29er tyre on 700c wheel?

[ibie1983]

Hey guys

What size 29er tyre can I run on a 700c wheel with an inside rim width of 19mm? Would a 29" x 2.3 tyre be too wide or would it just about work ok?

Thank you

Ibie

[nfmisso]

29er and 700c are BOTH ETRTO 622.  622mm is the bead seat diameter, which is measured the same way as automotive and motorcycle wheels and tires - which use inches instead of millimeters.

19mm inside width 622 rim with a 58-622 tire should be okay at low to moderate tire pressures (less than 50 psi).  I have seen 50mm tires on 15mm inside width rims for mountain bikes.

If you are riding predominantly on the street, you'd want a much wider rim for that tire width, more than 29mm inside width.

[ibie1983]

Hi Nigel

Thank you for your reply. Regarding your last sentence, 'If you are riding predominantly on the street, you'd want a much wider rim for that tire width, more than 29mm inside width', did you mean wider than 19mm or 29mm? What would be an appropriate inside rim width for a 2.3" tyre?

Thank you

[nfmisso]

Hi Ibie;

For the street; my experience is that you have much better control and ride with a rim that has an inside width of more than half the section width of the tire.  For example, on my commuters, I have Velocity Dyad/Aeroheat (same extrusion) 18mm inside width, with 28-622 and 32-559 tires on the front of the two bikes.  On the rear are 35-622 and 40-559.  The 40mm is my limit for pure street on a 18mm inside width rim.  

You can run wider tires, but you will start to get "floppy" handling.  Off-road, things are different, there are wide low pressure knobbies that are designed to run on narrower rims.  

Also, on the street, consider narrower front than rear tires; I find a 4:5 ratio works well for me.

Off road, especially sand, loose dirt and mud; a wider front than rear works better.

Where you intend to ride has a huge impact on the optimum choice of tire and rim.  Can you ride off-road optimum on the street - Yes, will your handling and rolling resistance by good - No.  The other direction is much worse - slicks are ideal for pavement, but are not rideable in mud or sand.  They are fine on hard packed dry dirt.