Which tyres and tubes?

cormie

Hi,
I have a Giant SCR 3.0, this one to be exact:

Aluminium frame with carbon fork, 55.5cm frame, tiagra rear mech, sora shifters and front mech, itm bars and stem, mavic ksyrium elites, toupe carbon/titanium saddle, look a3 pedals, excellent road bike. €500
[URL="[IMG]http://i22.tinypic.com/2u5us9h.jpg[/IMG]"][/URL]

On the Ksyrium wheels there is a sticker that says "Serie 6000 622x13" and on the Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX tyres it says 23-622 700x23c press 8-10bar Corespun K Kevlar casing 290tpi.

Can anyone tell me which tyres and tubes I should be looking for if/when they need replacement please? Links to a cheap place to buy them would be great too.

Also, when replacing a tube, I've seen the little plastic clip/levers recommended by some but not by others, what's an alternative to using these or are they fine?

Also, it's hard to tell, but I bought the above bike 2nd hand (off sprinter on boards ) and I'm not sure if the blue grip tape on the bars was put on by the manufacturer or after it was bought. Anyone know what's under this and is it ok to take off/replace if need be?

Any feedback appreciated

E@gle.

you need tyres 700X23 or 700X25

It depends really how much you want to spend,

If you want good Puncture resistant tyres get continental ultra gator skins/ Specialized armilidos

If you want good performance tyres get a set of continental gp 4000/ Mitchelin pro race 2.

I currently use these
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=Y1015

cormie

Thanks for the reply Are the tyres on it at the moment any good do you know?

What about tubes? Is there a generic "racer bike tube" that I ask for or do I need specific ones? Any good places to buy them online?

Raam

Tubes:
These should do the trick if your tyre is 700x23c...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20484
Pick the 18-23 ones.
From your pic, it looks like you have presta valves. They are the skinnier one with the little steel twisty cap that you need to loosen before inflating.
On that link I gave you will see this...
700 x 18-23c Presta (36mm)
The 36mm is the length of the valve. Some deep section rim wheels need the longer valve. You should be fine with 36mm.

Replacing Tubes:
I assume you are talking about tyre levers. They are handy. I use them when taking off the tyre so I can get a start on it, then I just pull it off by hand (sounds a bit kinky). On the road I have a multi tool which has them built in, very useful. It is possible to get the tyre off without them, but you need iron thumbs Just be careful with the lever so you don't pinch the tube and burst it.

Handle bar tap:
Yes, you can take this off. There might be gel pads under them. It is easy to replace, but you need to take your time and be patient with it so you get it right.

P

cormie

Cool thanks a lot, just ordered them tubes and some levers and tape

I've changed plenty of tyres in my time, but never a road bike tyre, but this guy has:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N3C-DnExao

chris85

cormie wrote: »

Cool thanks a lot, just ordered them tubes and some levers and tape

I've changed plenty of tyres in my time, but never a road bike tyre, but this guy has:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N3C-DnExao

They're just a bit tighter to get the road tyres on the wheels when changing. As alwasy be careful not to pinch the tube with the tyre as this will most likely puncture the tube.

cormie

Cool thanks for the tip do you mean pinch it with the lever or with the tyre though? As in, be careful the tube is fully between the tyre wall?

chris85

cormie wrote: »

Cool thanks for the tip do you mean pinch it with the lever or with the tyre though? As in, be careful the tube is fully between the tyre wall?

It usually gets pinched by not being fully within the tyre walls when getting the last part of the tyre on the rim.

Also can get pinched if you use a lever to put on the last of the tyre on the rim, best off not to use a lever to put it back on at the end. Its a bit tough manually but it goes on.

Also use plastic tyre levers to get the tyre off as the metal ones can damage the wheen sometime.

Also put a small bit of air in the tube before putting it in the tyre, will make it much easier.

cormie

Cool thanks again

cormie

did my little modifications anyway. It's a bit more colour coded now too