Originally Posted by
msu2001la
I was thinking about this today more. I run 700x28 road tires on my CX bike, which can also officially handle up to 700x45mm, but I'm guessing 47mm is no problem. I've never used anything wider than 38mm on that bike, but there is a noticeable difference in handling when I swap between 700x38 gravel tires and 700x28 road tires. 700x47 would feel huge.
The bike is much quicker and responsive in turns on the road rubber. I attribute most of this to the tread and width, rather than change in diameter - but that probably plays a bigger role than I realize.
My frame geometry doesn't work with 650b - the chain stays are hourglass so I'm guessing there's less clearance in 650b size than with 700c, but it would be interesting to try a 650b sized wheel on there with wide gravel tires to see if it retains some of that same feeling as the 700x28 road setup.
Me too. I can get up to 54mm in the front.
on 28 or 32mm tires, it handles pretty much like it is designed (OEM is 33mm).
If I put 50mm front, 40mm rear (maxed out both), it gives the bike more trail, handles more stable, and is better for hard core gravel and even single track. Maybe 10mm more trail, its not huge, but it makes a difference.
Oh yeah, toe overlap. That is a thing if I go big on the front.
Bigger difference is tire design A furious fred handles like a road tire with a nice rounded cross section. A Thunder Burt has squared off shoulders and significant knobs; it handles a LOT different in the turns.
Tread width can be the same - if I max out the pressure on a 40mm tire, the tread on the road isn't a whole lot different than a 28mm tire. I've done that, but it is horrible in that it defeats the purpose of having wider tires and makes the bike feel way too stiff for the type of riding I want to do on those tires.