Are 25mm Road Bike wheels ok for potholed daily commutes?

[RideToWorky]

Hi All,

Continuing on my theme of converting my entry level road bike into my commuter bike.

Are the current 25mm wheels on the bike up to dealing with my potholed route into work everyday?
I do try to avoid the worse of the potholes, but you can imagine - riding at night, having to alternate and change lines to deal with traffic etc...
1) ....I do run over 1 pothole every other day, if I'm unlucky say
2) Plus I run over rough bumps everyday as part of the commute route.
3) having to mount kerbs, every other day, if I'm unlucky again...


Specific Questions:
Q1) Is it just a case of checking the wheel weekly, and getting them checked and true'ed in the annual service if they survive the year?
Q2) Would wider commuting tyres help? (How wide can I go with my current rims?
Q3) Would keeping the current tyres well pumped up, to prevent pinch punctures etc? (And I'll just grit teeth on rough ride!)



Details of my current 25mm Wheels:
Jalco DRX-20 Aero type alloy rims, CNC sides


Current Tires:
Continental Ultra Sport II 700 x 25 180tpi, wire bead


Hope you can advise

Regards
Martin



PS:
My full bike details:
http://www.gtbicycles.com/gbr_en/2014/b ... -gts-sport

[freeflow]

Its your tyres that are 25mm not your wheels.

Inflate your tyres according to this article

http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf

Your rims appear to be 32 spoked so should be sufficiently strong to cope with potholes.

Consider using larger tyres (28C or even 32C) if your bike will take it. Increasing tyre size shouldn't make too much difference in commute time but will improve robustness against potholes.

Well done on commuting by bike

[RideToWorky]

Thanks for that free flow!


Silly question:

How long can one expect these 25mm wheels to last, with a rough commutes each week?

if got the right tyres and and pressure, would they last as long as rugged hybrid commuter bike wheels?


Cheers
Martin

[TrevA]

It's not usually the potholes that will kill your wheels, it is the wearing of the brake surfaces and the longevity of the spokes. Provided you keep your tyres at the correct pressure and check them once a week, the tyre will take the impact of the pothole and the rim will be unaffected. If you are unlucky you may get a pinch puncture. In 40 years of riding, approx 160,000 miles, I've only ever broken 1 rim on a pothole.

Hybrid/touring wheels are more rugged and will last longer, but narrow rims/wheels should still last 3-4 years of regular commuting, though I have worn out an Open Pro rim in less than that (2 years). Regular cleaning, especially of the brake blocks, makes a difference.

[RideToWorky]

It's not usually the potholes that will kill your wheels, it is the wearing of the brake surfaces and the longevity of the spokes. Provided you keep your tyres at the correct pressure and check them once a week, the tyre will take the impact of the pothole and the rim will be unaffected. If you are unlucky you may get a pinch puncture. In 40 years of riding, approx 160,000 miles, I've only ever broken 1 rim on a pothole.

Cool!

I was just looking at the bikes side by side.
The wheels/tyres on the road bike are so skinny against the hybrid!

Horror stories with motorbike wheel rims, but suppose they take alot more punishment at speed etc.

Thanks for the infor Tev




Martin

[whoof]

Hi All,

Continuing on my theme of converting my entry level road bike into my commuter bike.

Are the current 25mm wheels on the bike up to dealing with my potholed route into work everyday?
I do try to avoid the worse of the potholes, but you can imagine - riding at night, having to alternate and change lines to deal with traffic etc...
1) ....I do run over 1 pothole every other day, if I'm unlucky say
2) Plus I run over rough bumps everyday as part of the commute route.
3) having to mount kerbs, every other day, if I'm unlucky again...

I commute everyday with 25 mm tyres and don't have any problems. But I would be surprised if I hit a pothole a month.
If you don't have them try lights that allow you to see in the dark not just be seen. Look ahead so you can see what's coming. Don't ride in the gutter, this way you can change line to the left if there's a pot-hole and a car over taking you.
If it's your commute potholes tend to be in the same place every day so you know where to they are.

The only time I'm mounting kerbs is to go on or off shared foot/bike paths and these are dropped.

[Vorpal]

They look okay to me. You will need to be careful to keep them at appropriate inflation pressures. The skinnier the tyre is, the more sensitive it is to correct (high) pressure in preventing pinch punctures.

You *might* have clearance for a slightly fatter tyre; a 28 mm tyre, or at least one that runs a bit on the small side. That would improve ride comfort and not require *quite* so much vigilance in maintaining correct pressure.

Take a look at how much clearance you currently have between your tyres (at correct inflation pressure) and forks/mudguards.

[hamster]

If looking for a tyre that comes up small, try Panaracer, they always seem on the skinny side for any given size. The Panaracer Pasela is a good tough commuting and touring tyre.

[531colin]

This??...http://www.gtbicycles.com/gbr_en/2014/bikes/road/sport/2015-gts-sport

How do you expect the wheels to fail?
Hubs will fail by being set up too tight from new, by having inadequate grease (quantity and quality) and by ingress of filthy salty water..... I don't think you will find spare freehub bodies for Formula hubs at any price.
Spokes will fail by fatigue at the elbows. This spec. says yours are 15g, which gives you a triple whammy....the wheels will be machine built, and unlikely to be properly stress-relieved. Normal spokes are 14g, and to ease machine building you generally find hubs are drilled to clear 13g spokes...your spokes will therefore be a very slack fit in the hub flange, as well as being thinner than "normal".
Rims will fail by brake block wear, this situation can be improved to a large extent by fitting decent aftermarket brake blocks, there are many threads on this. Or you might "ding" a rim on a pothole...but as somebody already posted, potholes are stationary creatures....they may grow over a period, but they don't otherwise move about.

[Brucey]

I think it is a good idea to have a spare set of wheels for a commuting bike (failing a spare bike, that is.... ).

In general terms the answer to your question is....

'yes' -if the wheels are nicely built/maintained and you are careful, but

'no' otherwise....

cheers

[Vorpal]

Specific Questions:
Q1) Is it just a case of checking the wheel weekly, and getting them checked and true'ed in the annual service if they survive the year?
Q2) Would wider commuting tyres help? (How wide can I go with my current rims?
Q3) Would keeping the current tyres well pumped up, to prevent pinch punctures etc? (And I'll just grit teeth on rough ride!)

A1 & A3) What I do with my road bike / commuter is keep the tyres at about 110 psi. I check them every couple of days. I check the spokes periodically; maybe once every month or two when I'm riding it every day. To do that, just feel them, and see if you feel anything loose. You can also try plucking them, and hearing the note they make. If you pluck them all around, on both sides, you may be able to hear the difference, and get used to what they sound like, and then you'll be able to tell when something is wrong. Not everyone can hear the tuning of the spokes, but it works for some. I have to admit that when I've had loose spokes, I've heard them clicking, rather than finding them by checking. But it doesn't stop me checking my wheels.

A2) I suspect that the biggest limitation is clearance, rather than your rims. Have a look at the space between your forks and tyre and see what you think you can fit in there.
If you look at http://www.maddux-wheels.com/Rim-road-drx-20.html the internal width is 16, so I expect you can fit up to 32 mm wide tyre. There are a number of sources of information about that sort of thing. Mavic has a good page http://engineerstalk.mavic.com/the-righ ... m-width-2/ And Sheldon Brown has http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html Scroll down to the green and red chart, that shows what tyres you can fit, according to the inside width on your rim.

[foxyrider]

Been doing it off and on for, er, a long time!

I wear parts out but i've never had a problem with failure due to potholes and there are a lot around here!

Tyre pressure, general maintenance and regular(ish) servicing will keep you on the road.

[Vorpal]

Just thought to add.... I try to avoid mounting kerbs with my road bike, at least with 25 mm or skinnier tyres. Even with 28s, I stop and put my bike up the kerb. Going down kerbs is ok, but going up risks pinch punctures and/or rim damage. Maybe neither is a high risk, but If I had much kerb mounting in a ride (not that that's likely ) I would consider choosing a bike with fatter tyres.

[Samuel D]

I’m not recommending it, but I go up kerbs frequently with 23 mm or 25 mm tyres. Of course I don’t just ride into them, even at the walking speed I normally use to get up them. I do a small wheelie to get the front wheel on the higher surface, then repeat that for the rear wheel (a bit like doing a bunny hop in two stages – with clipless pedals you don’t need much arm strength to do this).

If you make a mistake, the chances of a pinch flat or worse must be high, but I’ve managed to avoid that so far. The unseen, sharp-edged pothole in traffic is a bigger risk, since you have little or no time to prepare to unweight the bicycle.

[Vorpal]

I’m not recommending it, but I go up kerbs frequently with 23 mm or 25 mm tyres. Of course I don’t just ride into them, even at the walking speed I normally use to get up them. I do a small wheelie to get the front wheel on the higher surface, then repeat that for the rear wheel (a bit like doing a bunny hop in two stages – with clipless pedals you don’t need much arm strength to do this).

Gave myself a pinch flat doing exactly that a few years ago which is why I usually stop and put my bike up the kerb these days. But maybe I've just gotten out practice.