Six Reasons Why The Ideal Commuter Tire Width Is 32mm
Six Reasons Why The Ideal Commuter Tire Width Is 32mm
Here’s the link to the tire comparison video: https://youtu.be/EciVuDBoKxw
Ever wondered what the ideal tire width is for your commuter bike? I have. After having used several size tires, my favorite tire width for commuting is 32mm. In this video I’m sharing with you 6 reasons why I think it is the perfect tire width.
Oops just got 2 marathon plus tyres at 35 mm. However 22 us dollars each on the UK.
34mm tubeless on my gravel. Works a charm. Significantly quicker than the previous 40mm Schwalbe Marathon and still great puncture resistance due to tubeless.
buah ha ha ha ha! that image sums it up for cyclists. Great point! Car tire shops recommend this and that and I choose the cheapest one there is (no need for specs). My bikes? I need DATA! Gimme DATA! Price? No problem, I pay!
I have a 13 y/o hybric/commuter style bike with 700C 32 mm tires that I do a 25km daily commute with. I started the commute with a mountain bike with the bald center strip and went from 50mins to 25min with the commuter. The wheels make a big difference. I think the 32 is fine for smooth – slighly rough pavement but does not do gravel or sand at all.
Recently, I replaced the origingal back tire that had a Continental Contact 85 psi tire with a Contact City Ride 80 psi and now ride with 80 psi, front and back. Just those 5 lbs can make a difference in softening the ride. I have experimented with pressures as low as 70 lbs but I keep it at 80 because I get groceries with pannier bags and a backpack.
Yesterday, I did a 8 km grocery run with at least 50 lbs of groceries. I figure that my weight 145 plus bike 30 and 50 lbs of groceries at 225 lbs gave me a footprint of 62.5 psi on the back tire. The loaded ride home was incredibly smooth and I had to intentionally ride slowly because I didn;t want to get a pinch flat on poor pavement.
I’ve seen several tire pressure calculators that indicate I could reduce the pressure as low as 45 psi and 65 psi loaded. Have you experimented with reduced pressures to improve the ride over poor surfaces?
My preferred is 35… just a bit more comfy. Can still get to 40kph+ on the road bike
I recently went from a 42 mm to a 32 mm Continental tires. But this week in my daily commute to work, I took a very nasty fall, by the way it was raining. With the 42 mm I did not had this problem. I love the 32 mm tires because they are faster, but I can say that I am a little scared to ride my bike in the rain again. Thank you for the video!
Thanks for sharing,,, I think that ones best tire make-up depends on alot of other factors in the larger picture…
I started with 32’s,,, they were ok for a starting point… I switched too 38’s ,,, dropped the air pressure and what a difference with smoothness…
Just testing 45’s and 47’s with a bit less air pressure and now my cross tour hybird is Rocking,,, I don’t see my self running anything less then the 45’s…
Pors:
– Better comfort over a broad range of terrain…
– Better comfort on the off road stuff when the gravel ends…
– Way smoother running the bike at farm operations and field work…
– Much smoother on long gravel roads
– And,,, added comfort on the every-day paved trails and roads…
– Zero pinch flats even with less air pressure…
– Very noticeable plush ride and greater comfort level all round…
Con’s:
– A bit more energy too keep the heavier tires rollling…
– Bike is not as fast with 32’s
– Not as responsive as the thinner/ lighter tires…
– Greater wheel rotating mass…
My final thoughts… what works for my riding style and terrain might be alot different then other folks needs,,, wants,,, and requirements…
90 too 92% rider with 8 too 10% bike,,, rigging,,, set-up and preference (s)…
Our needs and wants are subject too change,,, either We stick with what works or experiment a bit along the way too see if We benifit from our every-day out-ing’s…
The only person that knows what works and doesn’t is our selves…
This might not work on retro road bikes. The brake caliper frame might butt into it
I ride a single speed undampened dual coil suspension MTB with knobby tyres for commute. It works.
32-40 mm tires are better for daily commuting durable and much tougher on bad roads.
Nah i would go for a 40 for commuting, 32 still need pressures too high for it to ever be a comfy ride even if you use some extremely padded saddle.
But i dont do commuting, im either training or racing, and 32s are perfect for training on smooth roads only.
I’m running 38mm on my hybrid. Works well on the rough gravel roads and trails, and the occasional dirt farm roads that are common in a rural town like the one I’m in without sacrificing efficiency on pavement. It’s the sort of niche environment that a hard tail hybrid is well suited for as a commuter.
I’ve kept the stock 35mm on my hybrid for the 3 years I’ve owned the bike, and they do pretty well off road as well as on road. Now, in those years, I’ve noticed that most of my riding is on mediocre pavement, so I do agree that 32mm might be best for my use case.
32 is it. Agreed 👍
2.2" Schwalbe Big Apples here, lots of tree roots on the path I use and I was surprised how fast they are. You do you
38mm Mondials for me. I like the slightly wider tyre. I also was led to believe width didn’t affect rolling resistance, in fact you may get better speeds on a wider tyre.
I am a regular rider on pavement (just city) and have rolled from 28 to 62.2. Yes; 32 is very smooth, comfortable and safe, as well as having a huge variety of models to choose from. However, based on my experience, my favorite is Schwalbe Big Apple 28×2.35 (ETRTO 60-622). Although it may seem like a clumsy and impractical tire, it is not at all. It is very agile, smooth but above all powerful due to its enormous circumference. Suggested by Cube in its famous Hyde (urban configuration) model, it is perfect for me as well as having great puncture resistance. There are many factors that determine the ideal model for each person, I would go for the widest. Your review is interesting. thanks …..
Thank you…l will change to 32 mm as you recommended…from Norway/Cobie
I have 40mm. I’m in Ireland in a rural area so a lot of country side roads and lanes that can be pretty rough and can be quite muddy in winter.
On good roads narrower would be better but I wouldn’t go any narrower for the rough surfaces.
Although if I could be persuaded that wider wouldn’t make any major difference on the good surfaces I would consider them.
you should try the continental top contact 2
Thanks for the reminder, I need to add some air to my tires 🙂
the advantage of slimmer tyres is they are lighter.i prefer wider tyres of 50mm on my hybrid bike as i feel more secure and comfortable ie cushionining.but now i buy a suspension seat post so it might not be as much as a factor.
Sorry, but the implication that tire width directly influences rolling resistance is false. Different sizes of the same tire model will have the same rolling resistance, given that each one is inflated to an equal stiffness, which will require different air pressures. I find 42-47 mm to be an optimal compromise between comfort, rotational weight and mud suitability, depending if the tire is particularly light or heavy. Also obviosly 28" diameter for an optimal rollover ability.
I totally agree with you. I commute 10 to 15km daily on a Hybrid
Comparing a 50mm to 40mm to 32mm where I live in "hilly San Francisco like" conditions in Malaysia where road conditions are not great, I still prefer the 32mm for uphill climbs, faster acceleration, higher speed downhill so i can catapult uphill with much greater ease. I prefer the better athletic performance and agility on the 32mm compared to the slight increase in comfort that the 40mm or 50mm provides. Keep up the great videos.
32mm is great too, but for my type of use, 70-30 i prefer 38 cause i have more comfort and confidence on and off road, plus, it’s very fast, i don’t feel rolling resistance
Panaracer gravelking slick 38c
Pretty sure wider tires at the same pressure have less rolling resistance, however I do agree that 32s are great
I’m quite happy with my 40mm tyres. And even those are sometimes pretty harsh on the ragged bike lanes over here in Germany. (if there are bike lanes)
I’m broke my second center bearing within 2 years cause I’m often standing in my pedals on those ragged parts.
Sometimes I’m thinking of going for wider tyres, but that’d be a very tight fit with my fenders.
I can see the appeal for narrow tyres on good surface conditions though.
45mm here on a Norco Indie lol.
for me 26x 1.38 is already perfect for me. good traction and maneuverability.
Love the outside scenery!
My gravel bike had (and I still use those originals, saving some money) 38mm tires when I bought it. Yes it’s awesome on gravel, but I discovered its also very good on brik roads and reasonable good on cobble stones. There are some hefty ones for which I think 40mm is better (but untested). It seems it’s hard for where I live (in bike paradise the Netherlands) to go above 60% tarmac/asfalt, there’s always brick stone, and lots of patchwork (meaning asfalt in the middle was broken and repaired with another layer, smoothing out is never done, so its nice ride then BANG, ride a few meters BANG and then long parts fine and another BANG, vibrations). The brick stone make you vibrate and wider tires absorb a lot of that. The true cobble stones are so terrible, its very hard to walk/ride with any bike/ride with any car on them, to the point I do everything to avoid those pesky roads. Some lighter cobble stones are doable with the 38mm, comfort is often king.
So I’m figuring out using wide road bike tires on the gravel bike and how wide. 32mm? 35mm? 38mm?
What would you choose, if you have lots of difficult roads? Or just wanne try different routes, with some old broken asfalt
32mm is not ideal in Philippine road condition. I was using 32mm and got flat most of the time. Now I am using 38mm. It’s better. Still fast because I using a slick one.
Strange you never showed the tire or bike so people can see what your talking regarding size.
it’s the sidewall height that matters the most on commuter or street use. since it’s based on a ratio of the width, i find 40mm a perfect setup for comfort and safety for stopping and carrying extra weights. I rarely top-off with air for 180lbs weight with 60psi. anything less than 38mm, i had issues with pinch flat, frequent air top-off, and harsh rides on gravel/uneven path that are common on city and rural streets. 38mm-42mm will be best setup base on roads travel IMHO. safety is top priority so being able to stop safely, navigating pot-hold, and riding over the cracks on the road should be consider as 32mm will struggle with even some of the narrow cracks on the road when I had Cannondale Quick. I now have Trek District 4 and can’t ask for a better commuter/leisure bike with virtually nothing to maintain and comes with IGH, carbon belt, power hub, lights, fender, rack, and even a bell. and it has 40mm reflective tires and the bike is ready to ride safely right out of the box.
I got a bike that came with 25 and the 32 wont fit, so I am trying 28 next!
Nobody cares for Car tyres Yeah 👍🏻😅😂32 iam using too😉
I have a Giant Escape 3 the stock tires are 700×38, can I put a different wide of tire?