Trying to get the other halfs old commuter on the road again after about 8ish years of it lying unloved in a hallway and latterly a garage. It's an old 531 tubed racer, the skinny tyres are obviously shot and while probably good for London commuting are not that good for a suburban/rural mix of towpaths and bridleways etc.
So bearing that in mind what tyre should I go for CX tyres? Schwalbe marathon-esque tyres? And how wide can I go 32? 35?
Incidentally despite having been ridden pretty hard, crashed/knocked over a couple of times and not maintained for probably 10+ years everything on the bike works well, brakes, gears, bottom bracket is still smooth and the old Mavic rims are still true and hubs still sweet. 5 speed cassettes though - massive and so much space between the cogs
I have an old 531 framed bike I use for commuting.I use cheap and cheerful 700c x 25c Vittoria Rubinos whic are surprisingly tough even along the odd bit of gravel but a 32 would certainly give you a bit more cushion.I did manage to pinch flat a 700 x 25 on my best road bike the other day riding over a pothole at speed so 32 may be a good idea if you have enough clearance bteween the stays.
A good quality 25 or 28 tyre will be perfectly good to ride on towpaths and bridleways (assuming that they've not got drop offs on them)
as big as you can fit in there, light if you want it to ride light, slick if you are doing alot of road stuff and no wet off-road.
I'm using 25mm Michelin Krylion carbons on my cx based commuter at the moment. Only had them on for a week but I'm very impressed with them so far. They are much more comfortable, and a lot faster, then the 32mm bontrager hardcase lite tyres I had on before.
Thanks all. Should mention that the bikes primary purpose will now be dragging a tow-along along aforementioned tow paths and bridleways etc. Puncture resistance is a major factor.
Oh yeah and what chain for 5 speed?