Learn me: Bicycle tires

So I have a Specialized Hybrid, I think it’s time to change the tires, because I keep on getting a leak in the rear and I can see a puncture. They look worn, but I am not sure if that is due to the low tread. I literally know nothing about bike tires, we have a specialized store, but I am not happy with their customer service. They give the impression that if you don’t buy the CF bike and know everything about bikes your trash. So I am forced to shop online. The current tires are borough XC 700x45c, I am thinking I need to get something more aggressive because of the roads I bike on are rough roads and have a lot of debris. Any advice?

Plan on replacing the tubes as well. That is likely where the leak is.

Look for Kevlar belted or reinforced tires. Those should help with puncture resistance on rough roads.

Unless you're racing, don't get hung up on weight.

Try Performance for budget tires.

CONTINENTAL SPEEDRIDE 700C TIRE How about these?

What Ian said is spot on. Check on performancebike.com and nashbar.com for "commuter tires." Your current size (or even a 700x35 or 38) is probably fine for any paved or smooth gravel riding, but you may want to look for tires that specifically have some form of built in puncture protection. Most of the "commuter" or "touring" tires will. Do replace the tubes. You might want to consider tubes from someone like Slime that have puncture sealant goo inside them, but I wouldn't recommend the "puncture proof" tubes that are just really heavy rubber. Too much weight for not enough benefit. The Slime tubes have always performed really well for me, although the goo ages out in about 18 -24 months and the tube should be replaced then.

Here's a great tire for $25 each - Vittoria Randonneur II at Nashbar

First, you should have extra tubes on hand if you ride a lot, and I recommend a patch kit and inflator for long rides if you don't have one already.

That said, any clincher style 700c tire that is narrow enough to not rub your frame should work. The 45c width tire you already have are very wide, so you have a lot of options. I ride a lot of gravel roads and unpaved rail trail with a couple sets of 32 and 35 width CX style tires with relatively cheap standard tubes and rarely ever have a puncture. I think sharp, metallic debris on paved roads can be an occasional issue no matter what...

I have no experience with the tires you linked, but I like the price (cheap).

I commuted on the Randonneur II for years, it's a great tire. If I could get it in 700x25 I'd still be running them. I'd echo what others have said about tubes. Have extra on hand, learn how to swap them when you get flats. It's not too hard, but the Kevlar tires do take a bit of convincing to get on the rim sometimes.

It's a shame you don't have a Performance Bikes locally - the staff at the one I go to are great. They've never made me feel like a second class citizen for bike commuting on a cheaper bike.

trigun7469 wrote: CONTINENTAL SPEEDRIDE 700C TIRE How about these?

I've got these tires on my Kona Jake the Snake and they're terrific. I beat that thing like it's a rental, tires are holding up very well. I've got some Kevlar liners in there as well.

trigun7469 wrote: CONTINENTAL SPEEDRIDE 700C TIRE How about these?

Continental make great tires. For $15, that looks pretty good.

just like car tyres, bicycle tyres dry up and dry out. Unlike a car, the patch of rubber keeping you connected when steering or stopping is VERY small. Best to get some decent new rubber too. It's not like Bicycle tyres cost a fortune

Many tubes today leak way more than you'd expect. I've heard the Schwinn brand sold at Walmart are actually some of the best "cheap" tubes you can buy, but have no personal experience nor know if they're available in your size.

I want to try these because, well, I like the name ...

I recently got some GEAX Street Runner city tires for my ATB-turned-roadbike. Nice price from Nashbar. No complaints.

Just something simple like this will work just fine. Doesn't need to be fancy.

https://www.amazon.com/Continental-Tour-Ride-Urban-Bicycle/dp/B001H1LYQK/ref=pd_sbs_468_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0013DZGVG&pd_rd_r=AHA33AWJ4G9PZPP9673M&pd_rd_w=YuX3S&pd_rd_wg=HmLke&refRID=AHA33AWJ4G9PZPP9673M&th=1&psc=1

Bike tires are like tires for cars and motorcycles, you get what you pay for. They all look the same: black and round but there are big differences in weight, puncture resistance, and ride quality. Generally as puncture resistance goes up ride quality goes down and weight goes up. When weight goes down, durability and puncture resistance go down, but ride usually goes up.

If you just want a tire for tooling around, the house brands(like Nashbar) are usually Ok, the tires are generally made by one of the big companies anyway. I would stick with branded tubes (no walmart) and stay away from the puncture resistant tubes, they are heavy, ride poorly, cost more, and still flat. If you have trouble with flats by some name brand puncture resistant tires, the two I have had the best luck with are Continental Gatorskins and Specialized Armadillos. There is a difference in tube quality with the cheapest tubes not even molded in a circular shape. It is a straight rubber tube bonded in a circle. They tend to wrinkle and rub, causing flats.

Since you have a hybrid you probably ride mostly on the pavement or graded fire road. For that a hybrid tire with a smooth center and knobbed edges will give a good compromise between smooth low resistance ride and decent grip in off pavement cornering. If you just ride on the pavement, you can go with a skinnier (and faster) tire that has no knobs. If you ride off pavement more then something with a mild knob is a good choice. Not to aggressive, it will wear faster and be squirmy on pavement.

If you have a flat, find the reason. There is usually something in the tire, find it and remove it. I use my fingers but you will get stabbed every now and then. You also want to look at the tread because sometimes glass will stick in the tread but you cannot feel it protrude to the interior. When you see a little cut in the tread inspect it, there may be a piece of glass or metal in it.If you can't find the sharp, air the tube and look for the hole. If the hole is on the inside (rim side) then you likely have a failing rim strip, replace it with a decent cloth strip like Velox. If you have a hole in the side, then there is probably a small tear in the side wall, or a mis-adjusted brake pad has rubbed through the tire creating a hole.

I recommend finding a good local (usually independent) shop as well. If you really know nothing, a good shop can be very handy. The bike biz has a tough time with really well trained mechanics because there is a very limited system of training and the few school really don't prepare young mechanics for truly diagnosing and repairing bikes on a commercial scale (We hired enough of them, I would rather have someone with zero experience and a good attitude). However, even a mediocre mechanic can be handy especially if he has a good attitude and is easy to deal with (these traits can be hard to find in any mechanic). Some of my best staff were women so consider a shop with some female staff, they are easier to work with and you will not have to go through the %#@ swinging contest that the young racer boys front.

*I am out of that biz except for some mentoring. After 20 years I realized I needed to plan some retirement and got tired of eating ramen twice a day.

Spend 5+ years at a LBS as a mechanic and did sales. Everything important has already been covered.

I've always been partial to Schwalbe Marathons or the similar, belted, Michelins. Great tires.

If you're doing tubes (you should), spend the few extra dollars on thorn proof tubes (thicker).

Also be sure to check pressures weekly. They'll lose a few PSI per week, and this can lead to eventual pinch flats where the tube is pinched between the rim and the bead.

Valves Any thoughts on these, this was the suggestion from Jenson, I am just not sure what sizing I should get.

I've never seen a tube as wide as your tires would take with a Presta valve. Although the site lists a size that would work for you, so I've learned something today. You want the biggest size, and even then that may not be big enough for 700x48 tire.

In reply to trigun7469:

Those tubes are to skinny. You want the tube size to be in the range of the tire size. 45c tire? You want a tube that is (something like) 37-50c. You can get away if the tube is a little smaller or larger than the tire, but to big and it will be tough to mount, to little and it will be more prone to failure. You want the valve to match the hole in the rim. If you have a Schrader valve sized hole, then use a schrader valve. The other valve type (called presta or french valve) can fail if used on a schrader rim with higher pressure.

Another bicycle industry veteran wanting to reiterate the importance of checking pressure and topping it off frequently.

I'd also like to address a couple common misconceptions about the spectrum of tires available, just in case anyone following along is curious. Apologies in advance if this is way too basic.

Tire width-at one end of the spectrum, we have skinny, fast, high-pressure tires. A 700x23c or 700x25c is roughly 23mm or 25mm wide respectively, and offers the most speed and efficiency, with a bit of a tradeoff in comfort and ride quality. These tires are designed to run at high pressure, and running them too low massively increases the risk of flats and wheel damage. At the other end of the spectrum, we have wide, comfy, lower-pressure tires. A tire 35mm-45mm wide (called 700x35c, 700x38c, 700x45c, etc) These wider tires trade some speed and efficiency for greater comfort and better ability to absorb bumps. These wider tires are designed to run at medium pressures. They have more surface area for the air inside to push against, so the tire casing becomes a much bigger lever on the rim. Running these tires at too high a pressure increases the risk of damaging the rim and/or tire, or blowing the bead off.

Tire tread-At one end of the spectrum, we have a slick or very lightly siped tire. These smooth treads are optimized for hard-packed surfaces, wet or dry, and are best for ride and traction if you spend all of your time on paved surfaces.

In the middle is a heavily-siped/lightly-treaded tire which is best for traction on a mix of pavement and packed gravel, chip seal, dry packed dirt, etc.

At the far end of the spectrum, we have a knobby tire. These tires are optimized for loose, soft surfaces. There are some tread variations for sand vs. sloppy mud, etc. These tires are best for traction if you spend most of your riding time on unimproved surfaces.

In general, knobbies are terrible for traction on wet asphalt, even rough wet asphalt. A bicycle tire, even a wide slick one, is waaay too narrow and heavily loaded to hydroplane. Before getting an overview, people in the bike shop often ask for an aggressively-treaded tire "in case it rains," or "because the pavement near me is bumpy" and are terrified that the appropriate road tire, "will just slide out because it doesn't have any knobs to grip the road." The rubber compound grips the road, and knobs tend to fold over and squirm, which is not good for rider confidence when cornering.

Tire pressure-At one end of the spectrum, we have high pressure, which tends to be faster with a bumpier ride. At the other end is lower pressure, which tends to be slower, but more comfy, and better at following a really bumpy surface. Although it might be tempting to think you can get the best of all worlds by varying pressure to offset some of the width tradeoff, you don't want to go outside the manufacturers specs on the sidewall. Think of it as a personal preference adjustment, not a cheap way to totally transform the wrong tire choice.

In summary, start by picking the width that matches with your comfort/speed tradeoff, bearing in mind the type of roads you hope to ride on. Then pick a tread for optimal grip for the type of surface you plan to ride on. Keep your tires inflated, and adjust between the minimum and maximum stated on the sidewall to make small adjustments to fine tune your personal preference.

Absolutely Ae6. I may run a very nice older trek MTB, but I run MTB street tyres on it. Good enough for the road, good enough for hard pack, okish on softer dirt. Nothing I would actually want to go trail blazing on.

Thanks all for the help