Minimum tire width for a given rim

Paul Hobson ha scritto:

Quoted message said:

The bike I'm most interested in is listed as coming with Vittoria
Randonneur Cross 700x35c tires [1] and Alex Alex AT-400 rims[2]. Those
rims have an inner width of 13.6 mm. I was checking Sir Brown's site
about how small of a tire I could get on that rim[3] and the RBT
achieves yielded a similar chart in German.

I've a road bike that have the low cost Ambrosio Balance rims. The inner
width is 13,5 like yours, for many years I've ride with the 700x20C
sometimes making some kilometers offroad.

Quoted message said:

Should I just shut up and get a 28 mm tire for it?

IMHO for sure.

Bay, Mirco

--
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FAQ ng i.h.c (non ufficiali)
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Il petrolio favola moderna - Linux 2.6.17 Registered user #287263

Paul Hobson said:

Assuming that I should round the rim width up to 14 mm, one would likely
guess that Sheldon's chart suggests that I ride a tire no *larger* than
a 28 mm! Granted, that's the size I was shooting for in terms of my
compromise of comfort/speed. Also, Sheldon mentions that the chart is
likely a bit conservative - but a 7 - 9 mm discrepancy seems to go
beyond that (given my base of limited knowledge).

Should I just shut up and get a 28 mm tire for it?

Imho, too big a tire isn't a great problem - there may be a bit of
sloppiness on smooth pavement, but I feel it is balanced by the added
comfort on rough lanes.
So, your call : if you prefer a 28mm anyway, go for it of course.

Quoted message said:

I know that for road
riding, perfectly smooth tires are just fine, but I find that tires such
as these make skidding on the fixie harder (a good thing especially in
the rain since my back-pedaling actually slows me down). Is that in my
head? Should I just stick to smooth tires?

Motorcycle riders often say that a tire MUST be treaded to be safe on
the wet, but they have much larger tires, riding much faster.
Imho the gum quality is much more important than tread on (wet)
asphalt.

Paul Hobson said:

Assuming that I should round the rim width up to 14 mm, one would likely
guess that Sheldon's chart suggests that I ride a tire no *larger* than
a 28 mm! Granted, that's the size I was shooting for in terms of my
compromise of comfort/speed. Also, Sheldon mentions that the chart is
likely a bit conservative - but a 7 - 9 mm discrepancy seems to go
beyond that (given my base of limited knowledge).

Should I just shut up and get a 28 mm tire for it?

Imho, too big a tire isn't a great problem - there may be a bit of
sloppiness on smooth pavement, but I feel it is balanced by the added
comfort on rough lanes.
So, your call : if you prefer a 28mm anyway, go for it of course.

Quoted message said:

I know that for road
riding, perfectly smooth tires are just fine, but I find that tires such
as these make skidding on the fixie harder (a good thing especially in
the rain since my back-pedaling actually slows me down). Is that in my
head? Should I just stick to smooth tires?

Motorcycle riders often say that a tire MUST be treaded to be safe on
the wet, but they have much larger tires, riding much faster.
Imho the gum quality is much more important than tread on (wet)
asphalt.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Paul Hobson said:

Assuming that I should round the rim width up to 14 mm, one would likely
guess that Sheldon's chart suggests that I ride a tire no *larger* than
a 28 mm! Granted, that's the size I was shooting for in terms of my
compromise of comfort/speed. Also, Sheldon mentions that the chart is
likely a bit conservative - but a 7 - 9 mm discrepancy seems to go
beyond that (given my base of limited knowledge).

I am sure that a 28 mm tire will work well with this rim. Concerning
using larger tires, mountain bikers routinely use very wide tires (>2
inches) on rims that are only 17 mm wide (e.g., Mavic XC717). A German
site on rim vs. tire width (http://tandem-fahren.de/Technik/Reifentips/)
says that this will lead to the tire being damaged just above the rim,
but the article is directed to rim/tire combinations for heavily loaded
tandems.

Quoted message said:

Should I just shut up and get a 28 mm tire for it?

No problem.

Paul Hobson said:

The bike I'm most interested in is listed as coming with Vittoria
Randonneur Cross 700x35c tires [1] and Alex Alex AT-400 rims[2]. Those
rims have an inner width of 13.6 mm. I was checking Sir Brown's site
about how small of a tire I could get on that rim[3] and the RBT
achieves yielded a similar chart in German.

....

Quoted message said:

[1]http://www.vittoria.com/index3.asp?lingua=en
The tire, as shown above, has minor tread to it. I know that for road
riding, perfectly smooth tires are just fine, but I find that tires such
as these make skidding on the fixie harder (a good thing especially in
the rain since my back-pedaling actually slows me down). Is that in my
head? Should I just stick to smooth tires?

Ignoring the question of tire width, I've liked the Vittoria Randonneur
tires that came on my Novara bike. Although I'm tempting the p*nct*r*
fairy, I've had 2000 trouble-free, mostly commuting miles this year.
We've missed most of the rain this summer 200 miles from Atlanta (how'd
you get it all with that tremendous urban heat plume??), but I think the
crown in the rubber tends to catch a lot of the crud that would
otherwise cause flats. I didn't think I would like it, with the pointy
cross-section, but it's not a harsh ride, wears well, and grips
reasonably well (very well for a tire that hasn't worn down any faster
than it has). I guess I'd better order a bunch from REI while they're
still available.

Pat

Pat Lamb said:

Paul Hobson said:

The bike I'm most interested in is listed as coming with Vittoria
Randonneur Cross 700x35c tires [1] and Alex Alex AT-400 rims[2]. Those
rims have an inner width of 13.6 mm. I was checking Sir Brown's site
about how small of a tire I could get on that rim[3] and the RBT
achieves yielded a similar chart in German.

...

Quoted message said:

[1]http://www.vittoria.com/index3.asp?lingua=en
The tire, as shown above, has minor tread to it. I know that for road
riding, perfectly smooth tires are just fine, but I find that tires such
as these make skidding on the fixie harder (a good thing especially in
the rain since my back-pedaling actually slows me down). Is that in my
head? Should I just stick to smooth tires?

Ignoring the question of tire width, I've liked the Vittoria Randonneur
tires that came on my Novara bike. Although I'm tempting the p*nct*r*
fairy, I've had 2000 trouble-free, mostly commuting miles this year.

Good info. Thanks. I am tempted to simply get the 28 mm version of that
tire for the reflective sidewalls. As the days shorten, I think about
75% of my riding will be in the dark on this bike. Hell, tonight I left
my office at school at 21:15. Totally dark here already.

Quoted message said:

We've missed most of the rain this summer 200 miles from Atlanta (how'd
you get it all with that tremendous urban heat plume??),

I can't speak for June and July as I was on tour with my band during
those months[1]. But August is always about like this:

http://tinyurl.com/nssmm (weather underground)

I think it's the heat plume that causes the atmospheric
turbulence/uplifting that creates these storms. But I know if does some
deflecting too. Who knows? I'm not an atmosphere guy (rivers are my thing)

[personal experience with the tire snipped]

Again, thanks for the info!
\\paul

--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the f to ph to reply:.

Paul Hobson said:

I think it's the heat plume that causes the atmospheric
turbulence/uplifting that creates these storms. But I know if does some
deflecting too. Who knows? I'm not an atmosphere guy (rivers are my
thing)

whoops. here's that footnote:
http://flickr.com/photos/p_myron_h/sets/72157594254367655/

--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the f to ph to reply:.