Slick tyres for a Hybrid

greenasgrass · 23-02-2011 5:19pm #1

Just looking for a bit of advice for some tyres for my brother.

He bought this bike last year for about €900 so he doesn't want to change but he's now doing the odd triathlon and training a bit. He put a set of aerobars on it and I have a road bike and he can keep up with me for the most part except on long straights or downhills.

http://www.feltbicycles.com/Ireland/2011/Mountain/QX-Series-Men/QX85.aspx

It says that this have these rims

http://www.wtb.com/products/wheels/rims/xc/dualdutyxc/

Which are 700 x 37.

These are typical diameter wheels (i.e. 700c) but a bit wider so i guess you've less choice in tyres.

So I think you need 700c x 37. One example is here. Just over €50 for the two.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18830

Just two questions.

1. Would there be much benefit in having slick tyres on this bike for road racing?
2. Considering the width of the rims is he better getting a set of 700c wheels and slick tyres?

I think he'd feel the difference with a set of slick tyres, particularly at higher speed, but I'm definitely no expert.

Any advice appreciated.

blorg · 23-02-2011 6:05pm

Yes slicks would make a difference if he has knobs on the current tyres.

It would be the tyres not the rim that are 700x37c. Rims will take a range of tyre widths and the official spec is conservative. He should be able to go narrower, PROBABLY down to 700x28c, a size you can get variants of proper racing tyres in.

Ultimately though if he is even halfway serious about triathlon he needs to get a road bike (not a tri bike, until after he has the road one.)

greenasgrass · 23-02-2011 11:51pm

Cheers,

He only did about 4 triathlons last year and is planning maybe 6 this year so he's not too bothered with the bike. Also it's lighter than my road bike (and he's lighter than me) so he does a good time over 20km, which is good enough for him for now.

I'll have a look a the smaller tyres for him. I think they'll help a bit

carthoris · 24-02-2011 12:26am

The best thing to do is take the existing tyres off and measure the rim width (see http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rim-sizing.html) then from this you can determine the tyres that are compatible with the rim fromt the table here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

blorg · 24-02-2011 3:22am

Note though that that table is very conservative. I have run between 23 and 37 on the same rims no problem.

greenasgrass · 24-02-2011 9:27am

OK Lads,

Thanks for that. Will measure at the weekend and pick up one tyre first just to ensure a good fit. I think a 28 would be fine. As I say he's looking to improve his own time a little, not compete with the frontrunners.

woody_2000 · 24-02-2011 10:52am

I'm on my second sent of Continental Sport Contact tyres (700x32c) on my hybrid, and I don't think I would use anything else... Puncture resistance is very good, and I've only gotten a few punctures in the space of a year (which were mostly my fault, I would say - cycling over glass, etc. I like to test them:rolleyes:). My previous Maxxis Colombiere slicks punctured at least once a week, so these Continental slick and puncture resistant tyres were a godsend...

The 700x32c would be a good general purpose slick for a hybrid, IMO... The 28c would be ok if you needed something a little more "roady"... They are a bit heavier than the previous Maxxis tyres -- maybe due to the puncture resistance...

These tyres also come with free inner tubes, and a puncture guarantee...

I would recommend them.

Slick tyres for a Hybrid

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