Cyclist33
Guest
- Location
- Warrington
Just done something that for unknown reasons I never did before... Took a ruler and measure the width of my tyres.
On my hybrid the conti city contacts, which are rated as 32s, the actual measured width pumped up to a normal pressure, is 25mm. This explains why they look, and feel, similar to the 25s I had on my felt racer last year. They weigh in at 520 grams each, without tubes, so pretty hefty for what turns out to be a road tyre. By contrast my sisters new giant hybrid has giants own 32mm tyres, which actually are 32, and a sight more plush. Still, I can get a decent lick of speed out of my cannondale so maybe if I put on some proper road tyres at 25mm I will not lose comfort compared to the current setup, but might be able to drop half a kilo if I got, say, some 250 gram rubber.
On my hard tail, the WTB Raijins are rated at 2.1". Actually, measured from outer edge of side knobs, the width is 2.0". Not a big difference. By contrast, I have a spare front tyre which is a Kenda Nevegal 2.1. This is significantly wider than the Raijins. I use the Kenda on the front with a heavy Geax semi slick on the back when I want to spare the Raijins and if ferrying the little un around. Both the Kenda and Geax tyres weigh in at around the 740 gram mark whereas the Raijins are around 520 gms, so quite a different feel when accelerating on climbing.
How do YOUR tyres measure up against their published specs, and how does this affect your ride?
Stu
On my hybrid the conti city contacts, which are rated as 32s, the actual measured width pumped up to a normal pressure, is 25mm. This explains why they look, and feel, similar to the 25s I had on my felt racer last year. They weigh in at 520 grams each, without tubes, so pretty hefty for what turns out to be a road tyre. By contrast my sisters new giant hybrid has giants own 32mm tyres, which actually are 32, and a sight more plush. Still, I can get a decent lick of speed out of my cannondale so maybe if I put on some proper road tyres at 25mm I will not lose comfort compared to the current setup, but might be able to drop half a kilo if I got, say, some 250 gram rubber.
On my hard tail, the WTB Raijins are rated at 2.1". Actually, measured from outer edge of side knobs, the width is 2.0". Not a big difference. By contrast, I have a spare front tyre which is a Kenda Nevegal 2.1. This is significantly wider than the Raijins. I use the Kenda on the front with a heavy Geax semi slick on the back when I want to spare the Raijins and if ferrying the little un around. Both the Kenda and Geax tyres weigh in at around the 740 gram mark whereas the Raijins are around 520 gms, so quite a different feel when accelerating on climbing.
How do YOUR tyres measure up against their published specs, and how does this affect your ride?
Stu