Hello-
How do you know the max size of tire / fender combination you can run on a frame? I’ve got a set of fenders and a set of 28mm tires right now on an old Fuji road frame w/ 35mm fenders; eyeballing it I’d guess I can fit 35mm tires and 40mm fenders, at least in terms of width. How can I know for sure?
And also, what about the change in tire diameter between the 28mm and 35mm–is there any? How can I tell how much more tire I can fit diameter wise?
Dave
put 'em on and check.
the cross section of the tire is not always a measure of its width relative to another brand.
For example, a 23mm Ritchey tire is narrower than a 23c from Michelin, in fact, the 25s from Rtichey are closer to Michelin’s 23c cross section.
-SD
I was hoping for a scientific answer. I’m looking at some 35mm Nokian for winter singlespeed commuting / training and didn’t want to spend serious coin without knowing for sure that I could get the combo to work.
Once you put knobbies into the equation, all bets are off in regards to tire width.
I’d be shocked if a road frame fit 35mm Nokian tires.
-SD
Gotcha. So 35mm is the tire base, not the width from knobby to knobby? So, basically I’m back to just trying it out? I was hoping that there was some rule about ‘measure the distance from seatstay to stay approximately 27.5 inches from the dropout and you’ll know what you can fit; subtract 2mm for fenders’ or something like that.
I converted an old road bike to a cyclocross bike and found that the widest knobby tire that I could fit was a 28mm (I used the Hutchinson Pro). It fit fine, but there was no way to get a wider one between the chain stays.
if the frame is beefy, you can always crush the stays in a vice.
-SD
Never would have thought of that. I guess I might take a chance and see how it works out.
Thanks!!!
made some dies that only push the frame in where the tires pass by. A round seatpost as a die would work.
SD