placestobe

first off, i am fat so im not slinging mud. im trying to find a good bike and wonder , should i even bother with road tires?

srestrepo

Well, you're in luck. I consider myself fat. I've used the stock tires that came in my felt road bike which were decent. Then I went with continental gatorskins in 25mm that I didn't like very much. Now I'm riding around on conti gp400sii in 28 that I really really like. Much smoother than any other tire I've used. For reference I'm 5'10 255 pounds.

crankythunder

I am 200 pounds and commute with 30 plus pounds of clothing, files, computer, and food...

25 cm continental gator hardshell and I like them a lot.

Cruddy weather bike has 1 1/2 inch 26 inch primos comets. like those too.

Regards,
Crankster

AnthonyG

Depending on just how heavy you are you can still use skinny road tires but you will have to keep them pumped up hard to maximum pressure and the ride will be hard. A lightweight rider will actually be better off keeping the tire pressures a little lower but a heavy rider will have to pump them up hard or you will pinch flat them.

If you want any comfort at all you should go for bigger tires and bikes that will handle bigger tires.

fietsbob

Heavy people seem to like light bikes .. stay in touch with your bike shop, to do your maintenance , you will need it more often.

catgita

I'm not fat, I am tall, 220 lb. Long ago I rode 23mm tires, at max pressure, and flatted often. Not because of pinch flats, they simply empaled themselves on every sharp object they touched. They also wore out very fast and rolled poorly.

Using a tire pressure chart, it turns out that 23mm tires would be way over maximum rated pressure to support my weight. 25 is better, but not much. 28mm seems to be the minimum, but still really hard.

These days I ride 38mm Compass tires. They almost never flat and ride like a dream. I even do gravel on them, though with my weight, the flotation in sand is not good.

canklecat

I see lots of big guys -- 200-300 lbs -- on road bikes with skinny tires. So far I've seen only one pinch flat, and I knew it was likely to happen but didn't want to sound like a busybody because I'd never met the guy before. I just noticed the tire looked squishy under the guy -- he's about 6'2', 240 lbs -- and sure nuff, a couple of blocks later it pinch flatted over a relatively minor pothole with sharp ledges.

Most road bike riders in my are are using Continentals, mostly Gatorskins but some ride other models. Nobody brags about the ride feel of Gatorskins, they just appreciate the durability.

So, keep it aired up appropriately for your weight, you'll be fine. Most tire maker websites list recommended pressure per rider weight.

FWIW, I'm 160 lbs and usually keep my 700x23 Schwalbe 1's at 120 psi rear/110 front. Frankly it's not comfortable on rough, but it is noticeably quicker on smooth pavement. If I expect the ride to include a lot of chipseal, striated concrete and busted up pavement, I'll go for 100 rear/90 front. Much more comfy. Probably more efficient over bad pavement since the bike isn't bouncing around so much. I could go as low as 80 psi but the tires would feel like slugs.

CoMotionRider

What type of tires do you think road tandems use?
I use Gatorskin 28 mm on mine and another couple us GP4000 25 mm on their tandem.

Now tandems do have stronger rims and hubs than a standard road bike but they use the same tires.

cpach

Most heavier riders seem to do OK with 28mm tires if that's all their bikes have clearance for, but truthfully it'd be better if you found a bike with clearance for wider tires. There's not may disadvantages to wide tires, assuming similar constructions.

unterhausen

I am fatter than I want, but that really isn't much of a factor as far as I'm concerned. I like a little fatter tire because of road hazards. A few years ago, I did most of my road riding on 38mm tires, and I really like the comfort of not worrying about hurting my tires. Right now, my road bike has 32mm tires. They provide reasonable performance, but they aren't quite as big and heavy as something larger. And they still roll over things that a 25mm tire wouldn't. There are relatively high-performance bikes that will take large tires now, usually called "all road" or something similar. I think that's a great compromise.

Doge

Again, it depends a bit on what you want to do. Being fat or not matters less than weight and how you ride.

I road the tandem for years ~400lbs on 23s pumped to 140PSI. There were issues. I later moved to 160 PSI tubulars, and had no issues, but the ride was harsh.
Most here are not interested in going tubular, but that is where you get the most tire for the weight.
Most larger tires do not take the max PSI of the thinner ones. But yea, I agree for heavy a 28 is a good size.

Chr0m0ly 

28mm are just better on the road period. I'm 5'10" and 180lbs and I find 25mm noticeably harsher than 28mm tires. For street and commute use I think 28mm are the minimum if you want to be comfortable and not pay attention to swerving around every little street imperfection. I often commute the 8 miles to work on 25mm but that's when I'm playing speed racer and trying to beat my time.