Rookie tyre advice question!

porlyworly

Hi all, after some advice on tyres & inner tubes, apologies in advance as I bet this sort of question has been asked a million times but want to be sure with the specific wheels!

I commute on a iron horse hybrid bike, the wheels are Freedom rcx 2.0 - 622*14 and current have Vittoria Zaffiro 700*28 tyres.

I mainly use the bike for commuting which is mostly road / cycle path with a small section of off road through farmland and the current tyres are very slim & slick tread and I need something more comfortable / safe for the winter months.

Questions - what size tyres am I realistically looking at and do I need to look at new inner tubes as well as tyres or will the current ones be ok? Looking for something cheap and cheerful as I'm already looking at replacing the bike when the weather improves so don't want to spend too much on it.

Bobbinogs

Your wheel size means that you have 14mm width, so according to Sheldon...

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

...the max tyre width will be an approximation (as 14 isn't shown but you can work it out) is roughly 28mm. However, this is just a guide as I bought some 32mm Schwalbe Marathon Kevlars for my wife (her wheels are also 622x14) and they are fine as the Schwalbes are a bit smaller than 32 when measured. Given your commute, I would happily recommend the same kind of tyres (28 if you want to be on the safe side) as they are very durable, grippy and extremely puncture proof. You could go for the Marathon plus version, but they are overkill for most routes and very heavy.

You shouldn't need to buy new tubes but you can work that out as they will have the range of tyre sizes stamped on them somewhere, e.g., 20-28.

porlyworly

Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated, I've had a look on wiggle and I think they only have them in stock in 28mm, would there be much of a difference in comfort / grip between the 28 and 32 or am I better off looking elsewhere? As I currently have 28 tyres on my bike would there be much difference?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marath ... city-tyre/

Edit - found them in stock in 32 here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Schwalbe-Mara ... 5f771a42a1

Bobbinogs

PorlyWorly wrote:

As I currently have 28 tyres on my bike would there be much difference?

Not really. What may make more difference is getting the right tyre pressure (read the tyre wall for the manufacturer's range, then something like this to get an idea of the minimum to avoid pinch flats and then experiment to find the optimum for you).

Another thing would be to look at what you mean by "comfort". If you are new to cycling and riding 50 miles on bumpy roads with a saddle that isn't setup right (or just a bad saddle for you), no padded shorts and tyres pumped up to 120 psi then you will suffer. So, get some decent shorts/tights, have a look at how the saddle is setup (the right height and fore/aft position), get the tyre pressure right, ensure you get out of the saddle every once in a while and see how you get on. That will be most of the main things I can think of off the top of my head. It can take a little while to get used to everything but that doesn't mean you should suffer for the cause.