ark40

So officially Lynskey only supports up to 25, but I'm trying to see if 28s will fit. The limitation according to them is not the bike frame but the brake caliper. If I had the disc brakes I could go up to 28. Wondering if anyone else tried this and what was the result. I live in the northern suburbs of Dallas TX and the there are a bunch of chip seal roads here in the country side, those are not fund to ride on. I think a thicker tire will help mitigate the rough terrain. I've got 23s right now.

delbiker1 

If it is indeed the brake caliper arms that are limiting the size due to the height. not a lot you can do. You can try putting a washer or two between the mount hole and the body of the caliper, that might give you a bit more room. I have done that with 2 bikes that enabled me to go to 28 from 25. It works better for the rear, but it worked for the front on 1 bike. You cannot just change your bike to disc brakes.

sch

Rim brakes on road bikes even opened up with the little lever on the cable connector aren't comfortable
with tires 28mm actual width. We discovered this on our tandem with Michelin Pro2 25s which had an
actual width of 28mm and required considerable force to push past the new pads on opened up
Shimano DA calipers rim brakes. Not clear to me how a washer as suggested by Delbiker would open
up the inter-brakepad distance. Only obvious option for tires wider than 28mm would be deflate to
20-30#, install and pump up to desired pressure. The other is to reduce pressure on 25mm tires to
the 80-90# range when riding, assuming you are not a clydesdale, this will make a noticeable difference.

maddog34

what tire brand/model, tube size/brand/weight, and what pressure are you presently using ?

these factors can alter comfort dramatically.

maddog34

the "Washers" trick doesn't change the caliper opening thing... it Can move the CENTER of the side pull brakes away from TALLER tires...

it won't do much, if anything, for most tall frames with level top tubes, or most forks....

and i totally agree on reducing tire pressures to lend comfort on rough surfaces. The linear trail is old and very rough... and a good portion of the roads here are chip sealed.

Ken2

What brakes are you running?

I have 2 Lynskey frames, 1 with DA 9000 & the other with Ultegra 8000 brakes, and 28mm tires fit fine.

Some marked 28s may be wider in practice (looking at you Michelin), but my Conti 5000s measure exactly 28mm.

Rim width can play a role here too.
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maddog34

ahh, but you can... if the frame is equipped with the Rear disc caliper mounts, and your fork is also so equipped, the change is fairly easy... if the rear isn't blessed with the caliper mount ears, then a bracket can be installed onto the frame... there are a number of forks available with disc caliper mounts. I recently converted a Kona Hahana to disc front, and kept the rear V-brake, then installed Kool Stop Orange pads for better grip... it rides great!

79pmooney

A thought. There are "drop bolts" that replace the caliper and bolt at the fork crown and brake bridge. You then attach your brake at a lower hole for a deeper reach. No reason that the same concept couldn't be done in reverse. Don't know that existing drop bolts can do that but it could be done. In fact, I own a bike that is a candidate. A 25c (actual) sewup rubs on the rear brake. So, when I have time maybe I'll invent one and pass on what I come up with here.

Don't quote me on "drop bolt". The name could be something else entirely.

ark40

Ultegra 8000 and interestingly Conti 5000, but 23mm. So very similar to yours

masi61

Since you say your max is 25 then why not get the most supple/compliant set of 25's you (or our armchair bike set up opinionated members) can imagine? I think there is a lot you can do - but we need to know what rims you are running and if they are tubeless or not. Also we need to know if you are using butyl inner tubes or latex inner tubes.

I'm sure GP 5000's in 25mm width would be fine, especially with latex tubes at sane PSI settings like, say 80 rear and 74 front.

ark40

Latex tubes, can get butyl if it makes a noticeable difference, Roval's Fusée EL 28 wheels.

icemilkcoffee 

Which tire is interfering? There is no law stating you have to run equal size tires front and back. On my KHS Aero- the rear chain stays can't take anything larger than 23mm. So I run 23mm in the rear and 25mm in the front since there is nothing interfering in the front. It rides really well with this setup.

masi61

I looked up those wheels and they don’t appear to be tubeless ready. If they had been tubeless compatible I was going to suggest you try tubeless since 25mm road tubeless tires can have a much more compliant ride with chipseal thanks to supporting lower tire pressures. You didn’t say what your body weight is but the wider tire trend and lower tire pressure trend can help you here even if you are limited to 25mm tires max. I’ve heard that the SRAM website has a good tire pressure calculator,

Since you say you are already running latex tubes you can enjoy their softer ride now. Since you say they ride rough on chipseal Incan only assume you are over pressuring them. Even with 23mm tires, latex tubes Continental GP 5000’s should provide a reasonably compliant ride. I weigh ~190# for example and if riding my titanium bike with latex tubes, I can run as low as 69/70 psi front and 72-80 psi in the rear (even on 23’s) and get a ride so plush that I can ride the cracked pavement near the gutter and not suffer too bad.

ark40

I'm definitely over inflating then, 100. There is a website that you can go to that guides you on pressure based on body weight and tire width, they recommended 90. I weigh 180

masi61

Yeah, lower them to 90f/90r & give it a whorl on the chipseal. I’d be tempted to go even lower, especially in the front.

Kontact

I doesn't sound like you've actually tried 28s. That might be a better starting point.

ark40

Right, trying to fine one I can borrow from a fellow team member so I can try it on. Did replace the front tire to a 25mm and I can see plenty of space all around it, I am sure the front will easily take 28mm. If the rear one only goes up to 25 then I can always keep a 25 in the back and 28 in the front.