Which tyre is possible?

[cireham]

Hi Everyone

I wished I came across this forum before buying mine and daughter's bike. Lots of useful info. Like some posts, never buy the right bike the first time and that could be true in this case but I have to make do for now till I know my daughter is serious with her cycling then i will invest in a better bike. For now, I was pointed to Reid Cycles and I bought the Reid Condor Flat bar Road bike which is ok at the moment. My question is, some of the bike paths that i am riding with my daughter are gravel/dirt and i am apprehensive that my skinny original tyres will puncture, so is there a quick fix with a tyre change to at least let me ride normal instead of crawling speed to avoid a puncture. I read somewhere here that a wider tyre is also better. Currently I think mine is 700c/23. I looked at the Maxxis ReFuse but again not sure. Quite a novice when it comes to bikes. Any recommendation will be great.

My daughter is preparing for the Weetbix Tryathlon, hence the new bikes and bike paths at the moment till she is confident in her cycling.

Thanks in advance
Cireham

[Nobody]

It looks like it has short reach brake calipers so you would probably only safely get 28mm tyres in them. You'll need to measure carefully to see if you have 30mm or more space at the seatstays, chainstays and fork to take 28mm tyres.

[jasonc]

get schwalbe marathon plus - they are heavy as hell but they roll well and provide the best puncture protection on the market (i run them on my flat bar)

[Byke]

i am apprehensive that my skinny original tyres will puncture, so is there a quick fix with a tyre change to at least let me ride normal instead of crawling speed to avoid a puncture.

She shouldn't ride slowly because she fears a puncture. It's unlikely to happen, and if it does it's highly unlikely to be dangerous. It's just inconvenient.

I'd be surprised if the tyres that came on a $250 bike were particularly lightweight (the Reid website doesn't specify what type of tyre the bike comes with, so I don't know, but generally expensive race tyres are lightweight, and cheap tyres aren't).

Gravel and stones aren't particularly likely to cause punctures. Broken glass or a thorn is a much more likely culprit, and she's probably less likely to encounter the former than if she was on the road. And riding speed is going to have almost no bearing on any of these items causing a puncture or not.

If you haven't already bought a pump then spend the money on a pump instead. Because the other common cause of punctures is a 'snake-bite', which occurs when an under-inflated tyre gets pinched by the rim when going over a kerb or the start of a concrete bike path. Pumping up her tyres regularly will do far more to prevent the likelihood of punctures than buying new tyres.

In short I'd suggest saving your money. There's every chance the current tyres will be just fine, and there's no guarantee that if you buy a set of expensive tyres that they won't puncture.

[Byke]

Having said all that on my 'round town bike (and my friends') I fit Continental Gatorskins.

And yes, get the biggest that will fit (leaving enough clearance between the fork and the front tyre, and the frame and the back tyre).

[cireham]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

My daughter is ok as she rides a Giant Veer 20. I am trying to keep up with her at a crawling pace. The tyres are Kenda. I will measure to see possibility of 28mm tyres. In the meantime I have bought handpump, spare tube and tyre levers just in case of a flat.

On a side note, worst case if can't fit 28mm any difference between the 23mm gatorskins vs Maxxis Refuse?

[Ross]

Don't buy the Maxxis Refuse, they are like their name suggests ie rubbish. Quite prone to getting punctures.

[MarkG]

Maxxis are hit and miss with me, as are GP4000. I'm currently on the Specialized bullet proof equivalent , armadillo or something. They seem not bad.

[cireham]

Jasonc - which size do use on your flat bar for the sczwalbe marathon plus?

[cireham]

Thank you everyone who commented. I have decided to get the Schwalbe Marathon Original 700c/25 from Wiggles but to get free freight i need to spend another $20. I have a spare tube, hand pump and tyre levers. I was told I will need a toolkit. Any comments appreciated for the below items that I picked out for around $20.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-hexus-ii ... ulti-tool/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/crank-brothers- ... ulti-tool/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lezyne-rap-13-multi-tool/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-mini-9-p ... ulti-tool/

[clackers]

Don't buy the Maxxis Refuse, they are like their name suggests ie rubbish. Quite prone to getting punctures.

I've found the opposite over the last two years, Ross.

Not one puncture, despite pulling out plenty of embedded pieces of glass and getting lots of cuts and nicks.

But they're heavy compared to the more expensive rivals.

[jasonc]

Jasonc - which size do use on your flat bar for the sczwalbe marathon plus?

delayed response - i run 700x25c on my bike.

[cireham]

Thank you everyone once again for your comments. I have ordered the schwalbe marathon original 700c/25 and the topeak hexus ii multi tool. Can't wait for it to get here.