I had long ago dismissed the Equilibrium as I was sure it had quite restricted tyre clearance for the ilk of bike, but it seems this has changed? Long drop brakes and claimed clearance for 30mm tyres and guards?
This could make it my dream winter bike to replace the Specialized Allez that I bought on the basis of Specialized's somewhat dubious claims of tyre and mudguard clearance...
I have an Equilibrium 853, no chance of 30mm and guards. I would say that a measured 28mm is the absolute max, and that might be too tight depending on the style of guards. I am currently running 27mm with guards and perfectly happy with that - it's a very smooth bike.
I am currently running 27mm with guards and perfectly happy with that – it’s a very smooth bike.
Exactly what I'm running on my Allez, it's fine for 90% of rides but I'd enjoy slightly wider tyres and the ability to fit my 30mm ice spikes if needs be.
A project for next year maybe, just got excited by a sale price I saw online lol
My Equilibrium 853 2013 will go 28mm conti up front and 25mm rear with sks guards. Without guards I’m running 32mm pirelli no problems. You’d start to struggle getting the tyre past the caliper if you went much bigger.
I have 28mm tyres on 19mm rims (measure 30mm wide) with 40mm VO Al guards on a bike with the same calipers. It was built with the pads close to the bottom of the slots. Looking at the current Equilibrium you'd get the same combo on the fork where the brake is set fairly high but the rear brake looks to be a bit lower - I expect with careful guard fitting there it'd be ok though.
I have the OG 520 Equilibrium , so this might not help much but I'm also running 27mm with full SKS Chromopastic mudguards. Reckon it could take a true 28mm but don't think I could squeeze anything larger in. It is a sweet ride.