france riders run 28s on the rougher race sections. modern high threadcount tires are no longer a penalty to run a bigger/softer tire, in fact, it can be FASTER on rougher pavement.

I've been VERY happy with the Vittoria Randonneur in a 700Cx32 size, it works well even on hard packed dirt, that's what I've got on my "Trekking Hybrid", (Jamis Allegro 1) and if you need a bit more "bite" in the dirt, I use Vittoria Randonneur-CROSS in a 700Cx32 for my utility hybrid, (Jamis Coda Sport). The 32C size has a bit more "cush" than a 25 or 28C and unless your wanting a SPEED upgrade, I think the 32C is the best "all arounder" in tire width. JMHO, YMMV.

Tire profile shape and tread pattern probably plays as much a role as tire size. And 'upgrade' is a word thats thrown around quite a bit, but just changing tire size isn't necessarily an upgrade.

Better tires have higher thread counts, compounds that both grip better and last longer, and in most cases they actually weigh less at the same time. But they cost more too. What's your budget, what do you have now and whats important to you?

tread is *completely* cosmetic on pavement, in fact, too much 'tread' reduces your traction. the ideal road tire is a smooth slick. a bicycle tire will never hydroplane, so any nonsense about rain grooves is just BS.

slicks work nicely on dry hard pack dirt surfaces and gravel too. for mud, sand, steep loose slopes, sure, full out knobbies are required.

Continental Touring Plus Reflex 700 X 47 is on the list, because when I check Peter Whites web site his comments:
If your bike can fit these, you've got one very cool bike!

Kenda K-192 700x38c

That's what I been reading. Did not know that. That is why I am leaning towards the Freedom ThickSlick 700 X 28
Plus I like the look.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...nL._SS500_.jpg

So I checked out the Kenda website and contrary to what I'm finding in some Internet ads from bike shops, this has what Kenda call their STANDARD RUBBER COMPOUND. Can't find any references to a TPI count anywhere. Weight is listed as 480g, pressure rating as 50-85PSI. The most surprising thing was that it was listed under WHEELCHAIR tires and not BIKE tires.
http://www.kendatire.com/en/home/whe...s/kourier.aspx

Translation? Probably an inexpensive tire supplied as OEM equipment to minimize costs. The weight is OK but swapping those over to some bike specific slicks with a TPI count over 60 will probably be a lot more interesting. Those are probably about 26TPI and lets face it - speed and rolling resistance probably aren't as important in a wheelchair as on a bike. Even for those guys that race wheelchairs. High performance and racing tires can have thread counts over 120TPI but there's absolutely no point going that high.

I run Schwalbe Marathon Supremes myself - you may find them a bit expensive. On the other hand - I find the straight Marathons overly heavy. Continental, Schwalbe snd Michlin all make some good tires, but so do a few other companies like Specialized and Kenda. The Specialized Nimbus is excellent. To get a reasonable 'upgrade' you'll really just have to go for as slick a tire as possible and be prepared to spend $25 to $45 instead of $10 to $20.

That Thick Slick you posted looks just fine.

I have had the specialized nimbus on my last two hybrids (previous one, I bought Nimbus x38s', and my new one came with nimbus x35's). I think they ride kind of heavy. These are the 'flak jacket' version.

I really miss the 700c tom slick tires from ritchey, they only make them in 26x1.5 now, those were really supple and gave a great ride and low friction. I'm thinking my next set, which will likely be x32, I'll be going Continental or Schwalbe.

LOL I hear ya! Its just tough to build a tire thats got decent flat protection AND still has supple ride characteristics at a low cost. I found both the Schwalbe Marathons Plus and the Michlin Pilot City tires to be heavy and unresponsive. There's just so much rubber there it just doesn't flex easily.

In fact - until Schwalbe came up with those Marathon Supremes - I was running Stans NoTubes instead of tires with flat protection. But those Supremes are a little pricy - especially here in Canada.

I'm eyeballing the Vittoria Randonneur Hyper Tire in x32 as my next tires. just went through all the road tires in QBP's catalog looking at the ones available in 28/32/35, and they looked the most interesting. A not unreasonable $35 online, $50 appears to be closer to list.


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Thanks that was interesting. Wheel Chair Tire who would think that. I guess that's why I could not find it anywhere.
I did check out the Specialized Nimbus looks good. I just don't feel right putting it on a Raleigh.
I decided on 700 X 28 which is the thinnest for my rim.

I am down to two tires:
Freedom Bicycles ThickSlick http://www.freedombicycle.com/project/thickslick/
Fyxation Accela Black or white. http://www.fyxation.com/blog/accela-...its-about-time

for 700x28, there's a 100 choices in road tires, as thats the upper range of 'road'.

90% of bike stores order their stuff from the QBP catalog. go here, http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/...#/a8e5bd2a/914 and step forward over the next umpteen pages, looking for 28-622's (yes, there's lots of race oriented road tires that only come in 21, 23, 25)

some choices I'd consider, these are all excellent tires...

* Continental Gatorskin x28 or x23
* Conti Gator Hardshell x28 or 32
* michelin Dynamic Sport 28
* panaracer Rivendell RuffyTuffy 28
* Panaracer RibMo 28 or 32
* Panaracer T-Serve PT 28 or 32 reflective
* Panaracer Pasela 28 (they have white/cream 28's too!)


there's also some choices mixed in with the hybrid/cross clincher section starting on page 894, but a lot of those are cross tires, which are knobbies and quite soft, will wear out rather fast on pavement.

Thanks for the link. Will keep me busy for a few days.

After researching every option decide to go with my gut and order the Freedom ThickSlick Urban 700 X 28. At $30 @ it was the best deal that I could find. It's a Christmas present from my wife to me even though she does not know it yet.
So they will go on after the Holidays. Decided to match my grips with the Brooks saddle(also Christmas gift) Will be looking at the new Ergon BioLeder when they come available in the spring.

http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdn...er-grips01.jpg