Commuting tyres for MTB

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Author	Message

Jarana

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 at 12:23

Quote

Hi pinkbikers!
Help a noob pls!

I just bought a Trek X-caliber 7 for commuting to work (45min flat east to west London) and mtb in the weekends.

I want to buy a pair of tyres to speed things up on my commute, and swap for the mtb tyres on the weekends.

Current tyres are:
Bontrager XR2 Comp, wire bead, 30 tpi, 29x2.20"

Rims:
Bontrager Kovee, double-wall, Tubeless Ready, 28-hole front, 32 hole rear 23 mm width, Presta valve

2 questions:

What width range can I go for?

Any recommendations?

Im on a tight budget

Thanks!

BenLow2019

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 at 12:48

Quote

You can go really narrow on your bike and get away with it. I had these really smooth, like,1 inch tires on my old 26 inch wheeled Trek. It looked like the ugliest road bike, but I could get to work and back really fast! Anyhow, you just have to get the tubes to match: narrow tire = narrow tubes because, yes, tubes do come in various sizes and it would be really tough to stuff a 2.5 inch tube into a 1 inch tire. Look into bikepacking or cyclocross style tires and I think you'll be in the right market for what you need.
https://www.jensonusa.com/Gravel-Cyclocross-Tires

Jarana

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 at 13:39	Quote
Thanks BenLow! I was worried about 1.80 being too thin ???? Most of the urban tyres I find are 28" would that be ok for a 29" rim?

BenLow2019

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 at 14:06

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Jarana wrote:

Thanks BenLow! I was worried about 1.80 being too thin ????

Most of the urban tyres I find are 28" would that be ok for a 29" rim?

You'd run into problems trying to make a 28" tire fit on a 29" rim. Honestly I've never even heard of 28" tires. Are you sure it's not a 28mm tire? 29" or 29 inch refers to the diameter of the rim. Typically seeing 27.5 or 29 these days. Older bikes were 26 inch. 28 inch would be very unusual.
In the case of 28mm - that would usually refer to the tire width and you might be okay putting it on your rims as long as it is a 29 inch diameter tire.
I know it is very confusing how the bike world mixes metric and imperial sizes on the same components.
In case didn't already know: 29 inch wheel is also called a 700 cc wheel.

Jarana

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 at 14:20	Quote
Im here pullimg my hair! If you do a quick google search of urban mtb wheels you'll see... Apparently 28" is used for road/hybrids 29" is for mtb 700c for road bikes Basically im gonna have to desist and end up going to a bike shop and tell the guys to put some slicks on my bike and pay the extra for my ignorance ????

R-M-R

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 at 16:25

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Jarana,

700c and 29" are the same thing. Almost all 28" tires are also the same, but not absolutely all. Annoying, I know. 700c is the traditional road term, 29" is the mountain term that follows the convention of naming according to the approximate outer diameter, and 28" also follows the outer diameter convention for narrow tires. (Sources: 1, 2)

It would be less confusing if the naming convention followed the tire/rim interface diameter, which absolutely has to be consistent, and the casing width. Thankfully, that's exactly what's used by the ETRTO standard. Look for the ETRTO dimension spec, such as 56-622, on your 2.2" tires. 56 mm is the casing width and 622 mm is the bead seat diameter (BSD, the interface between the tire and rim). Maybe your tire is 54 or 55, but it will definitely be 622. Any 622 tire can mount on your rim. Anything other than 622 cannot. Some tires will be too wide or too narrow for optimal performance, but all 622 mm BSD tires will mount and be functional to varying degrees.

Annoyingly, the ETRTO is rarely listed by online retailers. Don't worry, though, you can be confident a 29", 700c, or modern 28" tire will fit. Be careful of the size 28 × 1½, as there's a slim chance that size will have a different bead seat diameter.

Your rim is slightly wider than a typical road bike rim, so it's best to not get a super narrow tire (ex. 23 mm is a common road tire width, but I wouldn't recommend it for your rims). 28 mm could be a reasonable minimum and something around 34 - 50 mm could be ideal, but it doesn't have to be precisely in that range.

The tire's casing has the greatest effect on rolling resistance, not width or tread smoothness. Surprisingly, wider tires have slightly lower rolling resistance, all else being equal, so I recommend a fairly wide tire with very flexible casing. If possible, opt for a high "TPI", or "threads per inch". This indicates a finer casing fabric, since a larger number of finer threads can fit into a one-inch measurement.

Jarana

Posted: Mar 27, 2021 at 5:37	Quote
Thanks RMR! That explains it perfectly, I bougth some tyres in CRC now, quite popular, good reviews and 50% discount. They are 28" modern and 2.0 so pretty confident they'll fit. Schwalbe Big Ben MTB Tyre 28", 2.0", Wire Bead, RaceGuard - Thanks all for your help!

R-M-R

Posted: Mar 27, 2021 at 17:24	Quote
Perfect! Enjoy the commutes!

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