Fitting narrower tyres

[Jeremy Collins]

Hi all,

Recently my offroad riding has gone from "almost none"
to "none". My hybrid currently has 700x38c tyres, and
so I'm thinking about getting some narrower ones.

I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit
my wheels. Can any kind person tell me what range of sizes
I could expect to fit?

Hopefully it's not too much of a tyre-some question. Ahem.

Cheers,

--
jc

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[Rich Clark]

"Jeremy Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Hi all,
>
> Recently my offroad riding has gone from "almost none"
> to "none". My hybrid currently has 700x38c tyres, and
> so I'm thinking about getting some narrower ones.
>
> I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
> so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit
> my wheels. Can any kind person tell me what range of sizes
> I could expect to fit?

Go here and read all about it:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire_sizing.html#width

....under "Width Considerations."

You will need to know your rim width to know what tires will fit. Choosing a
median size, rather than one at the extremes of compatibility for that rim,
will tend to reduce mounting and in-use damage problems.

Hybrids that I've seen tend to come with rims that start to become difficult
to use with tires smaller than 32, although you might be able to get a 28
onto some of them. 700x32c is a size in which there are many good choices in
pavement tires.

RichC

 

[Chris Zacho The Wheelman]

What kind of rims do you have (recommended width and are they hook
beaded)?

- -

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

 

[DRS]

"Jeremy Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]

[...]

> Thanks for the reply! I was hoping to go down to 28; My rims
> are marked 622x18 (the brand is Alexrims - "DH19"). Sheldon
> says 28 tyres are OK with 19 rims, or is it too borderline to
> be worthwhile?

If they're a true 28 you'll probably be OK but some tyres are narrower than
their nominal width and you won't want to go below a 28. I went for 32s
when I was in the same situation as you.

--

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[Jeremy Collins]

Rich Clark wrote:

> You will need to know your rim width to know what tires will fit. Choosing a
> median size, rather than one at the extremes of compatibility for that rim,
> will tend to reduce mounting and in-use damage problems.
>
> Hybrids that I've seen tend to come with rims that start to become difficult
> to use with tires smaller than 32, although you might be able to get a 28
> onto some of them. 700x32c is a size in which there are many good choices in
> pavement tires.

Thanks for the reply! I was hoping to go down to 28; My rims
are marked 622x18 (the brand is Alexrims - "DH19"). Sheldon
says 28 tyres are OK with 19 rims, or is it too borderline to
be worthwhile?

Cheers,


--
jc

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[Glenn Civello]

JC wrote:
> I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit my wheels.
======
Hi JC. I have been wondering about the same thing. I bought my first road
bike recently. I no sooner got on our local bike path when I got a flat.
This had never happen to me before, when riding my old Bridgestone mtb.
Carrying the bike on my shoulder, I got off the path and went to the nearest
bus stop. The bus driver told me that lots of people have been getting
flats on the bike path due to glass having been used as a filler in the
asphalt. After a few years the glass had surfaced to the top causing flats,
especially to cyclist who have skinny tires. Anyway, I was told that I
should replace my stock Fuji tires w/ Kevlar tires. They are a rather odd
size ( 700 26c) so I've had been wondering if I could replace them w/ the
more common 700 25's or 23's. Hope you (and I) get some answers here.
Good luck to the two of us! Btw, does anyone know what the "c" stands for
(as in 700 26 *c*)?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeremy Collins" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.misc
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 5:40 AM

> Hi all,
>
> Recently my offroad riding has gone from "almost none"
> to "none". My hybrid currently has 700x38c tyres, and
> so I'm thinking about getting some narrower ones.
>
> I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
> so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit
> my wheels. Can any kind person tell me what range of sizes
> I could expect to fit?
>
> Hopefully it's not too much of a tyre-some question. Ahem.
>
> Cheers,
>
> --
> jc
>
> Remove the -not from email


"Jeremy Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Hi all,
>
> Recently my offroad riding has gone from "almost none"
> to "none". My hybrid currently has 700x38c tyres, and
> so I'm thinking about getting some narrower ones.
>
> I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
> so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit
> my wheels. Can any kind person tell me what range of sizes
> I could expect to fit?
>
> Hopefully it's not too much of a tyre-some question. Ahem.
>
> Cheers,
>
> --
> jc
>
> Remove the -not from email

 

[Jeremy Collins]

Chris Zacho The Wheelman wrote:

> What kind of rims do you have (recommended width and are they hook
> beaded)?

Er, not sure. They're marked 622x18 - Alexrims DH19, so
I was assuming that the "18" was the rim width. I don't
know what hook beaded means, though...

--
jc

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[Jeremy Collins]

Glenn Civello wrote:

> Btw, does anyone know what the "c" stands for
> (as in 700 26 *c*)?

Ah, I think I know. AIUI it's a redundant leftover from the
old French style of describing the width of the tyre - "a",
"b" and "c" were standard sizes. Don't know why its still
used, since all metric tyres seem to be a "c", these days
and the width is quoted anyway.

I suppose you can see something like "700x28c" and know
immediately that someone is describing a tyre, just by the
"c" being there.

--
jc

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[Jeremy Collins]

DRS wrote:

> "Jeremy Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]
>
> [...]
>
>
>>Thanks for the reply! I was hoping to go down to 28; My rims
>>are marked 622x18 (the brand is Alexrims - "DH19"). Sheldon
>>says 28 tyres are OK with 19 rims, or is it too borderline to
>>be worthwhile?
>
>
> If they're a true 28 you'll probably be OK but some tyres are narrower than
> their nominal width and you won't want to go below a 28. I went for 32s
> when I was in the same situation as you.

That's a good point, I suppose some manufacturers skimp on the
width for reasons of cost and weight. This might be a job
for the LBS, since if they don't fit properly I won't be wasting
money. I was planning to buy the tyres online as my LBS is
good but very small, and they don't have much of a range of stock.

Cheers,


--
jc

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[Rich Clark]

"Jeremy Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Chris Zacho The Wheelman wrote:
>
> > What kind of rims do you have (recommended width and are they hook
> > beaded)?
>
> Er, not sure. They're marked 622x18 - Alexrims DH19, so
> I was assuming that the "18" was the rim width. I don't
> know what hook beaded means, though...

According to the manufacturer the width is indeed 18. Google is your friend.
http://www.alexrims.com/rims/ct_dh19.htm

Personally, Sheldon's chart notwithstanding, if I wanted to try a 28 on that
rim I would try to find a way to test it before investing money in the
tires. The heavier the rider, the more hesitant I'd be. Otherwise I'd go
with a 32. On a hybrid it's not going to make much of a difference in
performance -- picking a lightweight high-pressure tire with little tread
pattern matters more -- since the rims are already fairly hefty.

RichC

 

[maxo]

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:38:22 +0000, Jeremy Collins wrote:

> Er, not sure. They're marked 622x18 - Alexrims DH19, so I was assuming
> that the "18" was the rim width. I don't know what hook beaded means,
> though...
>
> --

I used to run 28c Michelins on those rims--no problems whatsoever.

Bloody indestructable rim btw--I put something like 20K miles on mine and
trued them four times.

 

[Don]

My old hybrid came with 700 x 38 tires and I put 700 x 28 on them and had no
problems. this was on advice of guy at LBS.

cheers

don

"Jeremy Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Hi all,
>
> Recently my offroad riding has gone from "almost none"
> to "none". My hybrid currently has 700x38c tyres, and
> so I'm thinking about getting some narrower ones.
>
> I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
> so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit
> my wheels. Can any kind person tell me what range of sizes
> I could expect to fit?
>
> Hopefully it's not too much of a tyre-some question. Ahem.
>
> Cheers,
>
> --
> jc
>
> Remove the -not from email

 

[Fx199]

>Subject: Re: Fitting narrower tyres
>From: "Don" [email protected]
>Date: 7/31/2004 6:46 PM US Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id: <[email protected]>
>
>My old hybrid came with 700 x 38 tires and I put 700 x 28 on them and had no
>problems. this was on advice of guy at LBS.
>
>cheers
>
>don

Is 28 considered a wide road tire? I see a lot of Hybrids come with 35. Is
Bontrager a good wheel?

 

[maxo]

On Sun, 01 Aug 2004 00:24:50 +0000, Fx199 wrote:

> Is 28 considered a wide road tire? I see a lot of Hybrids come with 35. Is
> Bontrager a good wheel?

28 is usually the widest tire size in the sporty models, most racey bikes
come with rubber ranging from 19-25. I ride 25s myself and to me they feel
as fast as the skinnier models, but with a bit more safety against pinch
flats.

If you're using modern low profile sidepulls, some bikes will have a
problem with tire clearance on 28s, but with cantilever or v-brakes it's
not an issue.

35 is a good width for hybrids, but I find that 28s definitely feel a bit
faster--perhaps it's the tire weight or the fact that many of the wider
tires have a more aggressive tread which can slow you down.

You can often find decent tires for ten bucks a pop at Nashbar and other
on-line shops. It's affordable and fun to try a few different sets and see
what works for you.

Bontrager products are generally fine, but I don't know which specific
wheelset you're referring to. Build quality is as important as the brand
of the parts btw. I usually buy inexpensive machine built wheels and
de-stress and tighten the spokes myself.

 

[Jeremy Collins]

Jeremy Collins wrote:

> I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
> so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit
> my wheels. Can any kind person tell me what range of sizes
> I could expect to fit?

Thanks to everyone for the advice!


--
jc

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[Jeremy Collins]

Jeremy Collins wrote:

> Jeremy Collins wrote:
>
>> I've only ever replaced tyres with ones of the same size,
>> so I'm a bit unsure about what range of sizes will fit
>> my wheels. Can any kind person tell me what range of sizes
>> I could expect to fit?
>
>
> Thanks to everyone for the advice!

....it worked fine. I put a pair of 700x28 Michelin Transworld
City tyres on, pumped 'em up to 100psi and did a 30-mile test ride.

It felt great.

--
jc

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[KakenBetaal]

Excellent topic, thank you, great links.