Tire clearance

[3d1l]

I'm using the kenda Cross K1014 26x1.95 tire. There is an Alex Rim RH double wall in the rear (got it from a specialized bike), with trekto m530 V-brakes. In front I have the Weinmann CN-520 rim with Suntour XCM V3 and Tektro m530 as well.

I'm constantly transitioning between pavement, hard pack dirt, humid grass and gravel over hard pack. The Kenda cross is good over pavement, acceptable over hard pack, but sucks on humid grass and gravel. So I want to change them to the Kenda Happy Medium K1083. Problem is that I can only get the 26x2.35 version of that tire (online so far haven't found a LBS that sells them), and I don't know if I can put them on the specified rims and if the v-brakes will provide enough height clearance. Must probably I won’t have problems with the width but my concern is with the height.

Any ideas?
How should I take measurements to be sure?

[nfmisso]

the brakes will clear.
the rims will be fine.

i doubt that you will notice any difference on humid grass - that is a slick as wet ice, only studs are effective.

Gravel is like riding on ball bearings - as long as the tires are wide enough not to sink into it, there is not much difference.

Also, consider only swapping the front tire - see Sheldon Brown's discussion on this topic.

[3d1l]

nfmisso you are right on everything you told me. Put the tires everything went fine. The tires are a bit lighter even when wider perhaps because they are foldable but I'm disappointed. Kenda Happy Medium (KHM), over pavement compared to kenda kross (KK), not good, KK is better.

Do the KHM have more "grip" on hardpack? yes, way much better than the KK? no. It amaze me even when the KK is "smooth" in the center it rolls fine on hardpack. Humid grass... they both suck! but I noticed that the KHM have better "side grip" when the rear tire skids.

Read the article but I don't get it, I need the traction on the rear as well, for example (took these pictures on a sunny day but today it was wet because weather was rainy), going up here the rear wheel was spinning (you know that sensation when you are on top of a stationary trainer )



Being fair the KHM did few less rotations... hehe!

Also going up or down in these sections of the trail I need that rear traction.




So how is that going to be? A KHM in front and a KK on rear?

Perhaps in the future there will be a bicycle that you hit a button and it will morph according to the where it rides. Sadly I will not see it

[Joe_W]

Well, traction on the rear is also a function of how you try to ride up the hill. Most people (including me until somebody told me) did it wrong. Here's the trick: You have to pedal smoothly, any large spikes in torque will cause loss of traction. You need a lot of pressure on the rear wheel, so stick your rear over the end of the saddle. On the other hand, you don't want the front wheel to lift up, so while sticking out your rear over the saddle the torso goes forward until you feel you have regained the traction in the front. The center of mass is now as low as it can be and the momentum trying to tip you over is reduced while at the same time maintaining lots of downward force on the rear.
Riding with pressure as low as possible also helps, but the trick above works very well. You need to try it and adjust yourself a bit, also the hip angle is very small, so it will be uncomfortable; though I have to say pushing past people with better bikes and wider tyres is some motivation.