Chunky Wider type Tires for Hybrid?

[Lee]

Do such a thing exist?


I have been looking into doing a few local bike rides and i came across this that that say about the route

'Surfaces vary from tarmac, through compacted shale to sand, so bikes with wide tyres are a sensible choice'


Now, my Boardman Hybrid has currently got some Vittoria Zaffiro 700x28c tires on Alex DP17 rims and they look very road like only to me.


I have looked into the Sheldon site mentioned alot on here and correct me if i'm wrong the max size is i can go to is 37.


Would this be ok for for the above ad if so what 37 tires are the most suitable? Marathon +'s or something else perhaps?


Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Lee]

I've came across these whilst i've been digging around

Linky




they look and sound good to a novice like me! any thoughts?

 

[Norm]

Schwalbe do make good tyres, but those Smart Sams may not be a good option for the road as they don't have a constant ridge down the middle. By putting blocky treads there, they increase the rolling resistance as the tyre has to effectively "climb" onto (or compress) each block in turn. They could also hum like a mad thing on tarmac.

As an example of a better tarmac tyre, have a look at the tread pattern on a Sammy Slick.

Note also that there are few conditions in which a tyre will be bad. In the dry, your Vittoria will be better than either of the Schwalbe's on the tarmac and not far behind off road. You could get the Smart Sams and you'll have a tyre which is great in wet mud, but a bit slower on the tarmac. Will you notice the speed difference? And, if you do, will you think it a bad thing or will you just consider that you are getting a bit more of a work out from your ride.

By way of comparison, my cx bike, which gets ridden in some very dodgy conditions, still runs on the Specialized Borough Sport CX which were fitted from new and which are slicks in the middle so have very little disadvantage on the road. You can just about see them under all the mud and cack on these pix...

 

[barongreenback]

Is that mud or did a car get just a bit too close for comfort?

 

[Lee]

Thanks for that Norm, can't see a tyre on your bike though!

 

[Norm]

You can barely see the bike on my bike in those pix.

You can see how slick the centre of the tyre is in this one...


The point is that there are tyres which are more suited to some surfaces than others, they are mostly some sort of compromise and will mostly still work outside their designated market. Certainly on tarmac, just about any tyre will work but some will need more effort and be slower than others.