# Touring Tyre help -26 inch wheels



## Nigeyy (Mar 30, 2003)

Well, this morning I almost had a heart attack trying to keep up with my friend on his Surly LHT with 700cx23 Conti touring tyres. I was on an older bike, but with 1.5 inch slicks on mtb wheels (max pressure 65psi). I could not believe the difference in effort I had to put in.......it was *really* hard.

So I'm going to be touring with him soon, and I need some help and advice on tyres:

(i) after this morning's efforts, I think I'd like to get some tyres that are 26x1.0 or 26x1.25 at the widest. I've seen Specialized 26x1.25 FatBoys -they seem pretty good and sturdy and are rated to 100psi (as opposed to the Hutchinson Top Rock slicks which seem very flimsy and I've never had good luck with Hutchinson's so I'm naturally suspicious), or I could get Ritchey Tom Slicks 26x1.0s rated at about 90 psi I think.... any thoughts? I will be doing mostly loaded touring on this bike, and I figure based on most 700c touring tyres, a 26x1.0 should be wide enough yet give me a little less rolling resistance.

(ii) one concern I have if I get 26x1.0 rims -I currently have some old Araya ones that have an inside width of about 3/4 inch -I know I don't want the rims to be too wide so the tyre doesn't seat appropriately -has anyone got any good guidelines? Interestingly I'm currently using a Sun RhynoLite rear rim until I can lace up my other old Araya, which at first glance appears to be very wide, yet when I measured the internal width, it was pretty much the same as my old Araya front rim.... can you mount 1.0 tyres safely on Sun Rhynolites? Anyone done this or got any guidelines for max rim width? I might be tempted to just the Rhynolites if I can save having to get a new hub and relace the old Araya rear wheel.

(iii) I'll gladly accept any recommendations on other narrow touring/commuting 26 inch tyres! I'm guessing that at least 90 psi is the way to go as well. If anyone uses Rhynolites I'd be particularly interested to know what they use.

thanks.


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## ispoke (Feb 28, 2005)

*Geax*

Geax makes a 26x1.25 tire, I think called the Street Runner. I've been running them for about 2 years. 80-85 psi, firm, smooth, sticky, fast. They've withstood a lot of abuse during city commutes carrying panniers/textbooks over jointed pavement, RR tracks, and occasionally debris/sharps in the shoulder. I pump them up over 80 psi and after a few commutes they're down in the 60's. Then time to pump up again. 60's are dog slow if you're trying to keep up!

As for rims, it's rare that anyone has a "too wide" rim. There's generally nothing wrong with a rim that is equally wide as the tire it carries. Today the issue with MTBs is that in the quest for light weight, some folks choose rims too *narrow* to support a wide tire. That's a safety problem. Take a look at Sheldon Brown's website. He has an Article about wheels with a helpful chart of tire and rim width compatibility.


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## Gargamel (Feb 3, 2004)

*I use*

Continental (aarrggh-can't remember model name) that I have in 26 x 1.3. They're light & pretty tough. Roll very well.

Biketiresdirect has them. They also have soem Vittoria 26x1.3 that I almost bought.


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## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

Don't forget, 26" ATB rims are a completely different diameter than 26" road rims are.


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## damon (Dec 24, 2001)

Dave_Stohler said:


> Don't forget, 26" ATB rims are a completely different diameter than 26" road rims are.


are you talking between a 26" wheel and a 650c? I don't think i'v ever heard of a "26in road" rim before... but i suppose that isn't saying much.


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## Nigeyy (Mar 30, 2003)

My wheels are definitely 26 inch mtb rims. Thanks all for the suggestions. I read up on Sheldon Brown's web site -now all I have to do is measure the internal diameter of the rims I have -I have a feeling 1.25 will be the narrowest I'll go to. In addition to getting a tyre with a greater psi and narrower width, I hope this means I will not have to bust a lung to keep up with my friend (who recently I've been beating on our usual loop, though we tend to take it in turns as we are fairly evenly matched).

I'll take a look in the lbs to see if I can find any Geax Street Runners, though I know I've seen at first hand the Hutchinson Top Slicks (which I was not impressed with, they seemed very flimsy) and the Specialized Fatboys.

Thanks all.



damon said:


> are you talking between a 26" wheel and a 650c? I don't think i'v ever heard of a "26in road" rim before... but i suppose that isn't saying much.


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## wayneanneli (Jul 8, 2004)

Nigeyy said:


> My wheels are definitely 26 inch mtb rims. Thanks all for the suggestions. I read up on Sheldon Brown's web site -now all I have to do is measure the internal diameter of the rims I have -I have a feeling 1.25 will be the narrowest I'll go to. In addition to getting a tyre with a greater psi and narrower width, I hope this means I will not have to bust a lung to keep up with my friend (who recently I've been beating on our usual loop, though we tend to take it in turns as we are fairly evenly matched).
> 
> I'll take a look in the lbs to see if I can find any Geax Street Runners, though I know I've seen at first hand the Hutchinson Top Slicks (which I was not impressed with, they seemed very flimsy) and the Specialized Fatboys.
> 
> Thanks all.


Hey Nige,
Have you tried Tioga City Slickers 26 x 1.50? I have those on my Mavic mtb rims and they roll fantastic. Not as great as road wheels, but good considering they're on my 1989 Fischer Montare MTB. Check out this link at MEC in Canada. They have a variety of tyres. If you see anything you want, pm me so I can buy them for when I'm in Montreal.
Cheers, Wayne
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...&product_listing_all=true&bmUID=1121259279453


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## Nigeyy (Mar 30, 2003)

I think 1.5 will be too wide, and I want to get something that will be at least 90 psi rated...... Nice selection of tyres though -I did see the Tioga City Slickers, but even the 1.25 was only 65 psi rated.

What did interest me was the 26x1.25 Paselas -I have those in 700c size, and I'm suitably impressed with them. I think I can get the 26x1.25 from Alfred E. Bike, but thanks for the offer. 

If I'm not ordering anything else, I'll forego internet ordering and might just well plump for the FatBoys from my lbs assuming there aren't other tyres mentioned by other posters..



wayneanneli said:


> Hey Nige,
> Have you tried Tioga City Slickers 26 x 1.50? I have those on my Mavic mtb rims and they roll fantastic. Not as great as road wheels, but good considering they're on my 1989 Fischer Montare MTB. Check out this link at MEC in Canada. They have a variety of tyres. If you see anything you want, pm me so I can buy them for when I'm in Montreal.
> Cheers, Wayne
> http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...&product_listing_all=true&bmUID=1121259279453


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## wayneanneli (Jul 8, 2004)

Nigeyy said:


> I think 1.5 will be too wide, and I want to get something that will be at least 90 psi rated...... Nice selection of tyres though -I did see the Tioga City Slickers, but even the 1.25 was only 65 psi rated.
> 
> What did interest me was the 26x1.25 Paselas -I have those in 700c size, and I'm suitably impressed with them. I think I can get the 26x1.25 from Alfred E. Bike, but thanks for the offer.
> 
> If I'm not ordering anything else, I'll forego internet ordering and might just well plump for the FatBoys from my lbs assuming there aren't other tyres mentioned by other posters..


Hey Nige,
Check the price of the Paselas, 22.50 Can plus 15% tax is pretty cheap and shipping is not that much from Montreal to you. I could send them as a gift and you wouldn't have to pay duty. Anyway, check it up and know that the offer stands.
Cheers, Wayne


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## wayneanneli (Jul 8, 2004)

Nigeyy said:


> I think 1.5 will be too wide, and I want to get something that will be at least 90 psi rated...... Nice selection of tyres though -I did see the Tioga City Slickers, but even the 1.25 was only 65 psi rated.
> 
> What did interest me was the 26x1.25 Paselas -I have those in 700c size, and I'm suitably impressed with them. I think I can get the 26x1.25 from Alfred E. Bike, but thanks for the offer.
> 
> If I'm not ordering anything else, I'll forego internet ordering and might just well plump for the FatBoys from my lbs assuming there aren't other tyres mentioned by other posters..


Hey Wayne,
Check the price of the Paselas, 22.50 Can plus 15% tax is pretty cheap and shipping is not that much from Montreal to you. I could send them as a gift and you wouldn't have to pay duty. Anyway, check it up and know that the offer stands.
Cheers, Wayne


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## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

Nigeyy said:


> If I'm not ordering anything else, I'll forego internet ordering and might just well plump for the FatBoys from my lbs assuming there aren't other tyres mentioned by other posters..


I've got a lot of miles on my FatBoys and I love them. I switch to my Club Roost Cross Terras when I'm doing combo rides (on/off road). I'm running the FBs on some circa 1994 Weinmann single wall rims, which are fairly wide. I've had no troubles.

Does Specialized still have its unconditional lifetime warranty on its tires? If so, that's a big bonus. I used to swap out my tires for new ones every time I wore them out. The Specialized rep grumbled, but he gave me the tires for free!


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*fat boys*



Nigeyy said:


> Well, this morning I almost had a heart attack trying to keep up with my friend on his Surly LHT with 700cx23 Conti touring tyres. I was on an older bike, but with 1.5 inch slicks on mtb wheels (max pressure 65psi). I could not believe the difference in effort I had to put in.......it was *really* hard.
> 
> So I'm going to be touring with him soon, and I need some help and advice on tyres:
> 
> ...


treated me sweet when I had some on a 26'' mtb touring rig - for me it's not the tyre width that's important it's psi


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## BR549 (Nov 8, 2004)

*Hutchinsion rated 113 psi*



M.J. said:


> treated me sweet when I had some on a 26'' mtb touring rig - for me it's not the tyre width that's important it's psi


I run 120 psi in my comuter have 1200 mi. so far no problems yet.( hope I didn't jinx my self) have 2 sets of the Specialized they are ok.The Hutchinsions are FASTER tho


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## Nigeyy (Mar 30, 2003)

*Update*

I got the Specialized Fat Boys -but no lifetime warrantee :-( -from the LBS for $32 for the pair -so I was happy. I put them on the commuter/tourer and pumped them up to 100psi. In the end it came down to a simple choice -I read the suggestions made by people here and could only find the Fat Boys and Hutchinson Top Slicks at the LBSs I went to, so I decided to go with them. If I had found some Panaracer Paselas in the 26x1.25 size, I would have been tempted, but no luck. Geax tyres don't seem to be sold in too many LBSs I frequent in the Boston area either. Contis were a bit too rich for my blood, and (sorry don't mean to be too controversial here) pretty much anything sold by Conti and Hutchinson are off my list due to bad personal experiences with these brands of tyres. Those brands have alot of work to do to repair their image with me.......

I've just been around the block to test the bike setup, so I haven't got any serious miles on yet. I'll be doing our usual loop tomorrow and will be tempted to do it on the same again to see if there is a noticeable difference. Thanks again for all suggestions and advice!


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## cbbaron (Apr 18, 2003)

I ride a dual 26" recumbent. In my experience Marathon Slicks are very tough tires and not horribly slow. Stelvios are very fast tires but not real tough. The Specialized 26x1.0 seem to be somewhere between. The Hutchinsons are definately the lightest and may be the fastest but I've only run them on the front. 
Craig


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