Tyre size - Slightly rougher tyres for a Hybrid

Trotter

I'm using 700 x 26c tyres at the moment on a hybrid. I've had lots of help here before on picking out new tyres but I just want to confirm one thing.

The Gatorskins only come in 700 x 25c and 700x 28c.

Which of those is best suited to my wheel? Theres nothing written on the wheel rim and 700 x 26c is written on the existing tyre.


Sorry if its going over old advice, I just want to be sure. Thanks!

stuf

either will do you just fine.

Narrower rims would generally work up to 28C and then the next level would be rated 25-32C (or bigger) so whatever you have you'll be fine.

The bearded guru has a page:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tyre-sizing.html

and you could also look at the rim manufacturer's site too

TinyExplosions

Trotter wrote: »

I'm using 700 x 26c tyres at the moment on a hybrid. I've had lots of help here before on picking out new tyres but I just want to confirm one thing.

The Gatorskins only come in 700 x 25c and 700x 28c.

Which of those is best suited to my wheel? Theres nothing written on the wheel rim and 700 x 26c is written on the existing tyre.


Sorry if its going over old advice, I just want to be sure. Thanks!

The 25's will work just fine. The 28's *should* be ok, but it depends on the clearance on the forks etc. I'd play safe and go with the 25's -you'l not notice a huge amount of difference between the 26 and 25, except you may go faster!

Trotter

I made a quick trip to Halfords earlier and the guy there suggested I get a more "knobbly" tyre because speed isnt really important to me.

He suggested I get something slightly wider in order to make the bike more versatile without reducing the speediness too much.

The gatorskins are very "slick".

Are there any tyres that anyone can recommend that would be slightly rougher? These for example

Schwalbe Marathon Plus

Vittoria Cross Hybrid

Chips Lovell

Trotter wrote: »

I made a quick trip to Halfords earlier and the guy there suggested I get a more "knobbly" tyre because speed isnt really important to me.

He suggested I get something slightly wider in order to make the bike more versatile without reducing the speediness too much.

The gatorskins are very "slick".

Unless you're planning on riding offroad, the Halfords guy is talking out of his ass. Slick tyres hold the road just as well as knobblies and, according to Sheldon Brown at least, will offer better traction.

Trotter

el tonto wrote: »

Unless you're planning on riding offroad, the Halfords guy is talking out of his ass. Slick tyres hold the road just as well as knobblies and, according to Sheldon Brown at least, will offer better traction.

Grand so. Gators it is.

Thanks!

blorg

+1 what Tonto said, if you are sticking to the road and want decent puncture protection with good grip Continental Gatorskins are the ideal choice (I have them on my commuter and tourer.)

I have used Schwalbe Marathon tyres also while touring and they are a great tyre if you expect to be doing some light off-road/trail as well as the road. But if it is road only, go with the Gatorskins.

Civilian_Target

Tonto++;
Knobbly tyres will only help you off road (or on exceptionally bad roads).
If it helps, I have a Marathon plus 28 on the back of my bike, and a 32 on the front. While they're hard as nails, they do tend to slide too much on wet tarmac, so maybe you'd find the gatorskins to be a better bet.