Changing tyres to road tyres

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88baxter88
Posts: 3
Joined: 1 Apr 2020, 9:04pm

Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by 88baxter88 »

Hello

I have a Cannondale bike with Riddler 700×45c tyres
The alloys are 6061-T6 700C

I purchased this bike a while back as I was intending to spend my time cycling along the nearby canal network which is compacted gravel. It has been awesome on it but I am spending more and more time on smooth pathways nearby and road cycling.

I am still fairly new to cycling but have really enjoyed the past few months. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a narrower tyre that is more suitable to the road. I was hoping, general fitness and aerodynamics aside, I could improve my speed and distance by changing to tyres with a bit more a race profile.

Advice, suggestions and potential flaws would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by 88baxter88 on 1 Apr 2020, 10:50pm, edited 1 time in total.
Valbrona
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Joined: 7 Feb 2011, 4:49pm

Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by Valbrona »

Your wheels are 700c. That's the easy bit.

But the width of 700c wheel rims can vary - the widest rims take the fattest tyres, while the narrowest rims take maybe 23 or 25mm tyres. Meaning -... not all 700c tyres fit on 700c rims.

If your bike came with 45mm tyres they be on wide rims.

Might be useful to find their width - sometimes marked on the rim itself - and then see what your possibilities are.
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Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by Jamesh »

I have a pair of these in 32mm on my cyclo-cross bike.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essen ... road-tyre/

I find them reasonably fast in the road and still comfortable enough for the canal tow paths.

These are also good tyres at a reasonable price too.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-delta ... DAQAvD_BwE

Halfords and decathlon are worth a look for tyres too.

Cheers James
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Paulatic
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Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by Paulatic »

I’m using these Schwalbe G One leaving me plenty of grip off road but rolling well on the road too.
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Jamesh
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Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by Jamesh »

Paulatic wrote:I’m using these Schwalbe G One leaving me plenty of grip off road but rolling well on the road too.


Good price too for top notch tyres.

Cheers James
88baxter88
Posts: 3
Joined: 1 Apr 2020, 9:04pm

Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by 88baxter88 »

Cheers folks. Thanks for all the replies and links.
ElCani
Posts: 537
Joined: 5 Mar 2015, 11:24am

Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by ElCani »

Tyres can indeed make a significant difference to the feel and speed of your bike. If you do want to splash out, then something like a Continental GP5000 in 32mm is probably about as fast a tyre as you could use, while remaining realistic from a puncture resistance and cost point of view. They would also work fine on compacted gravel.
peterh11
Posts: 290
Joined: 20 Mar 2010, 10:25pm

Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by peterh11 »

Another tyre to look at is the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, and these would be good if you want to stick with a wider tyre to suit wider rims. I have two bikes with the 37x622 (700c) size and they roll nicely, have pretty good puncture resistance, are comfortable and are fine for a bit of light off-road when it’s reasonably dry. Not as fast as GP5000 of course, but about as fast as you’ll find in larger sizes.

My riding on these is probably 90-95% on road though often back lanes which are in poor condition. The rest is on bridleways and farm tracks.

PeterH
88baxter88
Posts: 3
Joined: 1 Apr 2020, 9:04pm

Re: Changing tyres to road tyres

Post by 88baxter88 »

Opted for the commuter ones from wiggle. Absolutely brilliant to see the difference. Comparing it on the first lot of 9-10 ycles on similar routes averaging about another 2kmph. Thanks again for all the suggestions once again.
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