Idiots question on road bike tyre sizes

[goo_mason]

OK - I'm going to be getting a Giant SCR2 this year on Bike To Work, and I see that the tyres it'll come with are 700 x 26. Googling for this size doesn't turn up much, so I take it you can use different sizes and not just 700 x 26 (eg 700 x 25, 700 x 23 etc) ?

Sorry to sound daft here but wee skinny tyres are virgin territory for me

 

[arranandy]

Yeah, you're not stuck with 700c x 26 and could easily use 700 x 23 or even 700 x 20!! The second number relates to the tyre width. In theory the lower the number the less rolling resistance

 

[goo_mason]

Aha !! So that's what it means - cheers Andy

 

[yello]

And looked at from the other way around, in theory the bigger the number the more comfortable the ride.

 

[John the Monkey]

FWIW, I liked 25Cs when I ran them on the old bike. The 26s that come with the SCR2.0 ride nicely, but aren't terribly resistant to unplanned deflation - depending on how prone you are to the p*, you should budget for a new set soonish, I reckon.

You'll find 26 is about as large as you can go on this bike (if you have guards on it, in any case).

I reckon you'll enjoy the bike, I'm loving mine.

 

[another_dave_b]

OK - I'm going to be getting a Giant SCR2 this year on Bike To Work, and I see that the tyres it'll come with are 700 x 26. Googling for this size doesn't turn up much, so I take it you can use different sizes and not just 700 x 26 (eg 700 x 25, 700 x 23 etc) ?

Sorry to sound daft here but wee skinny tyres are virgin territory for me

What sort of bike do you have at the moment?

 

[bonj2]

26 is on the fat side, but should be ok for scotland.
you can chop and change as long as the rims aren't too fat, e.g. you probably couldn't put 700x37 tyres on rims designed for 23s

 

[domtyler]

23 mm tyres are the norm on a road bike I'd say. They give the best combination of speed and comfort. You can go up to 25's but the difference is so slight as to be negligible.

 

[RedBike]

Yeah, you're not stuck with 700c x 26 and could easily use 700 x 23 or even 700 x 20!! The second number relates to the tyre width. In theory the lower the number the less rolling resistance

Irronically this isn't true. assuming all things are equal a 25/26mm tyre actually has a lower rolling resistance than a 20mm tyre. However, a 20mm tyre should be both lighter and more areodynamic, which should make them faster! The reason most people don't use 20mm tyres is the narrower the tyre the harsher the ride.

For what it's worth I would recommend the Mitch' carbons. But everyone has their own favourites.

 

[John the Monkey]

Does anyone ride the Schwalbe Stelvios? I'm a bit fed up with the Kenda tyres currently on the Giant, and I'm mulling whether to whack Stelvios on now, or wait for the Stelvio plus to come out...

 

[domtyler]

Does anyone ride the Schwalbe Stelvios? I'm a bit fed up with the Kenda tyres currently on the Giant, and I'm mulling whether to whack Stelvios on now, or wait for the Stelvio plus to come out...

My Focus Cayo came with Stelvios, I really liked them but one got a massive cut in it which trashed it and then I could not find a source for them, the remaining one is black and silver if you know anywhere?

They are dual compound, so hard wearing strip in the middle and soft gooey edges for cornering. Make a lovely nice squirming noise going round RABs.

 

[John the Monkey]

My LBS has them, I think Dom - d'you want me to ask? I guess I could hand them over to you if you're ever around Manchester/Crewe, or post them...

PM the details if you like and I'll send them a text or pop in next week.

 

[goo_mason]

What sort of bike do you have at the moment?

A Carrera Vulcan MTB.