Touring Tire width
 

I just installed a pair of 700cX28 tires. My last pair were 700cX32 tires. The new ones feel like I'm riding on an ice skate edge. When I lean one way, the bike really gets squirrly now. Am I just adjusting to thinner tires? Did I get a bad pair of tires? Too much air?



www.alternativecommutepueblo.com

What brand and model of tire is it?

That sounds more like you underinflated the tire than anything else. Remember, narrower tire means more air pressure.

Continental Contact City/Trekking Tire

It almost feels like there is a sharp ridge running down the center of the tire that I'm having to balance on. Weird. I'll try varying pressure.
Thanks



www.alternativecommutepueblo.com

I have Continental Contact Safety System 700 X 28's. Very nice tire for me.

Narrower tires reduce pneumatic trail of your bike changing how it handles. The narrower tire is also potentially lighter which will reduce the gyroscopic forces that stabilize your steering. I like 35mm tires on my LHT. I've tried narrower, but went back to 35mm tires.

You should be inflating your tires for 15% of the measured width in vertical drop when sitting static on your bike with your planned cargo. The narrower tires will need more air to support your weight than the wider tires so you'll have to run them at higher pressures.

http://thelazyrando.wordpress.com/20...tire-pressure/

Tried playing with air pressure, still super squirrely.
The tires want to throw me everywhere, left and right. Could the ridge in the center need some wearing down to break them in? You would think they would flatten out under my weight. Maybe they are bunk tires. They are Continental, but say made in India not Germany?

Here is my bike with the 28's.
I weight 215 lbs, the bike 33 lbs, the gear weighted 56 lbs, I could ride it with no hands.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...ril2010001.jpg

It's my first non-mountain bike tire that has any sort of tread, maybe it just takes some getting used to?





www.alternativecommutepublo.com

Continental's cheaper tires are not handmade in germany, cost prohibitive i guess.
Is the handling noticeably worse when the bike is loaded vs. unloaded?
I know on my bike that narrow tires seem squirrelly when i have a lot of weight in the rear. If i just have front panniers or no load on the bike they behave normally and as long as when bulking up I balance the f/r weight distribution I can maintain good handling qualities.

Guessing you need to increase your balance.
I did that by first standing to coast, then slowly pedaled in a the big ring.

I've been on bicycles for 30 years, BMX, mountain, road, doesn't seem like it could be related to my bicycle balance.
I did notice that the wire in the tire was noticeably kinked due to shipping before I put them on, could that be related to the pull I feel?

How wide are the rims?

Mavic A719 622 X 19

My tires, very good ride with them.

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...l-contact-tire

Yep, those should be well within range. Conti has seemed to be wacky with the tire sizing recently though. Maybe try them on a thinner rim and see if you get the same result.

Yeah, those look like the same tires. Somethings making them pull and dart left to right though. To be continued. Thanks for the input.



www.alternativecommutepueblo.com

That could be, when I bought my first road bike with 23s, it felt like I was going to fall off all the time, I rode the 23s for about a year and moved up to 28s for touring and now it feels like riding a tank.

I had some pretty weird handling with some tire liners, the tires felt much better without the liners. Sounds odd, but it was true. The tire liner affected the shape of the inflated tire.

High pressure means that you have a very small contact patch with the road, that makes the front wheel turn easier. But at speed the gyroscopic forces keep the wheel quite straight so the narrow tires should not feel unstable at higher speed.

+1 Getting used to completely different rides takes time. How long did you ride the 32's on this bike before changing them to 28's? I road ride on 23s but tour on 32s usually.

Long distance touring is best done on 32 or larger rubber. More comfort, more stable, and much better wear. Another big bonus is that you don't have to add air every three days. I normally over-inflate by 2 psi (75 front, 78 rear), then ride for a week before adding more air.

I have toured quite a bit on 28mm Continental Ultra Gatorskins and really like them for their responsiveness and feel. I toured last summer on 32mm Schwalbe Marathon tires , and while I found them more comfortable, they dampened the ride a little too much; seemimg "dead". We use Continental tires from 23 to 28mm on all our bikes, and have not had any problems with them.

I agree with you on the that.

I had 35mm Schwalbe Marathon tires.
Seems as if they soaked up some of my energy

[QUOTE=Tourist in MSN;12337559]I had some pretty weird handling with some tire liners, the tires felt much better without the liners. Sounds odd, but it was true. The tire liner affected the shape of the inflated tire.


I do have tire liners in, maybe I'll try taking them out and see if that helps. Maybe they got stuffed in a bit off balance? Thanks for the tip!

I often switch between the 32s and a set of treadless 28s but never notice the pulling. I'm hoping it's something with the tire liners.