upgrading my giant escape 3

12gauge dave

hi everyone ive recently got into cycling and have purchased an entry level hybrid the giant escape 3 and im very happy with it. now im getting used to it im wondering what would be good upgrade options speed wise. it has 700x 32 tires on it, whats the thinnest tires i could get to increase my speed as the bike is for road use so i have no off road worries and i dont mind taking from comfort to increase speed.

any tire recommendations with fast road use in mind?
thanks in advance
dave

quozl

25mm GP4000s.

There's no reason to go down to 23mm imo and those are very nice tyres without being a puncture waiting to happen.

rollingscone

quozl wrote: »

25mm GP4000s.

There's no reason to go down to 23mm imo and those are very nice tyres without being a puncture waiting to happen.

The escape wheels won't take anything thinner than 28mm. They're also only rated for a low maximum psi, I think 60.

I run my heavily modified escape on 28mm tyres at 85psi no problem but with armoured tyres like marathon plus etc the tyre may be more easily damaged as the rims will actually bulge under excess pressure.

Ironlungs

I couldn't comment on the wheel spec.

I had a similar dilemma to yourself, and the speed upgrade I made was to install 28mm gatorskins. I run them at around 95psi on my Trek 7.3. That was 1,500km ago and I have as yet to puncture. The improvements I noticed were a more nimble, agile feel, quicker acceleration and approximately 2.5km faster on my usual runs. A very worthwhile upgrade for me. The stock tires were bontrager hardcase 32mm.

Paul Kiernan

I'd already commented on tyre pressures in your other thread but it's more appropriate here.

This chart ...


... shows the required tyre pressures for different size tyres under different loads. I know Giant, with some of their rims, claim the rim shape makes them less likely to cause pinch-flats (meaning you can get away with a lower pressure) but I don't know if this applies to the Escape rims.

I would be inclined to stick with the 32c tyres.

smacl

rollingscone wrote: »

The escape wheels won't take anything thinner than 28mm. They're also only rated for a low maximum psi, I think 60.

I run my heavily modified escape on 28mm tyres at 85psi no problem but with armoured tyres like marathon plus etc the tyre may be more easily damaged as the rims will actually bulge under excess pressure.

+1, I put 32mm Marathon supremes on my hybrid, which are much lighter (310g for 28mm), run faster, and have more puncture protection than the stock tyres. Not to be confused with Marathon plus which are more than twice the weight and not slick.

Not cheap, but on the escape 28mm marathon supremes would be a great choice for the road.

rollingscone

I've run 28s on my escape with factory wheels since day one with no problems. Currently running a rear gatorskin and front Rubino at 85psi with no problems doing spins of up to 100km in 2014 weather.

Brian?

12gauge dave wrote: »

hi everyone ive recently got into cycling and have purchased an entry level hybrid the giant escape 3 and im very happy with it. now im getting used to it im wondering what would be good upgrade options speed wise. it has 700x 32 tires on it, whats the thinnest tires i could get to increase my speed as the bike is for road use so i have no off road worries and i dont mind taking from comfort to increase speed.

any tire recommendations with fast road use in mind?
thanks in advance
dave

Sounds like you've fallen into the hybrid trap and it's time to start saving for a new bike.

beauf

12gauge dave wrote: »

...and i dont mind taking from comfort to increase speed....

I guess the question is why do you want to go faster?

Paul Kiernan

beauf wrote: »

I guess the question is why do you want to go faster?

Who doesn't?

beauf

There a difference to want to go faster for a long spin with a group, or just be faster on the commute.

12gauge dave

Thanks guys I went out with a friend with a lapierre road bike today we have similar levels of fitness and I was suprised how easily I kept with him. We had a sprint race and he did pull away as would be expected.

I think im goin to get a good pump with a psi gauge and keep my 32 tires for a while then get the marathon supreme 28 tires as suggested in near future.

Thaks for replies ye really are a fountain of knowledge.

Im suprised how addictive cycling is I always passed cyclists and wondered why do they bother but now ive started I just want to get out there every day.

Ive put up 43km in my first week of ownership hopefully the weather improves and I can get longer cycles in.

rollingscone

You'll find the longer cycles will really show the difference between roadbike and Hybrid, it's much more fun riding a Roadbike on tarmac surfaces also, the differences on a roadbike are generally quite marginal (apart from acceleration) and so you'll only really see the advantages over hours or on lots of climbing.

12gauge dave

Where would best be best place online to get marathon supremes in 700x28c size and would I need new tubes? Are they hard to fit?
Thanks

rollingscone

12gauge dave wrote: »

Where would best be best place online to get marathon supremes in 700x28c size and would I need new tubes? Are they hard to fit?
Thanks

Armoured tyres are a nightmare to fit the first time.

Not sure about the tubes, I'd try your current set and see how you go

smacl

rollingscone wrote: »

You'll find the longer cycles will really show the difference between roadbike and Hybrid, it's much more fun riding a Roadbike on tarmac surfaces also, the differences on a roadbike are generally quite marginal (apart from acceleration) and so you'll only really see the advantages over hours or on lots of climbing.

True, but you can get away with a hybrid for quite a bit. I've done a couple of Orwell Randonees and a Wicklow 200 on the hybrid comfortably if rather slowly. If you want to join a club the hybrid becomes an issue, and for long distances the flat bars don't offer the variety you get with drop bars. I enjoy my road bike way more than my hybrid, but still enjoy both of them. The great thing about a first bike is it inevitably leads to a second bike and so on. Enjoy the bike you've got now for starters.