# Tire Fork Clearance



## Trouble (Apr 3, 2004)

I just mounted up a Continental Gatorskin 700x28 on a Bontrager Race Lite front wheel and put it in the fork, a Reynolds Ouzo Pro.
There is a loose/tight 2 mm or very tight 2.5 mm clearance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fork.

As a reference I checked the clearance on my wife's bike. She is using a Gatorskin 700x25 on a Trek bike/fork and there is a very tight 3 mm clearance, about the same as the 2.5 mm on my front tire.
She's been riding that same bike and tire size for years and no problems. 

Am I over thinking this or is there an actual standard minimum clearance that should be followed?
Reynolds website had nothing and I wasn't able to find much else anywhere.

I'm trying to imagine something attaching to the tire as it rolls up under the fork. What would happen?
It would get knocked away, it would be forced under the fork and the tire would indent/collapse and the worst that it could do is puncture the tire. Not much different than any front tire puncture.

So there, something to think about and comment on.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Fork jams*



Trouble said:


> Am I over thinking this or is there an actual standard minimum clearance that should be followed? I'm trying to imagine something attaching to the tire as it rolls up under the fork. What would happen?


Unless you have some specific knowledge of the particle size distribution of stuff that will stick to your tire and pass through the fork, then yes, you are overthinking it and no, there is no minimum clearance rule. Of course, you want more than fractions of a mm, because if you had that little clearance, just the sand you might pick up when the road was damp would abrade the underside of your fork crown. 2 mm is not an issue, and in fact is very common these days.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Heck years ago (a few decades) we used "tire savers" that missed the tire by a few thou, never mind a few millimeters. Their purpose should be kind of self-explanatory. I haven't seen any used for years -


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## Marvin8 (May 15, 2011)

OMG, I remember those!!! I must be o-l-d.


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## PSC (Mar 10, 2004)

I had an Alpha Q GS-10 with Michelin Krylion 25mm tire with real close clearances. If it was wet out the tire would pick up debris and wear at the clearcoat underneath the fork. Easy to fix, just apply some clearcoat to the area.


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## Marvin8 (May 15, 2011)

THANKS for that informative suggestion! 
It would probably be a good idea since the fork is carbon, and there's only about 1-2mm of clearance.


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