Road bike - cyclo-cross tires

So, I'm thinking of sticking some heavy(ier) duty tires on my creaky
winter road bike so it can handle slightly rougher terrain.

I had thought about cyclo-cross tires, but am not sure about clearances.
It's a Cannondale CAAD3 frame. Do you think I could fit a set of
knobblier tires in there?

Pictures (60Kb in total) he

http://www.jmcd.nu/bike/

Thanks in advance,

John

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In article , John McDowall jmcd@nothanks wrote:
So, I'm thinking of sticking some heavy(ier) duty tires on my creaky
winter road bike so it can handle slightly rougher terrain.

I had thought about cyclo-cross tires, but am not sure about clearances.
It's a Cannondale CAAD3 frame. Do you think I could fit a set of
knobblier tires in there?

Pictures (60Kb in total) he

http://www.jmcd.nu/bike/


_ What size are your current tires? If you could find a
cyclocross tire that size it might fit, but don't go in the
mud. Cyclocross tires kind of suck on the road. You might be
better off with just a beefier and bigger road tire. Knobs help
in the mud, air in the tubes helps with rough surfaces.

_ Booker C. Bense



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John McDowall jmcd@nothanks wrote in message ...
So, I'm thinking of sticking some heavy(ier) duty tires on my creaky
winter road bike so it can handle slightly rougher terrain.

I had thought about cyclo-cross tires, but am not sure about clearances.
It's a Cannondale CAAD3 frame. Do you think I could fit a set of
knobblier tires in there?

Pictures (60Kb in total) he

http://www.jmcd.nu/bike/

Thanks in advance,

John

You'd probably be better off fitting *fatter* tires, as opposed to
*knobby* tires. A larger air chamber is what you want to cushion the
bumps and blows of rough terrain.

At a guess, you've got 700 x 25C tires mounted now. You *might* be
able to fit 700 x 32C tires- which is plenty for most hard surfaces.
Whether or not you can use 700 x 32C tires can't be answered from your
pictures- there's also the matter of clearance at the chainstays. You
may be stuck with 700 x 28C tires.

Someone who actually has a CAAD3 frame will probably have better
answers than me. :-)

Jeff

John McDowall wrote:

So, I'm thinking of sticking some heavy(ier) duty tires on my creaky
winter road bike so it can handle slightly rougher terrain.

I had thought about cyclo-cross tires, but am not sure about clearances.
It's a Cannondale CAAD3 frame. Do you think I could fit a set of
knobblier tires in there?

Pictures (60Kb in total) he

http://www.jmcd.nu/bike/

Ideally you might ride over to an LBS or visit a friend with
said tires and slip a cross-tired wheel in your bike for a
moment.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

In article ,
says...
John McDowall jmcd@nothanks wrote in message ...
So, I'm thinking of sticking some heavy(ier) duty tires on my creaky
winter road bike so it can handle slightly rougher terrain.

I had thought about cyclo-cross tires, but am not sure about clearances.
It's a Cannondale CAAD3 frame. Do you think I could fit a set of
knobblier tires in there?

Pictures (60Kb in total) he

http://www.jmcd.nu/bike/

Thanks in advance,

John

You'd probably be better off fitting *fatter* tires, as opposed to
*knobby* tires. A larger air chamber is what you want to cushion the
bumps and blows of rough terrain.

At a guess, you've got 700 x 25C tires mounted now. You *might* be
able to fit 700 x 32C tires- which is plenty for most hard surfaces.
Whether or not you can use 700 x 32C tires can't be answered from your
pictures- there's also the matter of clearance at the chainstays. You
may be stuck with 700 x 28C tires.

Someone who actually has a CAAD3 frame will probably have better
answers than me. :-)

Jeff

My tough old Conti Top Touring 28's are 24mm max width and rise 22mm
from the rim, mounted on Mavic MA2 rims which are about 20mm rim width
(brake surface to brake surface). They were probably 23mm high when new
- they have a beefy tread. You can get them in 32's if you have a bit
more room than that and they will roll over coarse gravel well. The 28's
are OK too.

Bruce

Clearance that everyone forgets to also check is
derailleur to tire.

I MTB 2004

John McDowall wrote:
So, I'm thinking of sticking some heavy(ier) duty tires on my creaky
winter road bike so it can handle slightly rougher terrain.

I had thought about cyclo-cross tires, but am not sure about clearances.
It's a Cannondale CAAD3 frame. Do you think I could fit a set of
knobblier tires in there?

Pictures (60Kb in total) he

http://www.jmcd.nu/bike/

Thanks in advance,

John


Along the same lines, are there any 700x23 cross tires out there?

-Zilla

Zilla wrote:

Along the same lines, are there any 700x23 cross tires out there?

What would be the point? If you're riding over rough terrain,
small tires are not the way to go. Bigger tires are better than
extra knobs anyway unless you're riding on loose surfaces.

There are some old school Euro cross tires in 700x27 like the
Vittoria Master and Tigre, and the Ritchey semi-slick 700x30
measured about 26mm wide for me. That's about the smallest
useful cross tire.

There are some old school Euro cross tires in 700x27 like the
Vittoria Master and Tigre, and the Ritchey semi-slick 700x30
measured about 26mm wide for me. That's about the smallest
useful cross tire.

I recommend the Tufo Elite Diamond LPS 28 mm.
http://www.tufo.com/index.php?lg=en&mn=4&id=5
They will fit in most road frames and have excellent handling
on moderate winter conditions and rough roads. It does not have
big knobs that increase rolling resistance on paved roads,
but a diamond pattern and a special rubber mixture that gives the good grip.
It is specially puncture resistant. I even used them in two mountain races
in Norway (mostly fire roads, gravel roads and tracks, I do not have
a mountain bike so I use a hybrid with Tufo tires instead).
Like all the Tufo Elite models they are very expensive, though,
typically between 70 to 79 $. Tufo deliver them in both tubular
and clincher versions. I use clincher, but by mistake I also ordered
four tubular tires. I sell them for 60$ each plus shipping.

Erik (to reply replace "com" with "no")

Erik Lindeberg wrote:
There are some old school Euro cross tires in 700x27 like the
Vittoria Master and Tigre, and the Ritchey semi-slick 700x30
measured about 26mm wide for me. That's about the smallest
useful cross tire.


I recommend the Tufo Elite Diamond LPS 28 mm.
http://www.tufo.com/index.php?lg=en&mn=4&id=5
They will fit in most road frames and have excellent handling
on moderate winter conditions and rough roads. It does not have
big knobs that increase rolling resistance on paved roads,
but a diamond pattern and a special rubber mixture that gives the good grip.
It is specially puncture resistant. I even used them in two mountain races
in Norway (mostly fire roads, gravel roads and tracks, I do not have
a mountain bike so I use a hybrid with Tufo tires instead).
Like all the Tufo Elite models they are very expensive, though,
typically between 70 to 79 $. Tufo deliver them in both tubular
and clincher versions. I use clincher, but by mistake I also ordered
four tubular tires. I sell them for 60$ each plus shipping.

Erik (to reply replace "com" with "no")



Thanks! Terrain will be mostly fire roads with almost sand-like pebbles
so it's not too rough. I will consider "your" tires as well...

-Zilla