advice on 700c rims [choosing Giant Escape r2 vs. Escape m2]

Howitzer

Hi there,

I'm thinking of getting a bike that will come with 700c rims.
they're called Alex ACE 18 700c and come with Maxxis Columbiere 700x32mm tyres.

this skinny tyre would be new to me, and I'm wondering what is the fattest most comfortable tyre I can put on those rims if I don't like the 700x32mm.

Could I put this 700x38c
Is there anything wider for 700c?

Or avoid the 700 rims and get some mountain bike 26' rims and try slicks on (for commuting) 26x1.50 slicks

The two bikes that I'm torn between choosing are:
Giant Escape m2
and
Giant Escape r2
Both look to be the same bike (same price too) with 26' vs. 700 size hubs. I'll mainly be using the bike for commuting.


Other questions I have floating around:
acera vs alivio? worth the extra money?
and are internal sealed gears worth exploring?
Any feedback welcome...

Stark

What will you be using the bike for? If it's for commuting, then 32mm tyres will be more than wide enough. (My bike came with 32mm tyres, and I'm currently using 23mm tyres). According to that link you give, the rim width is 17mm, and according to Sheldon Brown's site (http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width), that should mean it will take tyres between 25mm and 37mm in width.

Personally I wouldn't go for either of those bikes if your main use is commuting. I'd go with the Giant CRS 2.5 for the same price.

BostonB

Stark wrote: »

...Personally I wouldn't go for either of those bikes if your main use is commuting. I'd go with the Giant CRS 2.5 for the same price.

Why so?

Howitzer

yeh Stark, why so? I'm interested cos some of the bikes are so similar.

BostonB are you looking at similar bikes?

Stark

Seems to have slightly better components (Alivio vs Acera for example) and the CRS series seems to be derived more from a road bike, whereas the Escape series seems to be derived more from a mountain bike. It is just a personal thing though, the bikes do look very similar.

BostonB

Howitzer wrote: »

...
BostonB are you looking at similar bikes?

Kinda. I've only recently start commuting on the bike. I'm using my old MTB. I decided I wouldn't upgrade to a better bike unless I managed to bike it 2/3 days a week for a few months. I'm about halfway throgh that. So I'm keeping my eye out for what might help me keep going on the bike, and what bike I might get.

The only changes I've made to my own bike are a better saddle, and tyres. (Specialized Nimbus Armadillo 26x1.5). The latter only dropped about 5 mins off my commute but it so much easier compared to the old tyres. Perhaps it was a bad choice of tyre as people complain about the ride quality on Armadillo and I am finding them hard. Ok on a smooth surface which thankfully is about 80% of my route. But on bad tarmac they are very hard and the vibration is bad compared to the old fat tyres over the same surface. Then again I'm not used to anything else, so I've nothing to compare them with. But I would imagine 700 tyres would be ever harder.

I was hoping a new bike would be a lot lighter, and thus ease the commute. But from just testing the bikes in the shop most hybrids don't seem that much lighter. But better brakes (discs) and better gears would be worth upgrading to I 'm thinking. Weight is less of an issue. I'm on the fence if something closer to a road bike would be better than hybrid. Less rolling resistance would be good, but then being able to break hard on a rough surface on a wet night when someone pull out in front of you is more important perhaps. After my first few weeks commuting, I had to upgrade the pads on my brakes. They old ones weren't up to one of the hills on my route.

dazed+confused

I'm looking at the Giant Escape M for town riding and generally keeping fit, but I'm confused about frame size. The large frame seems pretty small to me. I'm 6ft, but most of my height is in my legs (34in). Any advice?

blorg

If your brakes are properly adjusted with good pads you do not need discs on the road (I have them on my MTB.)

@Howitzer- tyre width is a personal thing, you do get more comfort with wider tyres inflated to lower pressures but I would think 700x32c should be more than enough for road use. You need to consider brake/frame clearance as well as what the rim can take but I imagine you could go a fair bit bigger if you wanted. Also that table on Sheldon's site is quite conservative, I have put 700x23c up to 700x35c on the same road race rim, I imagine you could go even bigger than 700x37c if you liked. 700x38c is the same width as a MTB 1.5.

(Personally I use 700x23c on the road bike and generally 700x25c on everything else but have used 700x32c knobblies on a cross bike and 700x35c semi-slicks for off-road touring.)

blorg

dazed+confused wrote: »

I'm looking at the Giant Escape M for town riding and generally keeping fit, but I'm confused about frame size. The large frame seems pretty small to me. I'm 6ft, but most of my height is in my legs (34in). Any advice?

If it helps any I am 6ft, 33.75" inseam, and ride a Giant Bowery fixed in the "L" size. The frames may look small because they have compact geometry (sloping top tube) - they are designed so you should have quite a lot of seatpost showing.

dazed+confused

Thanks a lot, I'll go with the large so, The Eastern European guy in the shop says he rides a large frame and he's nearly a head taller than me. But I'm always wary of guys in shops who claim to own what they're trying to sell you. They must have half the shop at home!