[Closed] How wide do you go with your tyres for road use?

Got 2.0" slicks on my old mtb based commuter.

Probably a bit slower than skinnier slicks but certainly takes the edge off potholes

38mm Compass Loup Loup Pass going back on my Bokeh after last weekend at Gravel Dash.

2.0 big apples here.

You really should consider opening an ugly bike museum Brian....

(no offence btw!) 😀

I was using 2.3 crazy bobs for awhile on my old mtb set up as rigid for commuting, it felt proper fast.

John

Brilliant.
🙂

2.0 Marathon Supremes atm.
Great on the road, fast, grippy, loads of feedback.

Road surfaces cease to be a problem, just proper comfy.

23mm gp4000 on my road bike.Can't get any wider on it.
28mm gp4000 on my cx bike

As a Brucie bonus the crazy bobs even worked on trail centres! Assuming they were dry.

John

25mm, and that is almost rubbing the frame. Use bike off road too.

Don't seem to get comfort issues (on or off road) but then my longest rides are only 2 hours. Have tried bigger tyres on other bikes but they just feel cumbersome.

Rusty Spanner - Member
...2.0 Marathon Supremes atm.
Great on the road, fast, grippy, loads of feedback.

Road surfaces cease to be a problem, just proper comfy.

johnnyboy666 - Member
As a Brucie bonus the crazy bobs even worked on trail centres! Assuming they were dry.

And that's the really big bonus. This is really my gravel bike and it is generally only on the road to get me to a trail, eg the Corrieyairack and the likes.

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Nobeerinthefridge - Member
You really should consider opening an ugly bike museum Brian....

Sob... 😥

No offence taken. I have even uglier bikes. I have pretty bikes too, but they don't get ridden as much as the effective bikes. 🙂

25mm on my proper road bike
28mm on my winter/wet weather commuter
and just ordered 32mm Continental GP 4 seasons for my cx based summer commuter.

25mm on my summer road bike.
28mm on my winter roadie (Arkose) however these will be swapped out for 32mm at some point.

I'm not sure the OP was seeking serious replies.

Love the bike, it's clear you don't give a flying **** about having the "right" bike and have sussed out what works for you. Looks much more fun for that kind of "gravel" riding than a CXer.

2.35" G-One Speed Evos, they roll really well and absorb all the potholes around town with ease, without the chatter of when I use my Jumbo Jim wheels.

Only had the G-Ones ~2 weeks and already done my two fastest commutes to work on them, I'm convinced a sub 15min time will happen in 2017.

OK, I've forgotten how to read calipers, thought OP photo read 61 not 65! 😆

23 on TT bike, 30 on road, normally race 25c on wider rims.

I've just bought some 22mm Schwalbes for my summer road bike because they were about 70% off . I've been perfectly happy on 23mms for the past 15 years or so of road riding so I suspect I won't die, but it's a risk 😉

2.0. About to go a bit bigger - jumped on the same deal as you at CRC - similar, anyway - Arc 27s

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nedrapier - Member
2.0. About to go a bit bigger - jumped on the same deal as you at CRC - similar, anyway - Arc 27s

That's interesting. I sold my Peregrine because I couldn't get 2" in the back. That was on a 30mm (24mm internal) rim. (One of the first models). Otherwise I would still have it.

Yours looks nicely balanced. 🙂

I have pretty bikes too, but they don't get ridden as much as the effective bikes

Ah the eternal cycloconundrum, it's always the way though...

A friend of mine uses a much nicer term for utilitarian, functional and comfy, but ultimately pug-fugly bikes, he describes them as 'worthy' bicycles, and that sir is an extremely worthy bicycle!

My commuto-exploro bike is similar, running on 1.75s thought but occasionally wears 2.2 micro knobblies whihc are almost as fast but better offroad

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My 'normal' road bikes run from 23-38mm depending on bike/use

26" rigid commute mtb 2.3" spec. slaughter on front, 2.1" hutch. cobra rear. Have frequently been tempted to get slick 2.0-2.3" tyres but don't fancy sliding in the wet road as I make a right-hand turn with oncoming traffic.

cheers! I like it. It'd be the last out the door if I was forced to sell everything. I still might hide the Dekerf in the attic though!

I've got the Mk2, which seems to have more room in the back - 2.1 Thunder Burts on Stans Alpha at the moment, 17mm internal. There's enough room in the back, and not quite enough room in the front - the fork crown lugs have lost a bit of paint. The idea with the 27mm Arc is to max out the volume on 2" tyres rather than push the clearance with 2.1s that are wide at the shoulder knobs but pulled in tight by a narrow rim. Fat Franks, Race Kings, Marathon Supremes, maybe some Compass Snoqualmie pass if I feel like chucking money away!

23mm on an old Roberts all the way up to a 2.35 Big Apple on a Gryphon.
Can't tell any difference.

sirromj - Member
..Have frequently been tempted to get slick 2.0-2.3" tyres but don't fancy sliding in the wet road as I make a right-hand turn with oncoming traffic.

I find I can take a negative camber downhill tarmac bend much faster. It's more like confident cornering on a motorbike than sketchy bicycle stuff. I actually have to hang off the bike. Wet is no problem, I'd trust them more than any 23mm tyre.

The important thing is to run them at a lowish pressure. Mine are usually under 20 psi and I'm 85kg.

Still have a psychological aversion to full slicks.

The Supremes ( 🙂 , sorry) have a vestigial tread, which I'd like to think is designed by German engineers to disperse water, but is probably just put there by German marketing folk to appease silly old farts.

Lots of rubber smeared across the road should equal huge amounts of grip, but illogical as it seems, I feel that bit of tread adds something comforting.
Daft, I know.

What is it with these swept back bars but no basket?

24mm on my summer bike
25mm on my winter bike
28mm on my fixie
37mm on my touring bike.

Basketist.

A basket is just a less gnar centric barbag, which is merely a more practical alternative to a skull with horns attached.

My frankensemichubby monster cross currently fitted with 2.35 29" big apples on mulefut 50mm wide rims.

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1.5 x 26 vittoria rubino slicks when in road mode. 2.4/2.2 xkings live on it at the moment since i can't be arsed changing them. So they do for everything just now.

What is it with these...

swept back bars

but no basket?

On a related note, what bars are those Epicyclo? they look like inverted North Roads or similar?

doncorleoni - Member
My frankensemichubby monster cross currently fitted with 2.35 29" big apples on mulefut 50mm wide rims.

Excellent. Need a pic of the whole bike now. 🙂

What width do those go up to?

amedias - Member
...On a related note, what bars are those Epicyclo? they look like inverted North Roads or similar?

I've seen them with various brand names on them. They are actually drops, but they're almost the same bend as the North Road drop bars on my 1935 Sunbeam.

Satori Minotaur, One23 Bullbar, Smooth Drop, are some of the names I've seen. Who actually makes them I don't know. It's obviously a generic bar of many names, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was in Raleigh's range with another name and a better price.

I'd prefer them to be about 20mm wider, but they're good for a long day out, so that's a minor gripe.

The big advantage is that they take mtb levers etc which i prefer to the less robust road stuff.

23mm i like to feel the road 😉

Whathaveisaidnow - Member
23mm i like to feel the road

(That's the good bit)

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Not gone super wide yet, but liking the 38c's on my Plug. Main problem is that most tyres that size are a bit commuterish - would love to see something like a giant GP4000s.
Will probably go for marathon supremes when(if) the stock kendas wear out

I wore out a set of Barlow Pass 38 and replaced with SO much cheaper Vittoria Voyager Hyper 37-622, tubeless. Both lovely, light and fast tyres.

Inherited and tried some ProOnes 25, tubeless, nope, too harsh thanks.

Aye, Vittoria Voyager hyper here too, 35mm. I reckon I've found my perfect commuting tyre.

Been running voyager hyper in 38c for a few rides now and seem to be great rolling, are very comfy at 70psi with tubes. No punctures to date but early days yet I suppose.

Didn't know there was a tubeless version, I'd buy them without hesitation if could find some

25mm on summer bike
42mm on gravel/winter/commuter bike

Cervelo s3 25
Synapse 30
Pickenflick 35
Singlespeed 2.0

Any tips for a source for the bars? One23 seem not to list them; Satori list the Smooth Drop but I can't see a retailer (last time I bought a Satori product I had to go via eBay from the far east, but I can't find this one on there).

Tyre wise I'm still liking 28mm GP4000s on the proper road bike, but I have some nice 37s on another bike for more versatility without feeling like a big-tyred bike. Once you're regularly heading away from tarmac it seems quite hard to completely avoid wet terrain even in summer so I've never found much need for really big slicks (though I've used 2" Big Apples for the tandem and for commuting). The new Double Fighter III looks an interesting intermediate tread for mixed terrain.

37mm Hypers on my commuter most of the time. Love 'em.

Bez - Member
Any tips for a source for the bars? One23 seem not to list them; Satori list the Smooth Drop but I can't see a retailer (last time I bought a Satori product I had to go via eBay from the far east, but I can't find this one on there)...

[url= http://www.londonbicycleworkshop.com/3371/products/one23-bull-25-4-handlebar.aspx ]Found some One23 bars here.[/url]

Ah, thanks. Not sure I could ever bring myself to use silver bars, but it's a start 🙂

Smokey Jo, the Hypers aren't TLR proper but they go up and stay up a treat. 45-odd psi on my (also non tubeless) crosslights. 70psi!?! not necessary.

It's a tight enough fit that I'm not worried about running these ghetto.

£12.99 each or something daft at DFS when I bought them.

Bez - Member
Ah, thanks. Not sure I could ever bring myself to use silver bars, but it's a start

Lighter. None of that heavy anodising. 🙂

Or cure it with bar tape.

[url= http://road.cc/content/tech-news/221883-salsa-fargo-ti-back-highly-capable-adventurebikepacking-drop-bar-bike ]Meanwhile Salsa have built my bike...[/url]

Just done a very brave thing...

Daughter's hybrid was dropped off a couple of days ago, so I cleaned it, serviced it, then polished and took it for a ride.

Set of wheels later, 2" tyres instead of 32mm, swap the straight bar for a short drop, and we have this.

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Took it for an appropriate RSF ride 50% road, 50% offroad.

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Definitely felt much better with the bigger tyre (although those are a bit less compliant than my 2.35" Big Apples). It handled some much rougher stuff than shown no bother at all.

So what's brave about that?

She comes home tomorrow and doesn't know I've hacked her pride and joy... 🙂

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I used to use 37c (35mm) Hypers, but for road tubeless, they don't seat properly, so if for some reason (in my case a loose valve core) the tyre deflated, there's not a cat in hells chance of getting it inflated again when trailside.

I'm now running Hutchinson Sector 32s which are bloody lovely. Proper tubeless, very comfy, super grippy (the Hypers were always a little sketchy when it was cold...not wet, but cold) but definitely faster.

32s seem to be a sweet spot between comfort, rolling resistance and drag...for my rides/commutes anyway.

Up to 35mm on my commuter (although they are Schwalbe marathons that come up quite small - not much bigger than my 28mm contis I run in summer).

I think a big tubeless tyre would probably run faster though (based on how fast my summer knobblies are on the HT, obviously I wouldn't need knobblies on the commuter), and give less punctures. It would require a new frame to fit mudguards and have big tyres though - and I couldn't go to 60mm plus even without mudguards on the current frame I'm sure.

29 x 2.35 Apples.
No point wearing out good knobblies when its dry.