donheff

I am currently riding Gatorskin 700x32 tires on my steel sport touring bike. They are coming up on renewal time and I am interested in going even wider with lower pressure. I was pointed toward Rene Herse tires because of their supple casing which allegedly fosters the smooth ride my aging bones crave. Herse has a couple of tires I am interested in - either the 700x35 Bonjon Pass or the 700x38 Barlow Pass. I have Velocity Dyad rims that will take 25-38 mm tires but I am at a loss for whether I will have issues mounting the wider tires. The tires are described as "tubeless ready." I would be using them with tubes. Does anyone know if a "tubeless ready" tire is going to be harder to mount than a standard clincher? Any alternate suggestions for wider tires that foster a smooth ride and decent puncture resistance?

stevel610 

Many people have difficulty mounting tubeless the first time but they often loosen up a little.

You will have to measure the clearance you have left with the 32s. Be sure to look at the chainstay room as that is often the smallest, followed by the rear brake bridge.

Also look at Marathon Supremes.

Good luck.

2ering

I have a Co-Motion Divide that came with 1.9"/48mm tires on 700c Velocity Dyad rims and had no trouble with the width on those rims. I tried the 700C x 44 Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass tires and absolutely loved the comfortable ride attributed to the supple casing. It made a very significant difference in ride quality...for the 75 miles before I got my first flat caused by a tiny glass shard going through the very center of the tread. I'm not sure if those tires are tubeless ready but they were easy to mount.

While they may be good for gravel riding I wouldn't recommend them for urban use due to the thin tread. Both my girlfriend and I have been using Schwalbe Marathon Supremes for several years now while on training rides in Chicago and loaded tours, and we have yet to get a flat.

downtube42

Gravelking Slicks come in a variety of sizes - 32mm, 35mm, 38mm.
https://www.panaracerusa.com/product...g-gravel-tires

ehcoplex 

I have Rene Herse Barlow Pass tires on my Cannondale T900. Bike has original rims that came stock with 38s, but the clearances with the Barlow Pass tires are extremely tight (at the chain stays)- I get 42mm with my calipers on the tires inflated to 50psi. I run them with tubes, and getting the tires seated was an absolute b**ch... Massaging, soaping, doubled rim tape, hard and fast (over) inflating.... it was not fun. Note, it wasn't the mounting them that was the issue- that was really easy- it was getting them to seat properly (I kind of dread getting a flat on the road and having to get them properly seated again..). Possibly due to the rims, though they're within the specs RH calls for. I doubt it has anything at all to do with running tubes. But all that said, the ride is fantastic. They transformed the feel/comfort of the bike. I love them (and I went through a series of tires, getting wider and more supple each time before settling on the RH). Enough so that I'm thinking about rebuilding my wheels with different rims that may take them a little bit better (I may drop to the 35c Bon Jons for a little more peace-of-mind clearance, but I'm loathe to give up an iota of the comfort/feel of the 38s...).

late

There is a tradeoff between comfort and reliability and endurance. When my wife was 110 lbs she rode Renee Herse tires, on her old bike. Now that we have ebikes, I put Marathon Supremes on her bike.

Prob putting them on my bike this winter.

scottfsmith

All the tires mentioned are good. The Gravelking TLC is the best deal, they are made in the same factory as Rene Herse but are around half the price.

I have two sets of wheels on my road bike, 30mm and 37mm, and I lose about .3 mph on average with the 37mm tires. That is the only place you pay, in every other way it is a big advantage to have wider tires.

Tubeless ready generally will be fine with a tube, sometimes they might be a little harder to get on the rim but usually not a problem.

At 38mm it starts to become a real win to run tubeless so that is something to consider. There is a trade-off of comfort vs puncture-proof and tubeless shifts things in your favor there - it is easier to have a supple tire work well since while it will get more punctures than a reinforced tire, most will seal themselves.

Skullo 

I use 42 on one bike , 45 on the other.
I ride mostly road and paved trail with some gravel thrown in .I can go up to 55 tires with fenders on the touring bike.It’s nice to be able to go from one surface to another on the same ride and perform well.

Clyde1820

Depends on the frame and fork, I'd say.

Have had Velocity Dyads, and have run as large as 47-622 (700x1.75) Continental Tour Ride tires on them. Heavier, and definitely not as nimble-riding as, say, a 38mm Vittoria Randonneur. But from the rim's standpoint they fit well enough. Never pushed them, so never tested that they'd stay on under hard cornering, trails, etc.

ofajen

I had this sort of difficulty with the 26er RTP from RH. Enough that, despite riding great, when I wore them out I switched to other tires: Continental Race King and Speed King. Both are easily 1000 times easier to install and remove. And the Speed King loses nothing to the RTP on speed and rolling resistance and the Race King is nearly the same, but noisy on the paved surfaces.

In the 700C world, I’d be looking to try the new Conti Terra Speed or Terra Trail if I could find them. YMMV.

Otto

scottfsmith

I am running Terra Speeds, they are trivial to mount. This is on multiple different rims, they were breeze every time tubed or tubeless. They wear faster than normal but I put nearly all my miles on my road wheels (with 30mm road tires) so they are wearing fine for me.

Calsun

For a smoother ride I would be looking into a suspension seat post. With tires the wider the tire the greater its volume of air and so a lower PSI can be used to support the tire and the rider. Tubeless and or an insert can provide for even lower tire pressures. The downside of tubeless is having to periodically add more tire sealant to the tires during the year.

Lots of websites that provide PSI calculators where you input your weight and tire type and size for a recommended pressure.

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/pressureprofhttps://axs.sram.com/guides/tire/pressure

sknhgy 

I recently put 32's on my Specialized Sequoia. It has always had 25's. The 32's just barely fit. In fact, the injection nubs rubbed the frame on the first ride or two before they wore off. But I am much happier with the ride. I would go bigger if I could.

John E

I am that finding many of today's tires are tight fits. I have resorted to using a KoolStop tire jack. It was absolutely essential when I installed a 700Cx28 Michelin folding tire on my Peugeot.

bikemig 

Yeah there are a lot of tire/rim combos out there that are crazy hard. I do like wider tires though. I'm currently running Schwalbe Marathon racer 700 x 35c tires on my '79 Trek 510 which lately has become my go to bike as it is fine for gravel and road.

reverborama

I run the 700c Barlow Pass tires on my gravel bike with WTB rims and tubes. I like them and when it's time for new tires I will get another pair. It wasn't too hard getting them on my rims the first time but I did have to pump it up pretty high to get the bead to seat the first time. Over the summer, on a big ride, I got a flat and was able to get the tire off/on just fine but all I had was a small pump (used up the CO2 on my wife's earlier flat). The little pump, even in the high pressure setting, couldn't get enough air in there to seat the bead. Luckily I was able to walk about a quarter mile to a housing development and knock on the first house with a swing set out back to borrow a real pump. I now carry extra CO2 with me.

John E

That is why I so adamantly prefer full-size frame fit pumps.

ehcoplex 

The absolute minimum clearance at the chainstays for the 38c Barlow Pass tires has made me a tad nervous since I put them on my bike, so I dropped down to the 35c Bon Jon Pass (a friend gave me a 90s Peugeot touring bike to re-hab for my partner to (try to) get her into cycling, so the Barlows will go on that- it's got TONS of clearance... ). A neck/shoulder issue has kept me from riding much the past week or so, but from some short 'test' rides I definitely notice the difference between the 35s and the 38s. The Barlows are just a nicer, more comfy ride. Not a HUGE difference, but it's there, and probably will be even more pronounced on gravel. Makes me want a bike that will take 44c or 48c.....

The Bon Jon Pass tires were a little easier to get seated than the Barlows.

Moe Zhoost

Keep in mind that clearance is a factor of not only the width of the tire but also its height. For a wider tire, both the crown and widest part will be further from the rim.

My solution for wider more comfortable tires was 650B wheels. This allowed me to put 42s on a road bike frame.

ehcoplex 

Alas, the shape of the chain-stays on my vintage Cannondale frame won't give any more clearance width-wise with 650b. I've got my eye out for a vintage steel candidate for 650b conversion. In the meantime I'll see if I get used to the 35s and if I miss the 38s too much maybe I'll just go back to them and live with the tight clearance- I have been for the past 1500 miles of mixed surface without any problem..!

BobG

I had this very same experience with my Bruce Gordon Rock & Road. I easily mounted the 700x44 Snoqualmie Pass on Velocity Dyad rims with tubes, no problem with the width on the rim or with frame clearance. I enjoyed their smooth ride but like the poster above I found the tires to be flat prone on pavement and tread life too short to justify their $80 price tag. I replaced them with BG RnR tires. I have electric assist so the additional weight and rolling resistance was not an issue.