Tyre Advice

m4ttc

Hi
Newbie question. I have a Boardman Road bike that I have ridden lightly for a couple of years. I have Conti 4 Seasons 70 X 25 on them.

If I wanted to do some canal path and the likes, what tyres could I use and what size? A mate mentioned Schwalbe's but not sure what model or size I could get way with.

Thanks for any advice in advance

imposter2.0

Depending on what model - you might be able to get 28s in there, you might not.

m4ttc

Thanks. It is a Road team 2013 model.

Sleeper Service

How rough is the terrain you're going on? If it's fairly smooth then it's hard to look past Schwalbe Marathons.

m4ttc

Thanks. I wasn't Going on the muddy stuff. Just the sort of terrain a hybrid would go on

rick_chasey

In which case your tyres will be fine.

25mm 4 seasons:

OnTheRopes

Rick Chasey wrote:

In which case your tyres will be fine.

25mm 4 seasons:

This ^
Your current tyres will be fine

sebbyp

not much clearance between the top of the fork and the tyre on mine, last time I went off road it clogged up with shite instantly and couldnt ride it.

m4ttc

What tyres were you on ?

roger_merriman

Road bikes and road bike tyres aren't that fragile, I've used road bikes on all sorts of tracks and what not.

Oddly enough some cannel tow paths can be quite lumpy, and give a fairly jarring ride, but fudemently the tyres should be up to the job.

Cotterend

roger merriman wrote:

Road bikes and road bike tyres aren't that fragile, I've used road bikes on all sorts of tracks and what not.

I, too, use road tyres (Continental 4000) on tracks, as many of the country roads here become gravel or loose surface. Carry on or go home! They feel awful on gravel because they begin to slide very easily, unlike an off-road tyre, but they don't slide far before they find grip. You just have to get used to the looseness you feel and trust that the tyre will find firm ground, and overcome the psychological barrier that goes with being off-road on a sleek roadster with thin, thin tyres which all looks way too fragile. Common sense tells you that although it seems bad, the hammering a road tyre gets at speed on a road is far worse than it gets going slowly over a track.

I never try it when I'm likely to hit mud, I think that would be asking too much.

m4ttc

Thanks all for the advice

Paul0975

Don't forget to take extra tubes with you, and a repair kit and pump.

Its also worth spending 5 minutes at the end of you ride looking over your tyres and digging out any embedded glass or stones.

drlodge

Conti GP4S are a great tyre. A "better" tyre would be one that's wider so just use your GP4S and you should be fine. Take a couple of inner tubes and patches just in case. The main issue I've found with canal paths and the like is where you get a transition from stones to tarmac with a sharp edge. If you're not careful you can easily get pinch flats.