# The BIG Transition: 1.5 inch tires to road tires



## Shaba (Mar 16, 2011)

Background: I'm just starting my research/due diligence on buying a new road bike in the $1,000 to $1,3000 range. 

BUT, here's some of my concerns:
When I was a wee little girl and Schwinn Varsity bikes were all the rage, I road my sister's brand new bike a week after she got it and not 500 feet down the sidewalk the front tire got trapped in our anal neighbor's "trench" between the grass the sidewalk (he cut about a 1 inch gap between the two). I took a bad fall, broke my forearm with the bone breaking out of my skin. Since then I've very leery of skinny road tires.

The Present: I've been avidly riding my 1987 Schwinn Impact (a forerunner of a mountain) for the last three years (60 to 90 miles/week April-Nov). I have 1.5 inch smooth tires I want to upgrade to a roadie for a myriad of reasons, but I'm afraid I'll have some mental issues with the skinny tires, especially if I'm riding on a road side with only a few extra inches of pavement between me and cars.

Did anyone else out there have to conquer a fear of the skinny tire and then successfully acclimate to them? Any suggestions for making the transition from fatter tires to skinny ones?


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## charlox5 (Jan 31, 2011)

Not sure if there's really a way around facing the trauma and conquering it--but the feeling and sensation of road tires doing things that road tires should do should sell you on the idea. 

also, no more sidewalk riding should help allay any fears about similar mishaps. 

get on a road bike and give it a spin and maybe it'll be a non-issue once the wheels are spinning?


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Yeah, skinny tires can indeed get stuck in ruts. And even the quote-unquote wider skinny tires -- the ones that are 28mm instead of the racing-standard 23mm -- can get trapped in ruts, too. I've done it myself. Personally.

Nevertheless, this sort of issue isn't any worse than the one regarding clipping into pedals, or even the fear of banging your crotch on the top tube. It's just one more thing you deal with when you ride. 

Anyway, if you're not riding in a tight pack with other riders, you generally have a good view of the pavement ahead of you. If you keep your eyes on the road, chances are you'll avoid road hazards that might put you (as legendary bike race announcer Phil Liggett puts it) on the floor.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

charlox5 made a good point: riding a road bike with skinny tires isn't likely to have you bombing down a sidewalk. And on North American roads, there are very few grooves that can trap a skinny tire. The common exception are railroad tracks crossing the road at a shallow angle, which need to be crossed as close to 90 degrees as possible. That often means doing a "dog leg swerve" instead of riding parallel to the edges of the road.

The other point worth considering is that a "road bike" is not necessarily a full-out racing bike. There are plenty of excellent road bikes out there which take up to 32 mm-wide tires (Surly Pacer, and others). Going with one of these would allow you to transition from fat to skinny tires as you gain more confidence.


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## charlox5 (Jan 31, 2011)

wim said:


> charlox5 made a good point: riding a road bike with skinny tires isn't likely to have you bombing down a sidewalk. And on North American roads, there are very few grooves that can trap a skinny tire. The common exception are railroad tracks crossing the road at a shallow angle, which need to be crossed as close to 90 degrees as possible. That often means doing a "dog leg swerve" instead of riding parallel to the edges of the road.
> 
> The other point worth considering is that a "road bike" is not necessarily a full-out racing bike. There are plenty of excellent road bikes out there which take up to 32 mm-wide tires (Surly Pacer, and others). Going with one of these would allow you to transition from fat to skinny tires as you gain more confidence.


yesterday my local railroad x-ing took me down at low speed in the midst of heavy 6pm commuter traffic. it's always nice to fall over in your lycra in front of your coworkers and with about 50 onlooking cagers laughing their asses off. :cryin:


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

charlox5 said:


> it's always nice to fall over in your lycra in front of your coworkers and with about 50 onlooking cagers laughing their asses off. :cryin:


Sorry to hear about that, hope you're OK now. My last trapped-front-wheel crash was in Eppelheim, Germany. I dropped my front wheel into a streetcar track. When I came to, I saw the front license plate of a car just above my head. The excellent driver of that car, who did exactly what was necessary to not run over me, offered to take me and my bike home. Bless his heart.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

You'll still need to be a bit more careful than you would with fat tires. Smaller tires can't take the abuse that mt. tires can. You'll have to watch out for potholes & any cracks in the pavement that run parallel to your direction of travel. Here in Ohio there's a lot of frost damaging/pot holes/cracks especially when the riding season begins, which is now. You'll be fine. Just keep your eyes open & avoid as many hazards as you can.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

That was a nasty accident, bound to leave mental scars.

But you're not a wee little girl anymore; you're a big girl. Get a road bike with a little larger than average tires, and remember that you're a far stronger and more skilled person than that wee little girl was.

And some numbers to keep some perspective: you've been riding 1.5 inch tires with no problem. A 28 mm road tire is 1.1 inch -- not that much smaller.

And all you guys who responded to this by telling your own trapped-wheel stories: STFU! You're not helping! Shaba, honest, these things happen very rarely. And most of the time they're minor.


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## charlox5 (Jan 31, 2011)

JCavilia said:


> *And all you guys who responded to this by telling your own trapped-wheel stories: STFU! You're not helping*! Shaba, honest, these things happen very rarely. And most of the time they're minor.


yeah sorry about that-- if it's any consolation, the only thing i bruised in my incident was my ego. dusted myself off and walked away!


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## mmoose (Apr 2, 2004)

Hi Shaba,
Do you have a friend that can ride with you when you get your first miles in on skinny tires? Maybe someone in your local group? A friend that will distract you from focusing on the negative. (But not so many people that will block the view of the road ahead.)
Or, can you drive to the country where it's just open road for your first ride?

And if you can go with 28mm tires, that's only 4 itty bitty mm different. That's only 2 mm per side...

When in doubt, remember, the faster you go, the more stable everything is. So go real fast, fall in love with the new speed and go faster! No worries about anything then.


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## Shaba (Mar 16, 2011)

*Thanks Everyone!*

Thanks for your feedback everyone. Yesterday a neighbor let me try out his bike to get the feel for a road bike. His frame was a little small for me, but I was so engrossed in how light the bike felt and my position that I barely noticed the tires. I dare to hope that I've overcome my mental road tire handicap!


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## kmunny19 (Aug 13, 2008)

another thing you can do, now that you've had a good experience on you neighbor's bike, if you do go ahead and get a road bike, is to initially limit yourself to a small riding area. when you do this you can get to know the potholes, grooves, uneven slab interfaces (which can trip one sideways, so to speak). you can stop, get off the bike, and actually walk the bike over them seeing, to some degree, what effects they may or may not have on the wheels. you can do this and really get to know a few roads until you get an idea of how to notice and handle such obstacles. it may sound silly, but if you take on these road abnormalities, you can train yourself to deal with them.


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