Tandem Tires

"Paul Westall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very narrow tires. I had them
swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a
bit narrower, but I

read

Quoted message said:

somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any experience/opinions? I
can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want

to

Quoted message said:

put them on the tandem if safe. Paul

Here's a good place to ask your question: bikeforums.netforumdisplay.phpOpen ↗

Paul Westall said:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very narrow tires. I had them
swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a
bit narrower, but I read somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want to put them on the tandem
if safe. Paul

It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a 23 mm tire will be fine. My
guess is that if you had a 700x37 the bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on a tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see instantly why you don't want it.

28's are about the smallest I would ride on my tandem. Also a good idea is to sacrifice some weight
savings for puncture resistance..... my stoker gets really [censored] when she has to stand around and
wait for me to change a flat. I use the Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though they are heavy
they dont flat very often. Chris

"Paul Kopit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul Westall said:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very narrow tires. I had them
swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something
a bit narrower, but I

read

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any experience/opinions? I
can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

put them on the tandem if safe. Paul

It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a 23 mm tire will be fine.
My guess is that if you had a 700x37 the bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on
a tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see instantly why you don't want it.

"Paul Kopit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul Westall said:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very narrow tires. I had them
swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something
a bit narrower, but I

read

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any experience/opinions? I
can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

put them on the tandem if safe. Paul

It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a 23 mm tire will be fine.
My guess is that if you had a 700x37 the bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on
a tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see instantly why you don't want it.

Thanks for the info. I just checked my road bike once again-those tires are 23's-don't look like
they would be so great for the tandem. I think that the tires I had removed must have been 700X 28,
possibly 25. They were only very slighlty wider than the rims. The 37's do give a nice soft ride,
good over bumps and gravel patches, etc. I'm really looking to reduce rolling resistance a bit, as I
usually ride with my daughte who is not a powerful pedaller (to say the least). Paul

Send it to bed early more often, and make sure it has a healthy diet.

HTH, HAND!

Shaun aRe

"Paul Westall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very narrow tires. I had them
swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a
bit narrower, but I read somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want to put them on the tandem
if safe. Paul

We find that 700 X 32 is a reasonable compromise between comfort and rolling resistance. My wife and
I together weigh 300 lbs (136 Kg). A smaller tire would be more likely to have pinch flats if we
kept the pressure reasonable (110-115 psi). A higher pressure would be less comfortable for the
stoker, which is not a good thing.

If you use a good quality smooth tire (e.g. Avocet or IRC) rolling resistance shouldn't be a bother
unless your in a highly competitive event. We have been happy with the IRC tandem (decorative tread
only) tire.

Bill Putnam

dorn said:

28's are about the smallest I would ride on my tandem. Also a good idea is to sacrifice some weight
savings for puncture resistance..... my stoker gets really [censored] when she has to stand around and
wait for me to change a flat. I use the Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though they are
heavy they dont flat very often. Chris

Easy solution to that is to teach the stoker to change the tire - to be fair, each should be
responsible for their own tire - captain fixes fronts, stoker the rear.

I second the 28mm recommendation, or 26x1.25 if you've got mtn wheels like myself.

Like someone suggested, try the 23's or 25's, and you'll see why they're not good for the tandem.
Ride them through some gravel on the shoulder and it'll be really evident:-]

I use Panaracer Pasela's w/Tourguard, they're pretty stout, long running, and have good puncture
resitance, plus they're reasonable.

If you're running with more weight, like credit-card touring, or otherwise, you definitely want to
upsize back to something like the 38's.

-pete

"dorn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

28's are about the smallest I would ride on my tandem. Also a good idea is to sacrifice some
weight savings for puncture resistance..... my stoker

gets

Quoted message said:

really [censored] when she has to stand around and wait for me to change a

flat.

Quoted message said:

I use the Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though they are heavy

they

Quoted message said:

dont flat very often. Chris

"Paul Kopit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul Westall said:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very narrow tires. I had them
swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the

bike

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I

read

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems.

Any

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but

want

Quoted message said:

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

put them on the tandem if safe. Paul

It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a 23 mm tire will be fine. My
guess is that if you had a 700x37 the bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on a
tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see instantly why you don't
want it.

Paul Westall:

Quoted message said:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very narrow tires. I had them
swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a
bit narrower, but I read somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want to put them on the tandem
if safe.

37mm is way wide and 23mm is way narrow. There are lots of tires in between -- just about all of
them in fact. Try something like a 28mm Avocet Duro or a 32mm Tom Slick.

Compared to a medium-width slick tire like these, a 23mm tire will be trivially lighter and have
trivially less wind resistance. Too make up for it, the 23mm will have more rolling resistance, have
a harsh ride, handle poorly, and get more flats. If you have a good idea of what the deficiencies of
the 37mm tires are, that would help direct the choice.

-Eric

Paul Westall:

Quoted message said:

I'm really looking to reduce rolling resistance a bit, as I usually ride with my daughter who is
not a powerful pedaller (to say the least).

Didn't see this followup. Paul, it won't make a difference.

1) The differences in rolling resistance among slick tires of any width is trivial -- with the
advantage to the wider tire, not the narrow tire.

2) Rolling resistance has just about nothing to do with how fast you go. It's in the few percent.
And, it's only uphill that it matters much whether your daughter pedals or not -- where rolling
resistance is the least of your problems.

3) You're not fast. Who cares? You'll have a lot more fun on suitable tires.

-Eric

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Mark in Maine said:

dorn said:

28's are about the smallest I would ride on my tandem. Also a good idea is to sacrifice some
weight savings for puncture resistance..... my stoker gets really [censored] when she has to stand
around and wait for me to change a flat. I use the Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though
they are heavy they dont flat very often. Chris

Easy solution to that is to teach the stoker to change the tire - to be fair, each should be
responsible for their own tire - captain fixes fronts, stoker the rear.

Captain chooses the line, and should fix the flats. Nice feedback loop ;-)

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<br> <br> Mark in Maine wrote:<br> <blockquote type="cite"
cite="[email hidden]"> <pre wrap="">On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 10:46:16
-0400, "dorn" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href=""][email hidden]"><[email hidden]></a> wrote:

</pre> <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">28's are about the smallest I would ride on my
tandem. Also a good idea is to sacrifice some weight savings for puncture resistance..... my
stoker gets really [censored] when she has to stand around and wait for me to change a flat. I use the
Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though they are heavy they dont flat very often. Chris
</pre> </blockquote> <pre wrap=""><!----> Easy solution to that is to teach the stoker to change
the tire - to be fair, each should be responsible for their own tire - captain fixes fronts,
stoker the rear.</pre> </blockquote> Captain chooses the line, and should fix the flats.
Nice feedback loop ;-)<br> </body> </html>

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