spinnaker

I have almost always toured on 28cc tires (with the exception of my hybrid with 32cc tires used on bike trail tours) on my tours because that was the widest tire my bike could handle.

I bought a touring bike a couple of years back that came with 32cc tires. I used it on a circumnav of Lake Ontario because I used the Erie Canal trail as part of the tour and did not know the condition of the trail so I kept the 32s. Plus used it for a number of overnight tours of the GAP so kept the 32s.

I have another longer tour of the GAP coming up. Unless there is rain I really don't need the wider tires. Plus upcoming road trips where I really don't need wider tires. It would be nice to move to a narrower higher pressure tire to try and get a bit more speed.

Does anyone change out tires based on expected conditions? Or do you just keep your tried and true wider tire?

gerryl

Every time I've upgraded to wider tires, I've never felt a desire to go back. So to answer your question - I do not change tires based on expected tour conditions, I go with the widest tires my bike can accept 37mm.

fietsbob

I think its good to start your tour on new tires .. depending on your preference a, 3rd spare, is a good idea, even if the tire won't fold..

bradtx

spinnaker, I've run the 28 mm range to a 37 mm tire. There isn't any extra 'free' speed with the smaller tires.
An argument can be made that the larger tire with less air pressure can be more comfortable and that a tire with less pressure can conform to road abnormalities a bit better.

Brad

PS The above really didn't answer your question, after my re read. My answer is no, I don't change tires just for differing road conditions. Basic touring tires, and some non touring tires, can work on a variety of road conditions. Just when the route has some unavoidable extreme off road aspects like deep mud or sand would I think about it, but likely keep whatever is on the bike.

Brad

spinnaker

I find I can ride significantly faster on my road bike with narrower tires than I can the touring bike. Then again the road bike is a lot lighter than my touring bike.

BlarneyHammer

I used 38 mm this summer because my tour included the Katy Trail. But if I knew I was going to be on pavement exclusively, I'd use 32 mm.

niknak

Of course your road bike is faster than your touring bike. As you mentioned weight is just one factor. You may also be running more high performance tires and riding in a more aerodynamic position on the road bike too. But don't let that fool you into thinking that a slightly narrower tire will make you faster on your touring bike. Testing shows that the suppleness of the tire casing and tread compound, not the width, determines performance.

For example:
- Where the rubber meets the road: What makes cycling tires fast? | VeloNews.com
- https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/...-supple-tires/

To answer your question, yes I use different tires depending on the tour. But on most tours I'm not seeking ultimate performance. I've run some Schwalbe 26x2.0 tires on the last few road tours and 26x2.4 on the past few mainly dirt tours. I have plans for a short solo tour with long miles each day. In that case I'll probably use my road bike with high performance 650bx42 tires and carry minimal gear.

staehpj1

I used to start with a new chain and new tires each long tour, but as I toured more I decided that it made more sense to just replace them when they wore out whether on tour or not. I originally thought I'd used the half worn ones later, but then didn't and they went to waste. Since my touring bike was only used for touring it was unlikely that the used ones ever got used again.

As far as changing for the expected surfaces... No I only use fatter tires when I go on a mostly off road tour and at that point I go to a different bike.

I used to go with 32mm tires on my heavy touring bike, but as I packed lighter and lighter I went to 28mm. Eventually I went ultralight and started using 25mm tires. I even used 23mm tires for half of the ST because they were on the bike and I figured I wear them out before changing them. The change from 23mm to 25mm was a welcome change on the Texas chip seal.

Tourist in MSN

On my 26 inch bikes, I have toured on 40mm wide tires where I expected most of the trip to be on good pavement, 50 mm wide tires where I expected most of the trip to be on good gravel (example: GAP and C&O), and I used 57 mm tires on trips where I expected poor gravel or single track. I always chose the tires that I wanted to use based on expected conditions. And every trip when I got home I decided that I had the right tire combinations on those trips.

My 700c touring has exclusively been on 37mm wide tires. But those bikes can't use anything wider. If I want to ride a wider tire, I instead use one of my 26 inch bikes.

I have ridden 25 mm to 32 mm tires for road riding, but I find the really narrow high pressure tires too uncomfortable on a long day in the saddle where there is the potential for roads that are not really smooth.

I never change tires mid-trip.

Most trips I started the trip with quite a few miles on my tires, but the trips were short enough that I still had plenty of tire left at the end of trip. The tires I used this year in Florida were the same ones I used several years ago in Glacier Waterton, and since they only have a few thousand miles on them I am sure I will use those on another trip again some day.

I know you are familiar with GAP and C&O, so I attached a photo of why I was happy with my 50 mm wide tires on that trip. After several days of rain the trail was a bit soft in places.

rm -rf

What 32 mm tires do you have?
Smooth or knobby?
Stiff sidewalls or thin and flexible sidewalls?

I think a quality 32mm tire would be just as fast as a narrower tire. (If I expected smooth roads, I'd try a little higher air pressure, but that's just a minor speed/efficiency improvement.)

I was riding on paved roads yesterday with Clement USH 35mm tires. They have a center section for reasonably fast road riding, and side knobs. It did seem a little faster when I increased the air pressure over what I would use on rough roads. With smooth tread tires, I don't see a noticeable speed increase when using higher air pressure.

Wide smooth tread tires
I plan to get some 35-40mm smooth, supple tires for crushed stone rail trail rides (and other surfaces too). The wide footprint will be better on soft spots, so I don't need to keep as close a watch on the trail surface. The smooth tread should be more efficient than knobs that dig in. And the tires will still be fast if part of the ride is on paved roads.

This style of tire: Compass 38mm

Timequake

32mm IS a narrow tire!

spinnaker

I currently have a pair of these.


Continental Touring Plus Tire > Components > Tires > Pavement Tires | Jenson USA

LeeG

Ok, 610gram 32mm tire. There are a lot "faster" 32-35mm tires. They just cost more. I would pick a different tire altogether in 28 mm for fast riding but once you put on panniers you aren't fast. There are many 32mm tires that are faster than a 28 mm Touring Plus.

Check out this graph showing different tires rolling resistance at different psi. While the Touring plus isn't there there are some similar heavy tires to it. What you'll see is that some tires at 80psi have more rolling resistance than others way down at 50psi. So it's not the size, it's the tire.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews

HTupolev

The type of tire is probably what's making your 32s slow, not the width. What are the narrow tires on your road bike?

spinnaker

I have 28 mm on my road bike. I mixed bag right now because of tire damage.

These tires were pretty cheap. I think I paid less than $30 each. What should I go with next time?

I do like the "puncture resistant" tires. Is that what is causing my speed problem?

Funny I have been touring for well over 10 years now and this is my first education in tires. Guess I always lucked out and never had a reason to complain.

LeeG

IMHO speed problems are a motor issue but there are perceivable differences between heavy thick tires and lighter more supple tires. Like anything when you want lightness/speed AND durability it's going to cost more. I found the Panaracer Protec T-Serv was a good cost/performance/puncture resistance compromise. The smooth tread Continental Gatorskins are nice. I've tried a couple Continental touring tires and I find the thick corrugated treads felt slower.

escii_35

When riding my gravel bike, Yes. I'll swap the front tire from u-shaped knobbie to v-shaped slick based on conditions.

Both tires fold and tend to a lighter sidewall.

Road bike, No.

HTupolev

It's likely a significant part of it, yes.

Energy is lost as the tire flexes when it rolls, and puncture protection features tend to make tires stiffer and more damped. You can minimize the losses to flex by pumping a tire to higher pressures (since this makes it flex less), but then you're compromising how well the tire performs as suspension. If a tire is pumped too stiff for a given combination of surface and bicycle load, it can deflect off of surface irregularities rather than deform around them. And shaking the bike in this manner can itself cause considerable energy loss, even on good roads if the tire is pumped stiff enough.

"Touring"-style tires tend to have very beefy protection layers, and sometimes lots of extra rubber and such.

My gravel bike is currently fitted with Rat Trap Pass ELs, which besides being 53mm wide are built like high-performance road tires. Paper-thin sidewalls, no puncture protection. Cruising along flat ground, it performs similarly to my skinny-tired road bikes. If I put beefy 28mm touring tires on my road bikes, they become measurably slower than that gravel bike.

Spinnaker is comparing two bikes for the same rider, though.

manapua_man

I swap tires based on where I'm going and if I'm trying to stick to a schedule. I'll put knobbies on if it's going to be mostly off pavement...and if it's on pavement I might just leave them on because I'm lazy and not planning on racing around.

LeeG

It would be interesting for him to try 28mm Touring Pluses on the road bike plus enough weight to equal the touring bike then light 32mm tires on the touring bike.

spinnaker

I have a pair of 25C ultra gatorskins. I might try swapping them out if the rims will take them.