Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Bicycle Mechanics
Reload this Page >

Rear Tire Clearance - 2.5mm

Notices
Bicycle Mechanics Broken bottom bracket? Tacoed wheel? If you're having problems with your bicycle, or just need help fixing a flat, drop in here for the latest on bicycle mechanics & bicycle maintenance.

Rear Tire Clearance - 2.5mm

Old 07-30-19, 12:36 PM
  #1  
FrenchFit 
The Left Coast, USA
Thread Starter
 
FrenchFit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,757

Bikes: Bulls, Bianchi, Koga, Trek, Miyata

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 361 Post(s)
Liked 25 Times in 18 Posts
Rear Tire Clearance - 2.5mm

Put a 700x28 rear tire on my Bianchi road bike, clears the brake bridge on tire top by 6 laminated business cards, about 2.5mm, at full pressure. Plenty of room on the sides. Is there are rule of thumb on how close you should go? On the front I'd be nervous, the back not so much...
__________________
There is more to life than simply increasing its speed. - Gandhi
FrenchFit is offline  
Old 07-30-19, 12:54 PM
  #2  
caloso
Senior Member
 
caloso's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur

Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times in 1,417 Posts
If it clears, it clears.
caloso is offline  
Old 07-30-19, 12:55 PM
  #3  
ThermionicScott 
working on my sandal tan
 
ThermionicScott's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CID
Posts: 22,625

Bikes: 1991 Bianchi Eros, 1964 Armstrong, 1988 Diamondback Ascent, 1988 Bianchi Premio, 1987 Bianchi Sport SX, 1980s Raleigh mixte (hers), All-City Space Horse (hers)

Mentioned: 98 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3868 Post(s)
Liked 2,560 Times in 1,574 Posts
Pretty sure my Eros has about that much clearance. I used to have less when I had 700x30 pseudo-cyclocross tires on it.
__________________
Originally Posted by chandltp
There's no such thing as too far.. just lack of time
Originally Posted by noglider
People in this forum are not typical.
RUSA #7498
ThermionicScott is offline  
Old 07-30-19, 12:57 PM
  #4  
Lemond1985
Sophomore Member
 
Lemond1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,690
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1628 Post(s)
Liked 1,057 Times in 631 Posts
I run my tire clearance close. Where I draw the line is if there is a lot of debris being scraped off the tire and ending up on my brake calipers. If you think about how a wheel turns before it passes under the brake bridge or fork crown, something would have to be very securely embedded in the tire to stay on, like a nail, screw, or thorn, to ever hit that caliper. A loose rock or twig will fly off long before it reaches that far.

I had not had any problems on pavement, but if you ride on dirt or gravel, you'll probably end up scraping lots of debris off both tires. But I can't see a catastrophic event ever happening. Certainly anything is possible, but I've got bigger worries. Like squirrels trying to jump through my spokes.

Last edited by Lemond1985; 07-30-19 at 01:26 PM.
Lemond1985 is offline  
Old 07-30-19, 01:12 PM
  #5  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
do you have to wait on inflating until after the wheel is mounted up in the drop outs?

these tires fit if I do that

rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 07-30-19, 04:16 PM
  #6  
FrenchFit 
The Left Coast, USA
Thread Starter
 
FrenchFit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,757

Bikes: Bulls, Bianchi, Koga, Trek, Miyata

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 361 Post(s)
Liked 25 Times in 18 Posts
Thanks all ; did 2 hours on the road and some gravel, nothing new.
FrenchFit is offline  
Old 07-30-19, 08:24 PM
  #7  
ThermionicScott 
working on my sandal tan
 
ThermionicScott's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CID
Posts: 22,625

Bikes: 1991 Bianchi Eros, 1964 Armstrong, 1988 Diamondback Ascent, 1988 Bianchi Premio, 1987 Bianchi Sport SX, 1980s Raleigh mixte (hers), All-City Space Horse (hers)

Mentioned: 98 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3868 Post(s)
Liked 2,560 Times in 1,574 Posts
Originally Posted by ThermionicScott
Pretty sure my Eros has about that much clearance. I used to have less when I had 700x30 pseudo-cyclocross tires on it.
Just pumped up the 700x28C tires and measured the clearance: 2mm in back, 2.5mm in front. Here's to cheating death, @FrenchFit!
__________________
Originally Posted by chandltp
There's no such thing as too far.. just lack of time
Originally Posted by noglider
People in this forum are not typical.
RUSA #7498
ThermionicScott is offline  
Likes For ThermionicScott:
Old 07-30-19, 09:29 PM
  #8  
FrenchFit 
The Left Coast, USA
Thread Starter
 
FrenchFit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,757

Bikes: Bulls, Bianchi, Koga, Trek, Miyata

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 361 Post(s)
Liked 25 Times in 18 Posts
FrenchFit is offline  
Old 07-31-19, 06:40 AM
  #9  
due ruote 
Senior Member
 
due ruote's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,707
Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 903 Post(s)
Liked 524 Times in 318 Posts
I would be much more concerned about stay clearance than crown or bridge. Ideally if you break a spoke you still want to get home.
due ruote is offline  
Likes For due ruote:
Old 07-31-19, 08:54 AM
  #10  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,847

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2577 Post(s)
Liked 1,900 Times in 1,192 Posts
I'd be leery of that little clearance if I took it on gravel, since gravel around here tends to also be muddy. Gravel sticks to mud sticks to tire and instead of riding you're at the side of the road trying to scrape a quarter inch of gook off the tire.

But since you've tried it and it worked, carry on!
pdlamb is offline  
Old 07-31-19, 10:16 AM
  #11  
BCDrums
Recreational Road Cyclist
 
BCDrums's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: MetroWest, Mass.
Posts: 546

Bikes: 1990 Peter Mooney road bike

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 254 Post(s)
Liked 252 Times in 134 Posts
Spread out!

Y'all are more daring (or less chicken) than I. I put some new 700x32's on my wheels. The flashing at the center of the tread was just tickling the brakes. It would have worn off fairly quickly, but I wasn't comfortable with that. If something got stuck to a tire and jammed at the brake it might stop the bike dead. I got some 650b's and am now running 38s. That's an extreme solution, but I love the wider tires.
BCDrums is offline  
Old 07-31-19, 10:27 AM
  #12  
ronin4740
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Reno Nevada
Posts: 123

Bikes: Giant TCR, Pure City Original Fixie, Fuji Roubaix, Raleigh M800

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Liked 21 Times in 14 Posts
I took a dremel with a drum sander bit on it to the bottom of the rear triangle to create a bit more clearance on a Fuji Roubaix I own as the 28mm tire was just barely rubbing as one part of the wheel went through that area.

Left plenty of aluminum there for support when I was done. All seems well after a few rides. Wouldn't recommend this as a general fix but it worked in my case.
ronin4740 is offline  
Old 07-31-19, 12:25 PM
  #13  
Brocephus
Professional amateur
 
Brocephus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Ga.
Posts: 665

Bikes: Does a Big Wheel count ?

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 295 Post(s)
Liked 133 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by ronin4740
I took a dremel with a drum sander bit on it to the bottom of the rear triangle to create a bit more clearance on a Fuji Roubaix I own as the 28mm tire was just barely rubbing as one part of the wheel went through that area.

Left plenty of aluminum there for support when I was done. All seems well after a few rides. Wouldn't recommend this as a general fix but it worked in my case.
I have a '14 Fuji Roubaix 1.3, and am running some Continental 32's, with no issues. It's pretty close, obviously, but not dangerously so, I don't believe. What model and year is your bike ?
Brocephus is offline  
Old 07-31-19, 01:44 PM
  #14  
ronin4740
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Reno Nevada
Posts: 123

Bikes: Giant TCR, Pure City Original Fixie, Fuji Roubaix, Raleigh M800

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Liked 21 Times in 14 Posts
Mine is a 2003:

https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/Sear...81&model=40995

Am sure it wasn't designed for anything over 23c tires
ronin4740 is offline  
Old 07-31-19, 01:55 PM
  #15  
redlude97
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4,764
Mentioned: 28 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1975 Post(s)
Liked 232 Times in 173 Posts
on a steel or aluminum bike no problem
redlude97 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Barrettscv
Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational)
6
10-20-16 02:23 PM
freeganval
Bicycle Mechanics
20
12-31-14 11:17 AM
09box
Classic & Vintage
7
08-15-14 04:50 PM
TakingMyTime
Bicycle Mechanics
3
07-26-13 06:29 PM
Myosmith
Mountain Biking
4
07-22-12 02:19 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.