phixate

I want to ride my bike to work, but I have road tires right now. I'm trying to figure out if there are other options, either just switching the tires to be more dirt road/gravel friendly, or if I can get different wheels altogether (and if that would be a huge pain/cost). My ride is only about 3.5 miles one way to work. About half is road and half is dirt roads with large gravel. This is out in the country, so the road conditions can vary greatly. There are no jumps or obstacles. Just rough, sometimes slippery terrain. I almost want to just get a mountain bike, but I really like my current bike. Can I make it work?

Current tire size: 700x30c (30-622)
Link to specs: specialized.com/us/en/sirrus-comp/p/93345?color=172549-93345

phixate

OK, so I've been looking around and I found some tires I think might work. Here are some links: (No, I'm not affiliated with this website. I'll buy something from wherever.)
modernbike.com/ritchey-alpine-jb-wcs-stronghold-tire-700-x-30-120tpi-black-tan
modernbike.com/kenda-kwick-tire---700-x-30-clincher-folding-black-60tpi
modernbike.com/schwalbe-cx-pro-tire-700-x-30-wire-bead-black-with-dual-compound-tread
modernbike.com/schwalbe-cx-comp-sbc-wire-bead-clincher-tire-700-x-30-kevlarguard-black

Am I on the right track, or am I dreaming that I'm going to make my road bike more dirt/gravel friendly? Anyone ever tried this?

veganbikes

30 is pretty narrow for gravel see what the max tire you can fit in the bike is. Measure your fork and chainstays and seatstays and see what you can fit. You can run 30mm tires but I don't think you will enjoy it especially not for commuting.

phixate

I do have about 1/4" between the tire and fork on each side, so I might be able to go up to a 32 or 34. I also have some room above the tire, so I could maybe see if I can move up from 700 (which is technically 27.56" correct?) to 29". I'll probably need to take it to a bike shop and see if they have something to test it out with.

veganbikes

Measure, measure, measure. Don't guess actually measure it and then find a wider tire that fits with the measurements and install. Knobs on the side of the tire will result in less clearance. If you need mud clearance then you want to leave good space for that which may result in that bike not really being ideal for gravel if you need that.

No 700c is 29" it is the same exact ISO diameter of 622. 29" just is to help people differentiate between road/gravel and mountain bikes sort of like 650B and 27.5 (which are both ISO 584). Generally if you have disc brakes you can swap to a smaller wheel which in some cases if it can work will result in being able to fit a wider tire. This is not every bike as it will change the geometry but you will see people do conversions from 700C to 650B or 27" (ISO 630) to 700c.'' With rim brakes it is on occasion possible but really not worth it.

Also just some light nerdy history A,B,C are French designations for tires slightly different ISO diameters generally you will only see 700c and 650b and maybe 650c these days everything else is pretty much outdated and mostly confined to Europe. I came across a bike with a 700b tire once and luckily we actually had a tire in stock but I hadn't seen one in the 5 years before that and not again in the 5 years after that. Here is a bit more reading from the late great Sheldon Brown who you will note was a member of these same forums before he passed.

phixate

Yes, I do have rim brakes. Also, I didn't really think about mud clearance. I'm pretty sure with that in mind I won't be able to any wider than 32. We have clay here in middle Georgia, and that tends to pile up if it's damp. I wouldn't want to go with a smaller wheel if I can help it. Do you think 32 would be noticeably better?