Tandem Tires

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very
narrow tires. I had them swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike
up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I read
somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want to
put them on the tandem if safe.
Paul

"Paul Westall" wrote in message
...
Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very
narrow tires. I had them swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike
up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I
read
somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want
to
put them on the tandem if safe.
Paul


Here's a good place to ask your question:
http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...?s=&forumid=44

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 13:58:42 GMT, "Paul Westall"
wrote:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very
narrow tires. I had them swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike
up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I read
somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want to
put them on the tandem if safe.
Paul


It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a
23 mm tire will be fine. My guess is that if you had a 700x37 the
bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on a tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see
instantly why you don't want it.

28's are about the smallest I would ride on my tandem. Also a good idea is
to sacrifice some weight savings for puncture resistance..... my stoker gets
really ****ed when she has to stand around and wait for me to change a flat.
I use the Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though they are heavy they
dont flat very often.
Chris

"Paul Kopit" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 13:58:42 GMT, "Paul Westall"
wrote:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very
narrow tires. I had them swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike
up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I
read
somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want
to
put them on the tandem if safe.
Paul


It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a
23 mm tire will be fine. My guess is that if you had a 700x37 the
bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on a tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see
instantly why you don't want it.

"Paul Kopit" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 13:58:42 GMT, "Paul Westall"
wrote:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very
narrow tires. I had them swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike
up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I
read
somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want
to
put them on the tandem if safe.
Paul


It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a
23 mm tire will be fine. My guess is that if you had a 700x37 the
bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on a tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see
instantly why you don't want it.

Thanks for the info. I just checked my road bike once again-those tires are
23's-don't look like they would be so great for the tandem.
I think that the tires I had removed must have been 700X 28, possibly 25.
They were only very slighlty wider than the rims. The 37's do give a nice
soft ride, good over bumps and gravel patches, etc. I'm really looking to
reduce rolling resistance a bit, as I usually ride with my daughte who is
not a powerful pedaller (to say the least).
Paul

Send it to bed early more often, and make sure it has a healthy diet.



HTH, HAND!




Shaun aRe

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 10:46:16 -0400, "dorn" wrote:

28's are about the smallest I would ride on my tandem. Also a good idea is
to sacrifice some weight savings for puncture resistance..... my stoker gets
really ****ed when she has to stand around and wait for me to change a flat.
I use the Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though they are heavy they
dont flat very often.
Chris

Easy solution to that is to teach the stoker to change the tire - to
be fair, each should be responsible for their own tire - captain fixes
fronts, stoker the rear.

I second the 28mm recommendation, or 26x1.25 if you've got mtn wheels like
myself.

Like someone suggested, try the 23's or 25's, and you'll see why they're not
good for the tandem. Ride them through some gravel on the shoulder and
it'll be really evident:-]

I use Panaracer Pasela's w/Tourguard, they're pretty stout, long running,
and have good puncture resitance, plus they're reasonable.

If you're running with more weight, like credit-card touring, or otherwise,
you definitely want to upsize back to something like the 38's.

-pete

"dorn" wrote in message
...
28's are about the smallest I would ride on my tandem. Also a good idea is
to sacrifice some weight savings for puncture resistance..... my stoker
gets
really ****ed when she has to stand around and wait for me to change a
flat.
I use the Specialized Turbo Armadillo's and even though they are heavy
they
dont flat very often.
Chris

"Paul Kopit" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 13:58:42 GMT, "Paul Westall"
wrote:

Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very
narrow tires. I had them swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the
bike
up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I
read
somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems.
Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but
want
to
put them on the tandem if safe.
Paul


It depends somewhat on the rims. If the bead seats are 13 mm wide, a
23 mm tire will be fine. My guess is that if you had a 700x37 the
bead seats are 15 or 17 mm. Wider tires are safer on a tandem.

Take a 23 tire and put it on your tandem and ride and you'll see
instantly why you don't want it.

Paul Westall:
Are 700X23c tires suitable for a tandem? My tandem originally had very
narrow tires. I had them swapped out for 700X37 before I picked the bike
up. Time for new tires, I would prefer something a bit narrower, but I read
somewhere that 700X25 was the smallest size recommended for tandems. Any
experience/opinions? I can always use the 23's onmy road bike, but want to
put them on the tandem if safe.

37mm is way wide and 23mm is way narrow. There are lots of tires in
between -- just about all of them in fact. Try something like a 28mm
Avocet Duro or a 32mm Tom Slick.

Compared to a medium-width slick tire like these, a 23mm tire will be
trivially lighter and have trivially less wind resistance. Too make up
for it, the 23mm will have more rolling resistance, have a harsh ride,
handle poorly, and get more flats. If you have a good idea of what the
deficiencies of the 37mm tires are, that would help direct the choice.

-Eric

Paul Westall:
I'm really looking to reduce rolling resistance a bit, as I usually ride with my daughter who is
not a powerful pedaller (to say the least).

Didn't see this followup. Paul, it won't make a difference.

1) The differences in rolling resistance among slick tires of any
width is trivial -- with the advantage to the wider tire, not the
narrow tire.

2) Rolling resistance has just about nothing to do with how fast you
go. It's in the few percent. And, it's only uphill that it matters
much whether your daughter pedals or not -- where rolling resistance
is the least of your problems.

3) You're not fast. Who cares? You'll have a lot more fun on suitable
tires.

-Eric