dragoonsers

Hi guys,
I have an allez elite 2018; been riding for a few months - I've been thinking about going to wider tires since the ride on the Renegade Exile I have is so much comfortable. Per the specialized website, it does have clearance for 28 mm tires - researching I found even though tires are 28, some may expand and inflate to larger or smaller width. Just asking if anyone has tried 28mm in their allez, and if yes then what?

Specialized also has a BOGO half price on tires right now.

Thanks!

Seattle Forrest

Probably if they advertise it as taking 28 mms, it will fit the widest 28 mm on the market.

sdmc530

I have the specialized all condition armadillo in a 28 on the SAME bike and it fits fine. Its a close fit but I haven't ever had an issue. The tire when at max psi is actually only 27.64 so its not even 28. A true 28 would do just fine, but anything more than 28 might have clearance issues.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/al...dillo/p/131022

hnasir

Dean V

I have a 2017 Allez and an oversize 28mm (GP4000) doesn't really fit. Clearance on the back is ok but too tight (less than 1mm gap)in the fork.

datlas 

^^

If that is true, I suggest Conti GP4000s 25F28R.

sdmc530

I don't know that it made enough difference really. My LBS said it would be a better ride with the 28's but I am not completely sold really. When I run through the 28's I will probably run back on the 25's it came with and they stick to 25's. Just not a difference that a guy can tell from day to day IMO.

hnasir

sdmc530

HTupolev

The comfort benefit of wider tires is that they're better-behaved when pumped squishier. Wide tire salesmen typically refer to volume (i.e. a 28mm tire has 25% more volume than a 25mm tire), but the relevant figure is more linear: a 28mm tire is about 12% taller and wider than a 25mm tire. That 12% is how much more "travel" the tire has without bottoming out and pinching, that's how much less relatively deformed the tire is when deflected a certain amount, etc.

If a 25mm tire and a 28mm tire have otherwise-identical construction, and you pump the 28mm tire to 70PSI and the 25mm tire to 80PSI, then the 28mm tire will tend to ride a bit plusher. If you pump those two tires to the same PSI, then the 28mm tire won't ride any plusher (actually, it'll likely ride very slightly less plush).

"Otherwise-identical construction" is important to note. Stiff beefy tires tend to require much lower inflation pressures than nice supple tires in order to ride plush, and don't tend to roll very efficiently at any pressure. I mean:
A 25mm Espoir isn't the most supple tire in the world, but I definitely wouldn't have recommended switching to a 28mm All-Condition Armadillo if the goal is a plushness boost. If you aren't able to add very much width, switch to a good performance-oriented tire, not something which likely has stiffer construction than what you already have.

Gconan

So what soft and supple tires do you recommend in 25 and 28mm then? Thank you in advance!

sdmc530

HTupolev

I'd ideally go with something more or less racing-style, like a GP4000SII or Corsa G+. The properties that make them fast also tend to make them ride nicely. Performance-oriented tires also tend to have fairly grippy tread compounds.

San Pedro

Those stock tires are not very good tires at all for ride quality. When I went to Micheline Pro4 v2 Endurance tires (25s) I was shocked at how much better they were. I'm betting even a good 25mm tire would help a lot with comfort compared to what you're riding now.

dragoonsers

GPS 4000 I see the 25mm hae an inflated width of 27.7mm so I should go with these?


When you say better, do you mean softer/plushier? or 'faster'?

San Pedro

Both. Roll faster, more comfortably. I had read on here about how tire upgrade could make a big difference, but I didn't really believe the hype until I got better tires.

HTupolev

That would probably be a good option. GP4000SII tend to run large.

dragoonsers

sdmc530

awesome

chicagogal