This might sound kind of funny, but what's the minimum tire size you should use for any given rim? I'm looking at getting a second wheelset for a commuter bike but I dont want to spend more money for smaller rims..
Should the tire be twice as wide as the rim? (ie a 2" tire on a 26mm rim) or would I be fine with a 1.25" tire on a 26mm rim as long as I ran it at high PSI?
All you need for riding is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.
A slick tire that is twice the width of your rim is completely unnecessary. The Ritchey Tom Slick 1.0 tires that I am using on my road wheelset are at most a few millimeters wider than the rim.
You might consider going to a 1.5 or 1.9 slick tire. The difference in weight and rolling resistance will be negligible, but you will have a wider contact patch with the road for rain and slick surfaces. Also, there will be more air in the tube/tire, so it won't feel as harsh.
And yes, keep the PSI close to max. if you want to take advantage of the decrease in rolling resistance.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
I forgot to add that my Tom Slicks fit really tight on the rim, so the 1.25 tires you mentioned might be the same.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk
Originally posted by Furious
Should the tire be twice as wide as the rim? (ie a 2" tire on a 26mm rim) or would I be fine with a 1.25" tire on a 26mm rim as long as I ran it at high PSI?
Sure - you'll just have straight sidewalls instead of bulging sidewalls.
My friend runs skinny tires like that on rhyno lites with no problems.
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.
- Josiah Stamp
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
- H.G. Wells
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire_sizing.html
go to the bottom of the page.
I got some cheap slicks at mec for under 20$ that I havent mounted yet but I went narrow as possible (1.25 I think) for lightest weight and plan to run the max rated pressure stamped on the tire
I ran 1.5's on a 321/521 set up with no problems
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