Cycling UK Forum

In a similar vein to the thread below, can anybody suggest a 28mm tyre which is TRUE TO SIZE to go on Open Pros? They're to fit on an old steel race frame (so max clearance is definately 28mm) which I want to use as a path-basher before I steal the funds to put together something specifically designed for the purpose. Looking around on the net, true widths are all over the place, with most 28s measuring only 26mm - especially Conti. (I'm leaning towards something light like Panaracer Gravelkings, Rubino Pro Techs, or even Mich Endurances in 25mm which apparently, or used to, come up fatter). I have an old pair of Spesh Nimbus EXs which are bang on 28mm but they're a bit overkill and too heavy and draggy for what I'm after

If it helps, and if you're after cheap-and-cheerful, I put a 700x32 Conti TourRide on an Open Sport at the weekend and it came up at 28mm. So, not true-to-size as such, but true-to-28

That's an idea. If the bead-to-bead (tyre laid flat) size on Continental is standardized then I could start stroking my chin while looking at their selection of 32s. Open Sports are slightly wider than Pros though, aren't they? So a pair of Tour Rides on OPs will be even skinnier (but not by much). I wish these tyre manufacturers would be more honest in their marketing: I'm sure they bend the truth about true widths just so they can claim a lighter weight for the tyre - in comparison to their competitors offerings.

Open Sports are slightly wider than Pros though, aren't they?

Not on the inside, though they may have thicker walls.

I have used wired 28mm Ultragators on Pros, Sports, MA3s and Chrinas. They measured 28mm for me, I do my measuring across the tyre rather than the height.

The Hardshell should be better on gravel roads but they are all too expensive for my taste, nowadays.

graemo wrote:That's an idea. If the bead-to-bead (tyre laid flat) size on Continental is standardized…

Yeah, right

Also on Open Pros, I have some Conti GP4000S 700c25, and they measure up at 26mm.

I've used 28mm Panaracer Paselas on Open Pros, which are ok for gravelly fire roads and tow paths. They *just* fit in narrow SKS guards and Shimano deep drop calipers on my Thorn Audax.

ransos wrote:I've used 28mm Panaracer Paselas on Open Pros, which are ok for gravelly fire roads and tow paths. They *just* fit in narrow SKS guards and Shimano deep drop calipers on my Thorn Audax.

I had a look at those. Good price and light weight, but I've read too many reports of sidewall blowouts. And they come up skinny again. Apparently.

I just want the biggest, chunkiest tyres that it's possible to squeeze into my old Orbit America frame, Dammit! (Honestly though, I should either visit a shop with me bike, or just buy some effing tyres online and return them if they're not suitable!)

30mm Marathon Racers come up a bit small on Open Pros, if I could find the verniers I'd be more precise.

My feeling is that the suggestions you're coming up with are a bit chunkier (as in weight) than I had in mind. (Although it would be interesting to see how PH's Marathon Racers measure up). I guess I'm after some sort of lightish, high volume, folding, performance(ish) tyre which will handle occasional off-tarmac forays without me worrying overly that I'll get a visit from you-know-who within ten minutes*. So not a trekking or commuter tyre per se (as I can bung my Nimbuses on for that), but more of a narrow 'cross tyre with a smooth bit in the middle I s'pose!

*Not the old bill

schwalbe CX comp goes down to 30C and has a shallow centre tread so might clear OK. No idea how they come up on the rim though.

cheers

Only one of my two CX Comp tyres would stay on an Open Pro rim. The other was find on a different rim.

Challenge Parigi Roubaix?
http://road.cc/content/review/117950-ch ... -27mm-tyre

^ Not at £48 a pop! Nice tyres though, and similar to Gravel Kings but the latter are cheaperer. Also for that sort of money I'd probably go with some Open Pavé CGs. (Which reminds me - I used to take one of my old race bikes shod with Open Corsa CXs down muddy and stoney paths occasionally and never had a puncture, so high thread-count open tubulars can be surprisingly tough.) Any way, I just popped into Brixton Cycles and chewed the sales guy's ears about adventure type frames (Cross Check, Croix de Fer, Brother Kepler- a topic for another thread...) and 28mm tyres, and guess what? His commutery bike had Open Pros with 28mm Paselas. I made him find a vernier (!) and they came up at 28.5mm, so they're now a likely candidate. Probably in black though, so that UV won't degrade the sidewalls.

graemo wrote:

ransos wrote:I've used 28mm Panaracer Paselas on Open Pros, which are ok for gravelly fire roads and tow paths. They *just* fit in narrow SKS guards and Shimano deep drop calipers on my Thorn Audax.

I had a look at those. Good price and light weight, but I've read too many reports of sidewall blowouts. And they come up skinny again. Apparently.

I just want the biggest, chunkiest tyres that it's possible to squeeze into my old Orbit America frame, Dammit! (Honestly though, I should either visit a shop with me bike, or just buy some effing tyres online and return them if they're not suitable!)

You seem to want big, chunky, tough, light, smooth rolling and cheap. It doesn't exist!

I Know! I'm a tough crowd. And after all this and tieing myself up in knots reading reviews, I've just bought some tuff but racey Gravel Kings! Still, what better way of passing the time indoors is there, than having a good old online natter about tyres?

(Thanks for your suggestions all)