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Thinner road tires
#1
Hello guys.

I am ridding a Specialized Globe Sport. It's a hybrid bike with 700x35c tires. I wonder if I could change tires so I could get better overall ridding performance. I was wondering if I could put thinner tires on those wheels.

Another doubt i have is whether thinner tires (say 700x25 or 28) are suited for the kind of roads I travel in. Lisbon roads have a lot of potholes and some uneven pavement. Would a 700x25 tire get damaged in uneven roads or with small potholes even though it is properly inflated?

Kind regards,

Pedro.
  Reply
#2
(04-10-2011, 03:20 PM)Portellini Wrote:  Hello guys.

I am ridding a Specialized Globe Sport. It's a hybrid bike with 700x35c tires. I wonder if I could change tires so I could get better overall ridding performance. I was wondering if I could put thinner tires on those wheels.

Another doubt i have is whether thinner tires (say 700x25 or 28) are suited for the kind of roads I travel in. Lisbon roads have a lot of potholes and some uneven pavement. Would a 700x25 tire get damaged in uneven roads or with small potholes even though it is properly inflated?

Kind regards,

Pedro.

All tires should always be properly inflated.

For me, in a commuting scenario, properly inflated 700x28 or 700x32 with no tread or lugs is the sweet spot. But I don't ride in the rain and it rarely rains here. 700x35 seems a bit much. Unless you are using the (hybrid) bike for competitive or serious sport/rec purposes, I see no reason to go below 28. In any case, bad roads and inattentive riding are more likely to damage your rims and you, than your tires. If we take those two variables out of the equation, you would be fine with Armadillos or Schwalbes at 28 or 32.

This from Schwalbe:

http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/rolling_resistance
  Reply
#3
(04-10-2011, 04:17 PM)Tim M Wrote:  
(04-10-2011, 03:20 PM)Portellini Wrote:  Hello guys.

I am ridding a Specialized Globe Sport. It's a hybrid bike with 700x35c tires. I wonder if I could change tires so I could get better overall ridding performance. I was wondering if I could put thinner tires on those wheels.

Another doubt i have is whether thinner tires (say 700x25 or 28) are suited for the kind of roads I travel in. Lisbon roads have a lot of potholes and some uneven pavement. Would a 700x25 tire get damaged in uneven roads or with small potholes even though it is properly inflated?

Kind regards,

Pedro.

All tires should always be properly inflated.

For me, in a commuting scenario, properly inflated 700x28 or 700x32 with no tread or lugs is the sweet spot. But I don't ride in the rain and it rarely rains here. 700x35 seems a bit much. Unless you are using the (hybrid) bike for competitive or serious sport/rec purposes, I see no reason to go below 28. In any case, bad roads and inattentive riding are more likely to damage your rims and you, than your tires. If we take those two variables out of the equation, you would be fine with Armadillos or Schwalbes at 28 or 32.

This from Schwalbe:

http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/rolling_resistance

Tim, thanks a lot for the info. 700x35 is the size of origin tires (Specialized Nimbus). Being used to MTB tires I found these highly fast when comparing to the former bike I was using. But I'll surely get even thinner. Thanks a lot Smile
  Reply
#4
[attachment=2128] me again, hutchinson top slick protectair 700x32 are perfect for you
pictured on trek730 remake on this site
instead of a tube liner it is built in the tire itself hench the name
PROTECTAIR
100PSI TIRES NOT PRICED TO BAD
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
  Reply
#5
(04-10-2011, 06:53 PM)painkiller Wrote:  me again, hutchinson top slick protectair 700x32 are perfect for you
pictured on trek730 remake on this site
instead of a tube liner it is built in the tire itself hench the name
PROTECTAIR
100PSI TIRES NOT PRICED TO BAD
Thanks a lot, I'll do that. I was thinking about getting Schwalbe tires, a pair of these Smile What do you think?

Thanks
  Reply
#6
those look great also I would put those on my too. tough call
you can find the hutchinsons for around 15 to 25 us dollar
how much are those
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
  Reply
#7
(04-10-2011, 07:18 PM)painkiller Wrote:  those look great also I would put those on my too. tough call
you can find the hutchinsons for around 15 to 25 us dollar
how much are those

Oh, The Hutchinson are way cheaper. And it mustn't under perform Schwalbe Smile Thanks for the hint!
  Reply
#8
Read the tech info pdf on the Schwalbe site, see section on rolling resistance;
http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c-downloads-schwalbe-catalogue.html
  Reply
#9
Hello guys.
Just to update this. It might be of use for some. I didn't go for 700x28 tires as I planned. Actually, I went even thinner - 700x23! I thought that some of these wouldn't fit, but as I saw a friend's hybrid bike with a pair of those, I really decided I wanted to try to fit that width.
I choose some red sided Michelin Dynamic Sport. I have had those for about 3 weeks and I am getting something a little more puncture resistant in a near future. I've had 2 punctures so far, due to glass slivers. Don't really know how can a 700x23 road tire resist to glass pieces broken on the road. Any thoughts on this?
The tires are really fast and comfortable in well paved roads, but when you reach highly irregular roads it really goes a little bit hard.
  Reply
#10
You can get 700x23 tires with puncture resistant belts in them that will reduce flats. However, the more durable, puncture resistant tires tend to be at least a little wider. This isn't due to any technical reason, but more that people riding very narrow tires are more concerned about performance than durability.

There are two tradeoffs here. More durable tires have more rolling resistance because they have stiffer (stronger) casings. A Gatorskin, Schwalbe Marathon, or other heavy duty tires will not be as fast as a real racing tire at the same width and pressure. The question is how much speed is worth not getting a flat.

The width of a tire has more to do with comfort/shock absorption. On smooth pavement, you need very little absorption, so super narrow high-pressure tires work great. But on even mildly rough pavement, thin hard tires are not only uncomfortable, they can actually slow you down. They transmit the road shocks to the bike sapping forward momentum instead of "rolling over" the bumps.

Last is that wider tires will protect your rims and the whole bike better from damage from potholes etc.

There's no "right" answer. For me, on an urban bike, no reason to go below 25/28 and I'll take the higher cost and lower speed of a heavy duty tire to avoid flats. But that's me.
  Reply


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