Tire & tube size confusion

I need to replace the tires & tubes on my wife's Schwinn Crisscross
ATB-style bike. The original tires were 700x38mm with a knobby type tread.
The tubes were 28" x 1 5/8". I went to the LBS with these dimensions in
hand. The guy (owner) handed me a 700x35 smooth tire and said that there
was no such thing as a 700x38 for a hybrid bike. (?) I also had to wait on
him to order the tubes. When I got the tubes they were 26" x 1 3/8". They
seemed much thinner. My wife didn't like the smoothie style tires I
originally got so I went back and got some not quite as smooth but still not
as knobby as the original. She still doesn't like them (she rides on gravel
roads frequently), but the bike store guy said that is all you can get.

My questions a
1) Can you get 700x38's in a heavy tread style? Where? Why did he tell me
no, and why did he give me 700x35's instead? I can't find these in the
Performance or Nasbar catalogs.

2) What is the deal with the tube size? Can't I get 28"x1 5/8" or doesn't
it matter?

....
Cheers!
Duke

Thu, 26 Aug 2004 09:10:21 -0500, ,
"Dukester" wrote:

1) Can you get 700x38's in a heavy tread style? Where? Why did he tell me
no, and why did he give me 700x35's instead? I can't find these in the
Performance or Nasbar catalogs.

Harris Cyclery sells an Avocet tire in 38 and several others in 37.
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/622.html

2) What is the deal with the tube size? Can't I get 28"x1 5/8" or doesn't
it matter?

That's another way of saying 700C
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
--
zk

"Dukester" wrote in message

I need to replace the tires & tubes on my wife's Schwinn Crisscross
ATB-style bike. The original tires were 700x38mm with a knobby type
tread. The tubes were 28" x 1 5/8". I went to the LBS with these
dimensions in hand. The guy (owner) handed me a 700x35 smooth tire
and said that there was no such thing as a 700x38 for a hybrid bike.
(?) I also had to wait on him to order the tubes. When I got the
tubes they were 26" x 1 3/8". They seemed much thinner. My wife
didn't like the smoothie style tires I originally got so I went back
and got some not quite as smooth but still not as knobby as the
original. She still doesn't like them (she rides on gravel roads
frequently), but the bike store guy said that is all you can get.

My questions a
1) Can you get 700x38's in a heavy tread style? Where? Why did he
tell me no, and why did he give me 700x35's instead? I can't find
these in the Performance or Nasbar catalogs.

What do you mean by heavy tread? The "hybrid" Continental TravelContact and
the knobbier Twister/Twister Pro come in 700x37
(http://www.conti-online.com/generato...icycle/themes/
tires/city/folder_en.html).

2) What is the deal with the tube size? Can't I get 28"x1 5/8" or
doesn't it matter?

Conti 27" tubes cover 700x28 to 700x47 and other brands are similar. If
you've got 700c wheels I don't understand why there's any sort of fuss.
Tubes are easy to get and it's not as if you have to panic about fit since
after all they stretch.

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"DRS" wrote in message
...
"Dukester" wrote in message

tubes they were 26" x 1 3/8". They seemed much thinner.

Conti 27" tubes cover 700x28 to 700x47 and other brands are similar. If
you've got 700c wheels I don't understand why there's any sort of fuss.
Tubes are easy to get and it's not as if you have to panic about fit since
after all they stretch.


He gave me a 26, not a 27 (remember, the original was a 28). Conti doesn't
say a 26 covers a 700. Anyway it's not a fuss, just irritation they didn't
get the tire or tube size correct after I brought them to the store.
Besides, if they were one size fits all, or a range, why are there sizes?

As a side note, I am always amused when the local chamber of commerce urges
people to "Shop Locally." This is the same bike shop I bought a double bike
basket & rack from and paid for them to install it, only to ride 10' from
the store with the new setup whereupon the basket/rack promptly fall right
off into the middle of the street. Doesn't it seem ludicrous they had to
order tubes to begin with? No they weren't out, they don't stock them.
It's clear they are more interested in selling college students high dollar
mountain bikes and silly middle aged men with too much money $4000 road
bikes than anything else.

--
(Vent mode off)
Cheers!
Duke

"Dukester" wrote in message

"DRS" wrote in message
...

[...]

If you've got 700c wheels I don't understand why there's any sort of
fuss. Tubes are easy to get and it's not as if you have to panic
about fit since after all they stretch.

He gave me a 26, not a 27 (remember, the original was a 28). Conti
doesn't say a 26 covers a 700. Anyway it's not a fuss, just
irritation they didn't get the tire or tube size correct after I
brought them to the store. Besides, if they were one size fits all,
or a range, why are there sizes?

It's not one size fits all, but a few sizes fit all. My current tyres are
32s but I'm using the tubes that came with the 38s that came with the bike.
Theoretically they're oversized but that's OK. Some people say that
actually adds a modicum of puncture protection.

Anyway, there's no point letting your LBS dick you around on something as
trivial as tubes. You only need something like
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...TOKEN=72442613.

As a side note, I am always amused when the local chamber of commerce
urges people to "Shop Locally." This is the same bike shop I bought
a double bike basket & rack from and paid for them to install it,
only to ride 10' from the store with the new setup whereupon the
basket/rack promptly fall right off into the middle of the street.
Doesn't it seem ludicrous they had to order tubes to begin with? No
theyweren'tout,theydon'tstockthem. It's clear they are more
interested in selling college students high dollar mountain bikes

Which typically use 26" tubes

and
silly middle aged men with too much money $4000 road bikes than
anything else.

Which typically use 700x19-25 tubes. Welcome to hybrid limbo land. :-)

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Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Dukester wrote:

2) What is the deal with the tube size? Can't I get 28"x1 5/8" or
doesn't it matter?

Note that in parts of Europe ISO 622 (700c) tyres are often referred to as
'28"'. Even thyough they're smaller than a 27"...

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
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