I’m not disagreeing with you but rather saying what’s adequate and perfectly capable (as proven by the ‘hero’s’ of times past) is narrower than what’s popular now. Folk have become both soft and obsessed with going wherever they what and whatever pace they want. Of course YMMV / will vary, I just make my own observations and seem to get by just fine for virtually all of the time - surely I can’t sensibly want for more than that. If the going is too rough or too steep then do I sometimes get off and walk? Yes of course I do, but it’s usually only short stretches and I don’t mind either doing that or going a bit slower here and there. Life is full of compromises, but the 700c x 35’s have made life better for me (than did the job 27 x 1&1/4”) and I can comfortably ride at my pace in pretty much any place that I choose to go - they’ll do.
Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
I am the solitary 25mm vote and the reason is less obvious than pure bloody mindedness!
Indeed, my CX/tourer when it was/is extant normally has 28 or 32mm fitted. However, my current and long time touring bike is my Airnimal Chameleon with 520c (24") wheels for which currently the widest tyres available are 25mm so i'm stuck with that. Its not ideal but it hasn't stopped me riding unpaved routes, bridleways and so on, the other bikes i ride are generally shod with 23/25mm rubber so i'm used to the 'limitations'. That said it has to be particularly gnarly or soft to deter me from riding and i do get some funny looks from the wide tyre brigade
Indeed, my CX/tourer when it was/is extant normally has 28 or 32mm fitted. However, my current and long time touring bike is my Airnimal Chameleon with 520c (24") wheels for which currently the widest tyres available are 25mm so i'm stuck with that. Its not ideal but it hasn't stopped me riding unpaved routes, bridleways and so on, the other bikes i ride are generally shod with 23/25mm rubber so i'm used to the 'limitations'. That said it has to be particularly gnarly or soft to deter me from riding and i do get some funny looks from the wide tyre brigade
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Both of the upright solos are on front 28-622, rear 32-622 Schwalbe Marathon Plus.
Mostly on metalled surfaces but a fair sprinkling of bridleways etc.
Jonathan
Mostly on metalled surfaces but a fair sprinkling of bridleways etc.
Jonathan
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Both loaded and unloaded I tended to use 26"x1.75" when I was touring. I've always toured in the UK so whilst others may claim I was robbed of certain efficiencies on clean dry roads, on wet and muddy canal paths and unsurfaced cycle ways, my bike felt secure and planted.
- plancashire
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
I used to use 25mm 700C but that was too narrow for gravelly parts of German bike routes. I then had Schwalbe Marathon Racer 35mm 700C on two bikes; those were much better. I now have Marathon Supreme 37mm 700C, which are slicker than the Racers but have enough tread off the centre for all the riding I do off tarmac / blocks, which is on typical hard-packed hoggin, packed gravel, dry forest trail or disintegrating asphalt. I don't ride in mud. The Supremes are faster rolling on the vast majority of the surfaces, which are smooth. I can't fit anything bigger to my bike, unfortunately, unless I change the wheels, which would mean transferring the hub gear and dynamo - disc brakes are OK. My wife has 50mm 26" and is very happy with them.
I am NOT a cyclist. I enjoy riding a bike for utility, commuting, fitness and touring on tout terrain Rohloff, Brompton M3 and Wester Ross 354 plus a Burley Travoy trailer.
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
It's the size I ended up with. Started with 1.95" then tried 1.5". The 1.95" felt overkill for roads and the 1.5" a bit sketchy on muddy tracks.cycle tramp wrote: ↑3 Jun 2023, 3:45pm Both loaded and unloaded I tended to use 26"x1.75" when I was touring. I've always toured in the UK so whilst others may claim I was robbed of certain efficiencies on clean dry roads, on wet and muddy canal paths and unsurfaced cycle ways, my bike felt secure and planted.
For me the 1.75" works well on and off road.
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
On my bike with older 26 mountain bike wheels, I use 26x 1.75 as well. Plenty of volume for comfort on terrible roads.
On my more traditional tourers, I used to use 700 x 28 for years but have used larger tyres for 20 years or more and have 35mm Marathon Supreme tyres on my Raleigh Randonneurs and 40mm Marathon Supreme on the Kona Sutra.
35mm is very comfortable but the difference in comfort between 35mm and 40mm on good, supple, tyres is astounding.
All frames have tyre limits, but I always try and use the largest tyres that will fit due to atrocious roads that can fell like being on a bone shaker if smaller tyres are used - 28mm and below.
And I say this in the full knowledge that many touring bikes used to be fitted with 28mm tyres and people happily used them for years.
On my more traditional tourers, I used to use 700 x 28 for years but have used larger tyres for 20 years or more and have 35mm Marathon Supreme tyres on my Raleigh Randonneurs and 40mm Marathon Supreme on the Kona Sutra.
35mm is very comfortable but the difference in comfort between 35mm and 40mm on good, supple, tyres is astounding.
All frames have tyre limits, but I always try and use the largest tyres that will fit due to atrocious roads that can fell like being on a bone shaker if smaller tyres are used - 28mm and below.
And I say this in the full knowledge that many touring bikes used to be fitted with 28mm tyres and people happily used them for years.
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
I toured with everything from 38mm up to 70mm and I find to sweet spot for a heavyset guy like me (210lbs) around 55mm.
I don't understand people afraid to go bigger, I really don't see how touring on a 32mm could be a better choice vs 42mm in any of tour I've completed, also well-paved Eurovelos.
I don't understand people afraid to go bigger, I really don't see how touring on a 32mm could be a better choice vs 42mm in any of tour I've completed, also well-paved Eurovelos.
Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
I use 32mm Marathon Greenguards, but I'll switch to 35mm when it's time to replace them. I find the 32mm aren't fantastic on some surfaces when heavily laden, but the main reason for swapping is that the rolling resistance of the 32s is worse than the 35s
I started out riding on 28mm Gatorskins - I used them on a 4 month tour. They were fine on compacted gravel and tarmac but handling was very unstable on less solid surfaces.
I started out riding on 28mm Gatorskins - I used them on a 4 month tour. They were fine on compacted gravel and tarmac but handling was very unstable on less solid surfaces.
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
My italics.markjohnobrien wrote: ↑4 Jun 2023, 8:47am On my more traditional tourers, I used to use 700 x 28 for years but have used larger tyres for 20 years or more and have 35mm Marathon Supreme tyres on my Raleigh Randonneurs and 40mm Marathon Supreme on the Kona Sutra.
35mm is very comfortable but the difference in comfort between 35mm and 40mm on good, supple, tyres is astounding.
All frames have tyre limits, but I always try and use the largest tyres that will fit due to atrocious roads that can fell like being on a bone shaker if smaller tyres are used - 28mm and below.
And I say this in the full knowledge that many touring bikes used to be fitted with 28mm tyres and people happily used them for years.
Useful post of the week goes to the above. Food for thought.
My own road bikes are limited to 35mm and I’m very pleased with the practical gains that 700 x 35C have given to me. However, it’s also good to learn from the path that others have taken. I still think that getting past 32mm and to 35mm brings you into the right area, but there’s always a time to recognise the experience of others too.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Bicycles started out with fairly wide tyres to cope with the road conditions BITD. When roads improved tyres got narrower. But we now see that the good roads are very busy and not very pleasant to ride on, and with GPS we can find the quiet roads & tracks which are much nicer to ride on but not very smooth. Modern touring bikes reflect the local conditions and customs and the UK (and USA) are pretty far behind in the bigger tyre trend compared to Germany, Netherlands etc.
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Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Fascinating. Back in the day is apparently circa 1900 and indeed tyres were much wider at 1&1/2” and 1&3/4” (38 and 44mm). One lives and learns… https://onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/fitti ... -bicycles/m-gineering wrote: ↑4 Jun 2023, 6:50pm Bicycles started out with fairly wide tyres to cope with the road conditions BITD. When roads improved tyres got narrower. But we now see that the good roads are very busy and not very pleasant to ride on, and with GPS we can find the quiet roads & tracks which are much nicer to ride on but not very smooth. Modern touring bikes reflect the local conditions and customs and the UK (and USA) are pretty far behind in the bigger tyre trend compared to Germany, Netherlands etc.
Apparently 28 x 1&1/2” was the popular UK size and that’s ETRTO 40-635.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
As an aside, as Supremes are so popular, why have they been discontinued.
Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Made way for the new Efficiency, a tyre Schwalbe claim to be their fastest touring tyre to date, something the recent review in cycle agreed with. And to bring it right on topic - that Schwalbe haven't offered it in a width under 40mm in 700c and not at all in 26" could be seen as the way they'd vote in this poll and also their opinion on 26" continuing as a popular touring size.
Re: Tyre widths on your touring/bikepacking bikes
Yes, I noted the newly hailed, 'best ever', Efficiency, not available in 26".
I recently bought a cheapo Chinese tyre as an emergency replacement. It's only 1.5, but very deep. Given volume of air is comparable to a much wider tyre how does low profile v deep profile relate in the width debate?
I recently bought a cheapo Chinese tyre as an emergency replacement. It's only 1.5, but very deep. Given volume of air is comparable to a much wider tyre how does low profile v deep profile relate in the width debate?