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I have the following tire its a 700x35c cyclocross tyre. I am looking to use this bike on the road for a while.

What size of road tire would fit this?

Thanks

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  • 1
    A 700x28c which I use on a second wheel-set for my CX-bike is an excellent alternative.
    – Carel
    Aug 16, 2016 at 11:49
  • 1
    I run 35mm tires on my touring bike. They were original with the bike. Width is less important than pressure and (lack of) tread. Aug 16, 2016 at 12:51
  • the min width should be written on your rim somewhere
    – njzk2
    Aug 16, 2016 at 19:22
  • @njzk2 I've never seen a minimum width on a rim. I've sometimes seen a rim width on a label, but as you'll see from the answers, this is narrower than the narrowest tyre that will fit. Also the labels don't last forever.
    – Chris H
    Aug 17, 2016 at 15:37
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    @ChrisH I had never either, but on a (fairly old second-hand commuting) bike I recently bought I saw an old label still holding to the rim, giving a range of acceptable tire width (and mounted on it, a tire outside that range, though.) So I though I just never paid attention.
    – njzk2
    Aug 17, 2016 at 15:41

3 Answers 3

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Any 700c tire narrower than 35mm that's not narrower than your rim's outside width. Typical choices would be any 700x25, 28, or 32.

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  • How do i find out my rims outside width?
    – Inkey
    Aug 18, 2016 at 8:11
  • Unless you happen to have a caliper to measure it with the tire on, remove the tire and lay a ruler or tape measure across the top. It's the width in mm that's usually referred to with bikes. Older road rims are usually in the 20mm area and newer road and cross/touring rims are usually 21-24. It mostly only matters if you're going to run a 23mm tire. Aug 18, 2016 at 13:22
  • Its a 25mm rim according to the specifcation
    – Inkey
    Aug 18, 2016 at 13:59
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I would just run whatever skinny slick tyre you can get easily. The limit on tyre size is rim width at the narrow end, and space between tyre and frame at the wide end.

rim size vs tyre size chart
(from Schwalbe who now use this one)

Most of the charts and guidelines you'll see are fairly conservative, so if you're feeling experimental you could run 35mm tyres on a 25mm wide rim and see what happens. Be cautious if you do, they'll most likely fit but if you lean the bike too far the rim could hit the road and you will wipe out.

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I use my cyclocross bike mostly (but not exclusively) on paved roads, so I changed the tires to Schwalbe Kojak 35-622. They're 35mm slicks with puncture protection and weigh 330g a piece. I really like them, they can be had for relatively cheap and are significantly better for the occasional unpaved surface than any 25mm tire (because they avoid narrow gaps and can be run at lower pressures).

Schwalbe Kojak

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  • In what way are they better for the occasional unpaved surface than any 25mm tire?
    – andy256
    Aug 16, 2016 at 23:50
  • @andy256 A wider tire doesn't fall into narrow gaps as easily as a narrower one. I find the difference from 25 to 35 already quite notable, and I'm sure anybody would notice the difference to a 50mm tire. Aug 18, 2016 at 18:48
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    So I suggest you include that info in your answer in case these comments disappear.
    – andy256
    Aug 18, 2016 at 21:52

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