Road tire recommendation for cross bike?

[Salty VW]

I just ordered a Gravity Zilla from Bikes Direct. I was decided on a cross bike as I figured it could easily serve the purpose of a number of bikes over it's lifespan. It comes with 700x40 Kenda Happy Mediums, which seem a bit overkill for the road. I'll be using the bike for errands, zipping to the coffee shop on Sunday mornings, and casual ~30mile back road cruises with my wife. It will see some hard packed dirt trails and fire roads from time to time, but not likely on a regular basis. Another thing to note is that we have a lot of broken glass, industrial debris, and pebbles in the road here, and that with BMX roots - I tend to be kinda hard on bikes.

Anyway, lemme know what you guys think I should be lookin' for. Width, features, recommended models, etc. I'm still pretty new to road bikes in general.



I noticed after ordering it that it rides on 26.5mm wide WTB All Mountain Speed Discs. Is that going to limit my tire selection?

[merckx56]

Get something with a semi-slick, or "file" tread. The Happy Mediums are really nice. I'm riding the 35c version right now, and using my CX bike for much the same thing as you plan on.
They also come in 32c.
Clement LAS tires are really nice, have a BIG volume for a 33c, and are FAST. Downside? They wear pretty quickly.
Kenda Small Block 8s are pretty good, and come in both 32 and 35c.

Continental, Vittoria, and a few others make file treads as well.

None are "road" tires per se, but all will be much easier to push around than a 40c tire.

The wide rim width will only be an issue is you try to go narrower than 26.5mm. If you want a true road tire, look for something like a Conti 700x28. You could probably get away with running a 25c tire, but it may present problems as the carcass of the tire may not have enough volume to catch the bead properly. The results could be bad...

I just ordered a Gravity Zilla from Bikes Direct. I was decided on a cross bike as I figured it could easily serve the purpose of a number of bikes over it's lifespan. It comes with 700x40 Kenda Happy Mediums, which seem a bit overkill for the road. I'll be using the bike for errands, zipping to the coffee shop on Sunday mornings, and casual ~30mile back road cruises with my wife. It will see some hard packed dirt trails and fire roads from time to time, but not likely on a regular basis. Another thing to note is that we have a lot of broken glass, industrial debris, and pebbles in the road here, and that with BMX roots - I tend to be kinda hard on bikes.

Anyway, lemme know what you guys think I should be lookin' for. Width, features, recommended models, etc. I'm still pretty new to road bikes in general.



I noticed after ordering it that it rides on 26.5mm wide WTB All Mountain Speed Discs. Is that going to limit my tire selection?

[Salty VW]

Nice! Thanks for the tips! I like the profile and the tread on the LAS - the added volume is definitely a plus as well. My wife's Felt Cafe has some nice V tread 700x38's. I like the way those handle too (though I haven't seen them in dirt). Haven't seen too many V tread tires on the interwebs though.


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[Salty VW]

Hrm. If I could get something in white, that'd be super sweet. :-D


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[Biz]

Hrm. If I could get something in white, that'd be super sweet. :-D


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Challenge makes the Grifo XS in white. It's a file tread.

[BsickPassat]

Continental Gatorskin 700 x 32c should work.

When it's time to hit the fire roads and smooth singletrack, put the stock tires back on.

[Salty VW]

Is 28c too narrow for my rim and application (edit: Hrm, tire charts and interweb forums have conflicting opinions as far as the rim goes)? Eyeing the Vittoria Radonneur, and Fyxation Session, both of which only have the white variant avalaible in 28c.

Also curious, if I buy something like this, am I going to regret it?
http://www.junkyrustybikes.net/produ...oducts_id=1056
http://www.junkyrustybikes.net/produ...oducts_id=1443

[BsickPassat]

your best bet is to call WTB themselves to ask the smallest size you that can be fitted.

Call: 800: (800) 975-2453 (taken from their website)

[merckx56]

28mm will work just fine. It's wider than the rim...

[Salty VW]

Thanks for the help fellers. I ended up ordering the wire bead Fyxation Sessions in 28c. We'll see how they work out. :-)


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