Tyre advice

twowheelthrill

I'm currently looking at replacing my 38c slick road tyres to something a bit 'chunkier', and that can be used for light trails.

The rims measure: 16mm (between the walls), and according to Sheldon Brown's tyre chart, he's saying 35c is the max (some say he was too conservative re the sizing).

I'm eyeing up WTB Nano 40c tyres (I've got the clearance, so that's good). So is 38c where it ends, and is it worth going up only one size for a comfy ride on the trail?

Thanks.

Alex99

twowheelthrill wrote:

I'm currently looking at replacing my 38c slick road tyres to something a bit 'chunkier', and that can be used for light trails.

The rims measure: 16mm (between the walls), and according to Sheldon Brown's tyre chart, he's saying 35c is the max (some say he was too conservative re the sizing).

I'm eyeing up WTB Nano 40c tyres (I've got the clearance, so that's good). So is 38c where it ends, and is it worth going up only one size for a comfy ride on the trail?

Thanks.

I think you can put wider tyres on narrow rims, but you usually need to run a higher pressure than you would with the same tyre on a wider rim, otherwise the handling can get a bit off with the tyre flopping around. This somewhat counters the benefit of a wider tyre in the first place, but may still be acceptable.

roger_merriman

If slick 38s are fine no real reason knobbly 40s will not be.

Bare in mind the special rulers they use for tyre widths

twowheelthrill

Thanks all for the input. I'm gambling with a pair of 42c tires, and see if they stay on!

passout

Out of interest what 42mm tyres did you do for? Any good? Cheers.