700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

I've just been given a decent flat bar hybrid/comfort bike for
commuting and it has 700/38 tyres on it.

For my roadie I use skinnier 700/23 tyres and I've got a whole
cupboard full of spare tubes and tyres in that size.

The rims on the hybrid so seem a little wider than those on the
roadie, a couple of mm I'd say, but they're basically the same size.

The fitted 700/38s are a bit crap looking (the rubber looks a little
brittle) and the tube inside was in bad condition because someone had
inflated it and ridden around on it while it was not evenly bedded
down, so it was scrunched up on itself and had a few holes I had to
patch.

Are there likely to be any issues with me running 700/23s on this bike
or should I buy new and wider tyres and tubes?

The bike will be used for a daily commute, approx 200-250km a week
carrying 95kg me, maybe 10-15kg of panniers over the back wheel and
the bike itself.

As it is for commuting and I consider the roadie to be my "fast" bike,
my main priorities here are just that it will be reliable. Not too
many flats and broken spokes. Ride comfort is not a big deal to me,
the bike has suspension front and seat, if 100psi thin roadie tyres
will work without damage that's what I'd prefer.

Travis

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

On 5/11/2011 2:22 PM, Travis wrote:
I've just been given a decent flat bar hybrid/comfort bike for
commuting and it has 700/38 tyres on it.

For my roadie I use skinnier 700/23 tyres and I've got a whole
cupboard full of spare tubes and tyres in that size.

The rims on the hybrid so seem a little wider than those on the
roadie, a couple of mm I'd say, but they're basically the same size.

The fitted 700/38s are a bit crap looking (the rubber looks a little
brittle) and the tube inside was in bad condition because someone had
inflated it and ridden around on it while it was not evenly bedded
down, so it was scrunched up on itself and had a few holes I had to
patch.

Are there likely to be any issues with me running 700/23s on this bike
or should I buy new and wider tyres and tubes?

The bike will be used for a daily commute, approx 200-250km a week
carrying 95kg me, maybe 10-15kg of panniers over the back wheel and
the bike itself.

As it is for commuting and I consider the roadie to be my "fast" bike,
my main priorities here are just that it will be reliable. Not too
many flats and broken spokes. Ride comfort is not a big deal to me,
the bike has suspension front and seat, if 100psi thin roadie tyres
will work without damage that's what I'd prefer.

Travis

When I had a road bike it had 27x ? and these tyres become unavailable
I had to use a wider tyre and I did notice the difference in the effort
used.

For me the narrow tyre would be best.

If as you say the 23's are available why not give them a go?

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

On Nov 6, 9:12*am, Rob wrote:

When I had a road bike it had 27x ? *and these tyres become unavailable
I had to use a wider tyre and I did notice the difference in the effort
used.

For me the narrow tyre would be best.

If as you say the 23's are available why not give them a go?

The immediate answer to "why not give them a go?" is because if it's a
bad idea I'd prefer to be warned in advance by people who may have
tried it instead of finding out the hard way by having an accident far
from home when the tyre slips off the rim or something while I
corner. :)

Travis

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 5 Nov 2011 19:46:59 -0700 (PDT)
Travis wrote:

The immediate answer to "why not give them a go?" is because if it's a
bad idea I'd prefer to be warned in advance by people who may have
tried it instead of finding out the hard way by having an accident far
from home when the tyre slips off the rim or something while I
corner. :)

If no one here can help try asking on uk.rec.cycling.moderated

plenty of helpful bods there with all sorts of experience.

Zebee

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

On 06/11/11 13:46, Travis wrote:
On Nov 6, 9:12 am, wrote:


For me the narrow tyre would be best.

If as you say the 23's are available why not give them a go?

The immediate answer to "why not give them a go?" is because if it's a
bad idea I'd prefer to be warned in advance by people who may have
tried it instead of finding out the hard way by having an accident far
from home when the tyre slips off the rim or something while I
corner. :)

Heheheh!! 95kgs coming off a bike is an ugly sight, indeed :) But as me
mate Gazza would say, "Skin grows back". Funny he never had nuffin to
say about me chipped tooth when I went face first into the pavement but
that is another story.

Look, Travis, if I was you, I'd whack on the 700x23 tyres, then take it
real slow until you know what they do. You did say the rims were only a
couple of mms wider, right? It's a quick dirty way of finding out -
PROVIDED YOU TAKE IT EASY FOR THE FIRST FEW RIDES. Note that the
inflation of the inner tube would cause the 700x23 tyre to fill out and
the tyre will most likely clinch quite well on the 700x20something rim
you have on the MTB.

Another way is to shift the 700x23 rims over to the MTB but this could
be a bit of a hassle cos you'll need to redo the spokes and the hub -
hubs on roadies are shorter/narrower than hubs on MTBs. Also you'll have
both the roadie AND the MTB not rolling at the same time.

Yet another way is to beg, borrow or steal a set of 700x23 roadie rims
and a set of MTB rims and do the roadie2MTB spoke+hub swap leisurely
while you test out the 700x23 tyres on a 700x20something rims on the MTB.

Alternatively, just stay with the 700x38 and all is sweet - with the
exception of having 2 different sets of tyres+tubes to contend with -
which was what I decided to do when I had this exact same predicament
sometime ago. Laziness usually wins these kinds of debates :)

But if wanna have a go, mate, you got nothing to lose and if you take it
real gentle with your experiments, you could save a bit of money whilst
building those two bikes up to be real weapons :)

Good luck :)

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

On 8/11/2011 2:57 PM, Geoff Lock wrote:
On 06/11/11 13:46, Travis wrote:
On Nov 6, 9:12 am, wrote:


For me the narrow tyre would be best.

If as you say the 23's are available why not give them a go?

The immediate answer to "why not give them a go?" is because if it's a
bad idea I'd prefer to be warned in advance by people who may have
tried it instead of finding out the hard way by having an accident far
from home when the tyre slips off the rim or something while I
corner. :)

Heheheh!! 95kgs coming off a bike is an ugly sight, indeed :) But as me
mate Gazza would say, "Skin grows back". Funny he never had nuffin to
say about me chipped tooth when I went face first into the pavement but
that is another story.

Look, Travis, if I was you, I'd whack on the 700x23 tyres, then take it
real slow until you know what they do. You did say the rims were only a
couple of mms wider, right? It's a quick dirty way of finding out -
PROVIDED YOU TAKE IT EASY FOR THE FIRST FEW RIDES. Note that the
inflation of the inner tube would cause the 700x23 tyre to fill out and
the tyre will most likely clinch quite well on the 700x20something rim
you have on the MTB.

Another way is to shift the 700x23 rims over to the MTB but this could
be a bit of a hassle cos you'll need to redo the spokes and the hub -
hubs on roadies are shorter/narrower than hubs on MTBs. Also you'll have
both the roadie AND the MTB not rolling at the same time.

Yet another way is to beg, borrow or steal a set of 700x23 roadie rims
and a set of MTB rims and do the roadie2MTB spoke+hub swap leisurely
while you test out the 700x23 tyres on a 700x20something rims on the MTB.

Alternatively, just stay with the 700x38 and all is sweet - with the
exception of having 2 different sets of tyres+tubes to contend with -
which was what I decided to do when I had this exact same predicament
sometime ago. Laziness usually wins these kinds of debates :)

But if wanna have a go, mate, you got nothing to lose and if you take it
real gentle with your experiments, you could save a bit of money whilst
building those two bikes up to be real weapons :)

Good luck :)

On the other hand, how much is that skin worth?

You can buy two wider "city" tyres which are designed for the wider rim
width and will give you better ride and wear (and slightly higher
rolling resistance) for about $30 a pair. If $30 is a lot to you then
experiment as Geoff says :-) If not then you may decide that it is worth
it to purchase the wider tyres.

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

Patrick wrote:

You can buy two wider "city" tyres which are designed for the wider rim
width and will give you better ride and wear (and slightly higher
rolling resistance) for about $30 a pair. If $30 is a lot to you then
experiment as Geoff says :-) If not then you may decide that it is worth
it to purchase the wider tyres.

Higher rolling resistance with a wider tyre?

Only if it's run at a lower inflation pressure.

At the same pressure (and other things being equal) the wider
tyre has the lower rolling resistance. That's because the
contact patch area (the area touching the road) is the same
regardless of width. And the wider tyre has less deformation,
since its contact patch is wider and shorter.

Feeling that a narrow tyre is quicker is so often all in the
mind. Just like all those motorists who swear that their car
runs better after an oil change.

John

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

On 9/11/2011 7:10 AM, John Henderson wrote:
Patrick wrote:

You can buy two wider "city" tyres which are designed for the wider rim
width and will give you better ride and wear (and slightly higher
rolling resistance) for about $30 a pair. If $30 is a lot to you then
experiment as Geoff says :-) If not then you may decide that it is worth
it to purchase the wider tyres.

Higher rolling resistance with a wider tyre?

Only if it's run at a lower inflation pressure.

At the same pressure (and other things being equal) the wider
tyre has the lower rolling resistance. That's because the
contact patch area (the area touching the road) is the same
regardless of width. And the wider tyre has less deformation,
since its contact patch is wider and shorter.

Feeling that a narrow tyre is quicker is so often all in the
mind. Just like all those motorists who swear that their car
runs better after an oil change.

John


Its true wider tyres will have a higher rolling resistance. Even just a
small increase.

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

Rob wrote:

Its true wider tyres will have a higher rolling resistance. Even just a
small increase.

That's a myth, and a false one at that. See eg:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3suok2f

John

700/38 vs 700/23 tyres on a "comfort" hybrid commuter bike.
 

John Henderson wrote:
Rob wrote:

Its true wider tyres will have a higher rolling resistance. Even just a
small increase.

That's a myth, and a false one at that. See eg:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3suok2f

John


What about the fact that the skinny tyre is often run at over 100 PSI
and the fat tyre at 40 PSI