Tandem Tire Width - What is yours?
#26
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The new Donnelly 30 mm in the back as it's the biggest that will fit under the brake bridge, even had to file a little off the bottom face with a half-round file. (Bike has short-reach side-pull brakes.) 28 up front. 28 in back worked fine for "good" gravel with clear tracks of hardpack but 30 is a little more comfortable for stoker and still gives smooth rolling on pavement. She likes it a lot. (Well, the chip and seal that passes for pavement here.) The 28 ploughs through most gravel better than I thought it would, enough that we don't exclude gravel roads outright from our local rides any more. Like getting a visa to a new country! 280?-lb team.
#27
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Our tandem tire width is 32 (Schwalbe Marathon Plus). We just returned from a 10 day tour on which Google Maps was sending us on mixed terrain from regular roads to pretty bumpy gravel paths. I wished for a wider tire on some of the sections as well as during some of the steep downhill turny roads. I'm kind of considering 35 or 42. Anyone riding those widths on pavement and how do You like it?
#28
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We are running 26x2.35" Bontrager XR3s right now. They are a on the edge of what our frame fits, but when it gets sandy, I'm glad to have all the rubber I can get.
I am going to try a Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 26x2 next. I had the 26x1.6 on another bike but I prefer the volume for tandeming.
I am going to try a Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 26x2 next. I had the 26x1.6 on another bike but I prefer the volume for tandeming.
#29
Newbie
We have schwalbe marathon plus 28x1.50 700x38c , 5bar/75psi. We are a 165kg/365lbs couple both over sixty, with a triple nine gear tandem of roughly 30kg/65lbs ( including arai drag brake, filled bidons and so on) which we use on Pavel roads on the flat and in the mountains
#32
Junior Member
We currently have a 50mm Specialized something or other on the rear and a 47mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus on the front. I have a set of 42mm Marathon Supremes ready to be installed but I really dislike replacing perfectly good usable tires.
#33
Junior Member
Our weekly group ride switches to gravel after Labor Day, so this year for the first time we decided to join them on our tandem. We’re running Conti RideTours, 700x42c at 60psi. We removed the Thudbuster from the stoker position and are using a standard rigid seatpost again. So far so good, I don’t think we could go any larger on this frame and I wouldn’t want to go any narrower on gravel. Not yet tried our usual 20mi road route with these tires, but so far they seem comfy on pavement.
Last edited by Yamato72; 09-23-19 at 05:25 AM.
#34
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26x1.75 Marathons.
#35
Senior Member
700x26
#36
Senior Member
Update on the 700x38 Gravel Kings. The rear tire is worn down to the casing after about 2,000 km. That seems like really short tire life to me. Anyone have any suggestions as to something better?
#37
Senior Member
Turns out a have a really short memory. Searching this forum I see that last year I complained about my Rene Herse tires wearing out in 1200 km. For the price maybe the Gravel Kings aren't so bad after all. Still open to other suggestions.
#38
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YMMV depending on your combined watts.
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#39
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We run Gatorskins in 700x28 on the road only. Our mountain tandem though has much bigger Mezcal tires.
#41
Junior Member
I'd say that Gravel Kings are usually a good balance, performant, a bit more hard wearing than the softest tires, and not too expensive. We like using performance tires due to rolling resistance and comfort so but that comes with a cost -- more expensive tires that wear out quicker. If you want more run for your money you should probably look for a good touring tire, for example a Schwalbe Marathon.
#42
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We're still on our first and only tandem -- A Burley bought used in 2011 -- and it came with OEM 700cc wheels with 25mm tires on them and the tandem dealer told us to run them at 120 psi. We ran down just about every Colorado mountain pass in the book on those things. In retrospect, I can see it was like schussing down the passes on ice skates. Plus, it was dang hard to hand-pump those things to 120 psi. And we flatted frequently -- five times in one morning on Ride the Rockies, and we got to the point where we were suspecting the spoke nipples and other rim-related problems. So we switched out the wheels to some Dyad 48-spokes, and bumped up the tires to 700 x 28 Gatorskins. And, crucially, we dropped the psi to about 80, mostly because I had come to the decision that 120 was just nuts. Maybe it's the new wheels; maybe it's the wider tires; maybe it's the lower psi; maybe it's a combination of all three, but flats now are rare. We're a 320-pound team on a too-small Burley Duet that we absolutely love, though we'll be upgrading to a properly sized lifetime bike soon.
I thought I was taking a big step moving out to 28mm tires, but after reading this thread (and checking the clearance of my fork and stay), I can see we've got plenty of room to grow. I'd like to try something in the 32+ range; we ride pavement mostly but the Colorado freeze-thaw cycles turn our city streets into a bone-jarring series of cracks and crevices, and there are a lot of gravel trails to be ridden around here, so I'm looking for tires that will handle both surfaces.
I thought I was taking a big step moving out to 28mm tires, but after reading this thread (and checking the clearance of my fork and stay), I can see we've got plenty of room to grow. I'd like to try something in the 32+ range; we ride pavement mostly but the Colorado freeze-thaw cycles turn our city streets into a bone-jarring series of cracks and crevices, and there are a lot of gravel trails to be ridden around here, so I'm looking for tires that will handle both surfaces.
Last edited by JeffandKathy; 05-23-20 at 05:05 PM.
#43
Junior Member
My money is on the Gatorskins
#44
Junior Member
We are using 700x25 Conti gp 4000. Currently ride pavement only. Moving and will likely ride dirt roads/gravel. Frame has tons of clearance (looks funny with the 25mm tires honestly) but rims are 18-622 so not sure how big I can reasonably go. Sheldon brown says up to 2x rim width. Bike is disc brakes. Thoughts?
#45
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We're slightly under your weight class (say 300/350), but regardless we run 650b's in the 40 to 48mm size class simply because it allows for greater volume / lower pressures and greater ride comfort (with nominal bottom bracket drop). and to be more explicit, we're running 40 - 50 psi on our 650b/48mm road wheels & 25 - 35psi on our 650b/47mm xc tires.
#46
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Personally I'm on the "go as big as you can" train, as higher volume = lower psi = better ride quality & comfort.
#47
Junior Member
We are using 700x25 Conti gp 4000. Currently ride pavement only. Moving and will likely ride dirt roads/gravel. Frame has tons of clearance (looks funny with the 25mm tires honestly) but rims are 18-622 so not sure how big I can reasonably go. Sheldon brown says up to 2x rim width. Bike is disc brakes. Thoughts?
18 is a really narrow rim with modern standards, so probably the 2x rim width is wise, that would lead to 36mm tires. Hutchison Overide exisits in both 35 and 38 and can deal with quite high pressures. We used the 35mm version on our Cannondale Tandem for a season an liked the tires, but to this season I built 650B wheels so I could fit 47mm rubber. While the 35mm would be enough on a single bike on the type of gravel we ride, I feel that with the heavier and less dynamic tandem I prefer wider tires still. It all depends on how coarse stuff you are going to ride though. 35mm is great for fine gravel and is fast on tarmac.
We probably would have kept the 35mm rubber if we had only one wheelset, as we do ride lots of tarmac as well, but we have a road-specific wheelset too, and use this 650B for all-around and adventure touring where speed is less of a concern.
#48
Senior Member
I ordered a pair of Marathon Supreme Microskins in 700x35. I'm looking forward to the direct comparison with the Gravel Kings. They are quite a bit heavier. Although I know it really doesn't matter my inner roadie wouldn't let me buy the 700x40's because of the weight.
As an added complexity I really like running tubeless tires. There aren't many tubeless options when you get larger. I did find a couple of interesting things though. First, it turns out Panaracer just released a couple more variants of the Gravel King, at least one of which is supposed to be more puncture resistant (which I assumes means thicker/tougher). Second, I found the Vittoria Terreno Zero which looks like it could be an interesting choice. Available up to 700x38 and tubeless ready. About the same weight as the Marathon 700x35.
https://www.vittoria.com/us/terreno-...nd-gravel.html
I'm sure the perfect tire is out there!
As an added complexity I really like running tubeless tires. There aren't many tubeless options when you get larger. I did find a couple of interesting things though. First, it turns out Panaracer just released a couple more variants of the Gravel King, at least one of which is supposed to be more puncture resistant (which I assumes means thicker/tougher). Second, I found the Vittoria Terreno Zero which looks like it could be an interesting choice. Available up to 700x38 and tubeless ready. About the same weight as the Marathon 700x35.
https://www.vittoria.com/us/terreno-...nd-gravel.html
I'm sure the perfect tire is out there!
#49
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Generally, I agree, wider is better. But I wanted lightweight tires with not too much tread. I went down in size from 2.125 inches to 1.4 inches, and I don't notice it's harsher. I think in general, I feel less on the tandem than on my singles.
We are lightweight people, 275 pounds in total. I keep the tires at about 80 psi.
We are lightweight people, 275 pounds in total. I keep the tires at about 80 psi.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
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“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.