lawnchair bes

I run 700X28 tires on my bike and since the Conti Ultra Sport tires that I was using are coming to the end of their life I decided to replace them with 28 mm wide gatorskins.

Unfortunately, there was not enough clearance in the back at the brake bridge, the front fit fine.

Would I have better luck with the 4000? I gather a "commuting" type tire might be thicker. Any other tires recommended?

The bike is a 2006 Kona Zing Deluxe.

Getting narrower tires is not an option. I am a big guy and just had a set of wheels built that aren't recommended for tires narrower than 28 mm anyway.

shelbyfv

You need to use a caliper and measure the actual width of the tire that fits. Then you will know what to look for. My 25mm GP4000s measure 27+. Nominal and actual widths are not the same, as you discovered.

lawnchair bes

how does that factor in with rim width? also, it seems like i have enough side clearance but not at the top.

superslomo

I feel like the Gatorskin 28s are bigger than the GP 4 Season 28s I'm now using, though without pumping the gators back up on a rim, it's hard to tell.

lawnchair bes

they seem very thick compared to my existing cheap tires.

Igualmente

There is pretty limited information out there on the "heights" of installed tires. Maybe someone will have personal experience that will help you. At this thread, there is talk of continental tires tending to be "tall", but I'm not sure how correct that is: Awesome racey commuter tire: Conti GP 4 Seasons

canam73

I keep coming to this thread in hopes of a link to some GP4000S on clearance for $25.

And the sad thing is I have about 10 years worth of tires stashed away already.

PaulRivers

Lol, it's kind of funny you wrote that because a "smaller" tire is your only option - it either fits or it doesn't. I see what you're getting at though.

I just went through a bit of tire drama myself this week. I had on a set of Panaracer TServ's in a 25c. Was wearing out, so I replaced it - shop put on a Schwalbe Marathon Race 30c for some reason. I was surprised it fit, it did, but it was to fat for my tastes, so I had them take it off an put on a gp4000 that I had at home.

I definitely think the gp400 is taller and less wide than either the panaracer tserv or the schwalbe marathon race. The Schwalbe was a much fatter tire, but fit on the back. The gp400 is only a 25c, and it has more clearance than the Schwalbe but not by nearly as much as I had expected - looking at it on the bike it seems to be taller and narrower than either of the other two tires.

So I would try another brand that's not continental. I know I liked the Michellin tires I tried on another bike - other brands do make good tires as well. If I remember right, I've seen some other people express a preference for Michellin's over Continentals. (Tried to look up the specific model but couldn't find it easily sorry, they were about the same cost and category as the gp4000's).

lawnchair bes

I hear ya. I am still annoyed that the cheap contis fit. I think I will have to look at another tire or wait until the 4000 are available in store and pay a higher price

SevenTwentyNine

Damn it, I came here thinking there was a good deal on some good tires. Never mind me, carry on..

lawnchair bes

it's the word clearance isn't it

SevenTwentyNine

Yes