Tyre confusion
Aveleydave
Posts: 3
Hi all,
An alarming different type of tyres available. Folding, clincher and so on. Can someone give a newbie a brief intro please? Looking to change the stock tyres on my newly acquired Dawes Giro 300. Normal recreational road riding will be the order of the day.
Cheers,
Dave.
An alarming different type of tyres available. Folding, clincher and so on. Can someone give a newbie a brief intro please? Looking to change the stock tyres on my newly acquired Dawes Giro 300. Normal recreational road riding will be the order of the day.
Cheers,
Dave.
0
Comments
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Clincher refers to the type of rim the tyre goes on, and the tyre will either have a folding or wire bead in it (when off the rim it will keep a round shape if it's wire bead where as folding folds down unsurprisingly
) IME the folding bead tyres are better, and if you want one set of tyres that sees you year round I would look at something like conti 4seasons, tough tyres that withstand punctures well "It never gets easier, you just go faster"0 -
Tires are usually sized by their diameter and width - the typical road bike tire has a diameter called 700c, and width is measured in mm - e.g. 700c-28 means a width of 28mm.
Narrow tires (such as 23mm) are usually lighter in weight than wider tires.
Narrow tires need to be inflated to high pressure to support the weight of bike & rider. Wider tires can use less pressure and can be more comfortable to ride.
Check the markings on your tires to determine their size.
'Racing' tires are designed for best traction in the curves, and lowest rolling resistance. Durability, long life, and inexpensive are not so important because the racer's goal is to win.
'Training' tires usually are designed for long life and durability, and are lower priced.
But they can gave less traction in extreme turns and corners - which isn't so important during training rides.
For general riding, a training tire is my choice - I'm currently thinking about the Continental Gran Prix in 700-23 (I weigh about 170 pounds).
Wire-bead tires are heavier and usually less expensive than folding models.
Modern rims can use either folding or wire-bead tires. Old rims from the 1970-80s were designed for only wire-bead - those rims don't have the internal 'hooks' that securely grab onto the folding tires.
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA0 -
Your average tyre is a clincher, held on to a suitable rim by the tyre bead and containing a butyl inner tube. The bead is the bit you lever on and off the rim with tyre levers*
The tyre bead can be of wire, which makes them cheap but heavy. It also means the tyres cannot be folded.
The alternative is a bead made of something like kevlar. These are lighter and can be folded, but that also makes them dearer.
Inner tubes are also available in latex; these are lighter and more supple, but need topping up quite frequently as they are slightly permeable.
Road tubes have presta valves while MTB tubes tend to have schraeder valves (like car tyres)
The alternative to clinchers is tubular tyres which contain an internal tube and which are glued onto a suitable rim. Virtually all pro riders are on tubulars (tubs) because they give a better ride and grip, puncture less frequently, and they don't have to pay for them. If they do puncture they get a new wheel from the team car. Many amateur racers also ride tubs, but if they puncture their race is over.
*unless you have thumbs of steel and can do it without tools0 -
Many thanks to you all for your input. An insight from forum members is always better than reading the manufacturers garb, it's more 'real world'.0
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Thoose kendra stock tyres don't look to bad as there not some really low bugdet ones.
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/kenda-k1 ... 42388.html
Whats wrong with them?0
