Rim And Tire Width Choices

Image courtesy of Velocity USA

We had a comment on our most recent podcast from a listener named "Josh" concerning recommendations for new wheels and specifically concerning tire width in relation to inner rim width. 

I'm not going to get into the wheel recommendation portion of Josh's questions, but I do want to discuss inner rim width and tire width again. This time using external sources to help you understand what tire and rim manufacturers are thinking in regard to this question. 

Inner Rim Width: 

Before I get there, I think it would be wise to cover what "inner rim width" is and what "tire width" is. I know, it sounds simple, but I want to make sure we are all on the same page here. 

As you can see from the cutaway I grabbed off Velocity USA's webpage for their Blunt SS rim, there is a difference between the outer, overall width of the rim and the inner rim width. It appears here that Velocity is using the distance between the "hooks" of the rim to define "inner rim width" and not the distance between the rim wall just above those little shelf looking protrusions we call the hook of the rim. 

On a "hookless rim" design, that "inner rim width" is going to be the inner dimension between the faces of the rim where it interfaces with the tire. So, a bit of a difference there. Some will argue that a hook on a rim design is safer, because it prevents tire blow-offs. Some will say the hookless rim is better for tire aerodynamics, support in corners, and that the rim is better suited to resist damage. Some say there is no real benefit to hookless rims. So, I'll leave this alone for now and say only that I am not a real big fan of hookless designs. 

Tire Width:

 This seems pretty simple. The widest portion of the tire casing is "tire width". However; I feel more folks are thinking "tire tread width" because the tread is the "business end" of a tire design since it is the part that hits the surface you are riding on. 

That is a misconception, if you are thinking in this way. What really matters, and what most never talk about, define, or even understand, is the contact patch. That is really what matters most as it helps to define a tires rolling resistance, traction, and over all handling traits. It doesn't natter if a tire is wide at the casing if you air it up too much and only a thin strip of the center of the tread hits the riding surface. 

All this to say that "tire width" is probably more important to how a tire might fit into your bicycle first and foremost.. The rider comfort and handling part is also very important, but tire width is only a piece of that equation, not the ultimate defining factor. 

Putting Both Together:

Tire width and inner rim width work together to help define rider comfort, handling, and overall performance factors like aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and more. 

Tire pressure, rider weight, overall loaded weight, the bicycle's geometry, conditions of the riding surface, and weather all conspire to bring another level of complexity to this equation. The tire construction method, materials used, and quality controls also factor in. One tire from a manufacturer can be very different from another tire from the same manufacturer with similar weights, widths, and mounted to the same rim. Even tires from different manufacturing dates, with model, size, and wheel being the same, can ride noticeably different. 

All this to say that there is no "easy button" to make a choice. But you can get yourself into a ballpark of "good" if you follow recommendations given by the manufacturers for rim inner width and tire width match-ups. 

Wilderness Trail Bikes offers an excellent chart with tire and rim width recommendations. I like their chart because it also shows combinations to avoid. Light Bicycle, a Chinese manufacturer of carbon frames, carbon accessories, and carbon rims and wheel sets, also has a nice, easier to read chart. The WTB chart is HERE. Light Bicycle's chart is HERE. 

As long as you stick to the recommended ranges, you should be okay with the tires and rims of your choice. If you are looking to eek out every drop of performance from your tire and rim choices you will have to do more of your own trial and error research. 

I hope this helps clear up any misconceptions about tire and rim widths. Thanks to Josh for the great question. 

Thirty-Point-Five Wheels

 So....thirty-two inch wheels are the "Next Big Thing"? Hold on! We got solid rumors out there about a new wheel size. Thirty-Point-Five. 

I know you all are really excited about this! 

And before you type in a comment with an April Fools reference, this is actually a wheel size you can already buy. It exists, and I found a bike HERE.  

I know...I know. It isn't something you'd likely buy because of the unknown brand, but apparently the industry is gearing up to bring this alternative wheel size to fruition. The "Escape Collective" ran an article on Schwalbe's intentions to bring out this size wheel/tire and if they are doing this, again - you know an OE contract is behind this. In fact, the article pretty much says this straight up.  

Supposedly this size sits perfectly between 29" and 32". The obvious thing here is this would fit more people than 32" bikes could. The other obvious thing is we already have this wheel size. 

This bike with 29" x 3.0 tires would be effectively a 30.5"er.

Take any "plus-sized" 29"er, or a Jones bike with 29 x 3.0" tires. These measure 30.5" in diameter already. But yeah......I get it. With a larger diameter rim the tire doesn't have to be so poofy to get to 30.5". 

But this should point out to many of us that 30.5" is possibly a more viable alternative to a "bigger wheel" than 32" because we already know 29+ fits a lot of people out there. 

I also get how this will only enrage the already stirred up hornets nest of negativity over the bicycle industry. The perception is already that things like 32" wheels and "gravel bikes" are inventions we do not need. 

Thirty-Point-Five? Yeah.....That's going to help that right along! I don't know how all of this might play out, but whether or not it is just a play to garner more interest and create sales is a fair argument. Do we really need this? 

It is fun to think about, but.....yeah. I don't think we need this. 

Mechanic Shortage Reported In Europe

 

We talked about the mechanic shortage on the latest Guitar Ted Podcast.

A recent study conducted in Europe revealed that there may be a severe shortage of bicycle mechanics and this is forecast to only get worse. The story was posted by "Bike Radar" and was referred to me by a podcast listener, or one of you dear readers, I'm not sure which.  (Oh....and N.Y. Roll pointed it out also)

I've done some research into the reactions to this article, and I mentioned some of those comments in the podcast episode posted last week. (HERE) 

The article resonated with me on several levels. I wanted to address some of this here and also give my considered opinions on the fate of local bike shops (LBS) in the future. 

The issues facing bicycle shops are very difficult to overcome due to, in large part, our overall perceptions of bicycles, the size of the USA, and by our climate. These three barriers to cycling participation present a bar so high that, as I've always thought and said, will not allow the USA to be anything like Europe when it comes to cycling. 

Briefly then: Weather changes with the seasons, severe weather occurrences, and  American's aversions to be subject to the whims of weather are insurmountable as long as we have automobiles to insulate us from the onslaught of oftentimes difficult weather conditions for cycling. Be that heat, cold, wind, or precipitation, all are huge hindrances for many folks when cycling is suggested as a transportation alternative. 

The sheer distances Americans have to travel to get basic goods and services is another huge barrier to cycling. As an example, citizens of Waterloo, Iowa's East and North reaches have to travel upwards of four to five miles, one way,  to get to a grocery store and this is in a town of 70,000 folks. While this seems like nothing to some of you, cycling that distance is difficult for many people now. Yes - there are solutions to this issue, however - in concert with the weather issue, this becomes a mountain too tall to scale for many. 

The final issue is how bicycles are perceived here. If you "have to ride a bike" this generally puts you in the criminal categories. "Oh! This person must have gotten too many Driving Under the Influence (DUI's) tickets to drive", or they are too poor to own a car, etc. Bicycles are only ridden by 'normal citizens' for recreational purposes. Then we get into the entire infrastructure issues and most folks won't even consider riding a bicycle. 

Example: I dropped my vehicle off Friday at a body shop for an adjustment to the end gate. I planned on riding home after I dropped of my vehicle. It's 4 miles from my home. The lady at the front desk of the auto body shop was amazed I would even consider riding and tried to talk me into taking a ride. This is pretty representative of how people think about bicycles, at least around here. 

All of these issues affect mechanics. If the vast majority of people think like the lady at the body shop, (and I am pretty convinced most folks do), then why would anyone ride a bicycle outside of primo recreation days found in Summer, maybe Fall, and late Spring? Late Fall through early Spring are completely dead times. Keeping a mechanic well-paid through those months is next to impossible for many shops. Lower pay? Maybe the shop will keep you around with severely reduced hours for six months. You surely are not going to get ahead of monthly bills being a bicycle mechanic in the Mid-West. 

Of course we have poor infrastructure for cycling, people do not value cyclists as humans when they are riding, and bicycles are getting far too complicated. Add in the ever increasing "innovations" which require new tools, knowledge, and experience, and it is easy to see how we got to this point  And the pay? Ha! It's horrendous. Why would any young person want to consider being a bicycle mechanic? It's a curious, dead-end career with little upside and it has been this way for decades. 

And we wonder why mechanics and LBS are disappearing? 

Another Classic Schwinn Shows Up

 The Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective has a few missions, but the original idea for this collective focused on one thing. That was keeping bicycles out of the landfill. 

To that end the non-profit Collective has gathered donations of bicycles from the community since 2014. There have been thousands of old bicycles kept out of the local landfill because of the efforts by the Collective. The mission has expanded since those early days and now we do advocacy, education, events, and we facilitate putting people in need on bicycles for their transportation needs. 

As I've said here before, it is very rewarding work. But sometimes a bit of the old cycling nerd gets brought out when an old, unusual bicycle gets donated to the Collective.  This happened this past week. We received two old cruiser bikes, and one of them had a couple of features I had not seen before. 

It is a green Schwinn American cruiser style bicycle which would have been a youth model in the Schwinn range at the time. Schwinn called it a "middle-weight" range bike. If we are describing the bike by weight, I would hate to have to heft a Schwinn "heavy-weight" bike in a stand because this bike probably weighs about 40- 50lbs. 

From doing some online research, I found that Schwinn named the model "American" because every part of the bike was American made. Wow! Imagine that today. Every part from the USA? Tires, tubes, chain....everything? I cannot imagine it. But there you go. At one time it wasn't unusual. 

 The next thing I learned was that this bike came with a two-speed lever action shifter and hub. The Bendix lever was in low gear, as you see it here. By pulling in the lever you shifted to a high gear. Flicking the lever back out gave you the low gear again. Note the original Schwinn logo grip. 

The cable operates a typical clevis/shift rod arrangement similar to a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub. The hub works and the gears can be selected but it needs a good cleaning, lube, and possibly a little adjustment to the cable. 

The Schwinn American came into Schwinn's range in 1955. It ran for three years and then was dropped until 1962, according to a page I found on the internet about Schwinn Americans. When the American model returned it had a kick-back style, color-banded rear hub, and not the lever action shifter. This version of the American was in the range until the late 1960;s. Near as I can tell this is a 1957 model which was donated to the Collective. The American was offered in four colors in the 50's: Opal Green, Blue, or Red. and a Black enamel. Along with the lever action two-speed Bendix drive train, the checkerboard seat tube decal was also only found on these 1950's Americans. 

 While most folks think of the two-speed kick-back hubs, which had ridges in the hub shell and colored bands, this Bendix two speed hub is rather plain and unadorned. I read on another site that this hub is finicky as far as cable adjustment goes. Perhaps this was one of the drivers for Schwinn to ask for a kick-back style 2 speed hub which would not rely on cable actuated shifting. It may also have been done as a cost-saving measure, but I am only speculating here.

The cantilever front brakes are clamped around the classic Schwinn flat, forged steel fork legs. The cantilevers pivot on a plate which is part of the clamp. The cable is most unusual as it resembles the type of split cable you might find on a 20" trick bike with a detangler set up. Interestingly there is no exposed cable in this design. The brake works effortlessly, by the way. 

Does this reflector have "BIKE" spelled out or am I seeing things which are not there?

The images show the bike as it was when it came into the door. I did inflate the tires and so far, they hold air. I am pretty certain this bike is 100% original, and for a boys bike from 69 years ago, that's pretty outstanding. I thought it was unusual and perhaps some of you might find this bicycle interesting. It certainly is a fine example of a Schwinn from the company's heyday. 

I'll probably get it all cleaned up and rideable this Winter and yes - it is for sale, along with our other two Schwinn cruisers, a 1963 Schwinn Typhoon with a two speed kick-back hub and a 1959 Jaguar three speed.  Call the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 6:00pm or on Saturdays from 8:00am - Noon. 

Friday News And Views

NAHBS Shuffles Show Date To 2028:

When the MADE Show happened in August we learned that the original custom bicycle show, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, was returning after a hiatus of several years. NAHBS was last scheduled to happen in 2022 but was cancelled by the organizer, Don Walker, due to a stated "lack of interest" from frame builders at the time. MADE debuted in 2023 and has occurred every year since that time. 

NAHBS had announced a return for 2027 at the same time MADE was to occur in 2027,. The conflict in dates was obviously not ideal, but it has been announced by NAHBS that it will now change the plans. The show likely will happen in early 2028, avoiding the conflicting date set earlier. 

See the NAHBS site HERE for further updates in the future.

Salsa Cycles posted this collage of images on its social media

A Full-Suspension Salsa Cycles 32"er?

Early this week a collage of images was posted to Salsa Cycles Facebook page with the following caption:

 "It's not quite a Bigfoot sighting, but we do have photographic evidence of Salsa product managers Joe and Ethan at Marji Gesick this weekend testing a new bike with a pretty big footprint. #BigWheelsBigAdventure #32intheYoop "

Comments: Now there was no indication given that this would ever become a production bike, but Salsa is promoting this on their socials. One has to think this is a gauging of interest type of marketing move.  

My suspicion is this is going to be offered at some point. This also points to Salsa trying to maneuver itself  into a position where the brand is seen as a leader in this category. What the other big brands will do has yet to be seen, but it would appear that Salsa Cycles is buying into 32" wheels wholeheartedly. 

From Singular Cycles social media

X-Fusion 32" Fork Appears:

Also in 32" news, Singular Cycles shared a special build of one of their 32" Albatross hard tails sporting an X Fusion 32" fork. The rumor mill earlier this season had pointed to some second tier suspension brands having interest in making 32" suspension forks. This would seem to prove the rumor true in one case. 

X Fusion makes a wide range of suspension products. While they do have top performing forks and rear shocks, they are not as well spec'ed on the upper end of most brands products. A range where Rock Shox and Fox have everything pretty much tied up in terms of spec. 

Rumors were that forks for mid-level hard tails were coming with 32 inch wheels. This would indicate that big brands were buying into making 32" hard tails which would be not quite so expensive. Singular is a niche brand and while they may be using the X Fusion fork, my bet is some big brand put in an order for OE spec which made this fork become a reality. 

Time will tell soon enough, but I suspect 2027 will be the year 32" wheels make a big splash in the retail sector of cycling. Will consumers buy in or simply turn up their noses and leave 32" wheels to sit on showroom floors? 

Image courtesy of Efficient Velo Tools

Efficient Velo Tools Shows New Consumer Portable Repair Stand:

As the seasons turn and the days get shorter, many cyclists start to focus on other sports, indoor cycling, or the gym. Meanwhile those nagging issues with your bicycle sit in the garage, basement, or wherever you keep you bicycles. Spring will come, and you'll be in some mad rush to get things squared away, as will thousands of other folks waiting until the last minute. 

You could avoid all of this and do your own basic maintenance with a quality repair stand like this EVT unit.  Called the "Field Unit Comp", the stand weighs a little over 13lbs, can hold bicycles up weighing up to 44lbs, and utilizes EVT's stellar clamp design. 

Working on a bicycle is infinitely easier and more fun when you have a proper repair stand. This one goes for a very reasonable $299.95. You'll save that much money doing three tune-ups on your own bike. Plus, the stand is portable, so you can take it with you to events, vacations, or visits to friends. 

EVT is a respected name in mechanic circles and this clamp is often times lauded as the best in the business. I highly recommend this stand. I have no affiliation with EVT at all, by the way.  

CORRECTION: On my article this past week on the new CGR i23 wheels from WTB I indicated incorrectly that the rims are hooked. This was cleared up after I sent a question in to WTB and received a reply on 10/2/26 letting me know the rims are hookless. I apologize for any inconvenience caused by this error.  

There you go! Another FN&V for 2026 in the books. Now go ride those bicycles!

Second Chance Shoes

The year was 2018. The Almanzo 100 event was still around and this iconic event was the choice for Shimano engineers and top brass to attend and ride US gravel and to check out the scene. 

To commemorate this occasion, Shimano commissioned 1,000 pairs of a camo-themed XC5 shoe. This shoe was a model meant for XC MTB racing, but Shimano was also marketing it as a gravel shoe. (Introductory story on this shoe by PEZ Cycling can be read HERE) 

As an interesting side note, I was there at the Cherry Grove checkpoint along with my then 'Riding Gravel' partner, my son, Jacob, and a local named Ross. (Story HERE)

I was able to see the Shimano folks roll through the checkpoint and as I was trying to sneak peeks at their bicycles I was told they were testing the waters for gravel components. Then the very next year GRX was introduced. 

Anyway, those were heady days in the gravel scene. It may seem odd to those just getting started in the gravel cycling world now, but the gravel cycling niche had already become a big deal back then. I always shake my head when I see people talk about how this gravel riding stuff is "new". 

But back to the shoes.... I had heard the only way to get one of the 1,000 pairs of these was via a bike shop. I happened to work at one then, so I asked our buyer to put in an order for a pair of the XC5 camo shoes in a size 46. I wasn't sure I'd get them, but obviously, I did, and I was thrilled....at first. 

The original laces sent with the shoes were your typical flat, cloth laces in a highlighter yellow with a spare set in black also in the box. The holes the laces were to pass through were smaller, round holes which prevented the laces from smoothly moving through them. This made getting an even tension over the forefoot difficult, if not impossible. I was dismayed. The shoes didn't really work all that well. 

I tried a fancy set of those elastic laces some runners use, but they were too tight and made my foot fall asleep after riding just a short while. So, I parked them in my shoe rack. I had several other pairs of shoes also, so it was easy to forget about the XC 5's. 

About a couple of weeks ago, I came across a new set of small, round boot laces my son, Jacob had purchased as a back-up set for his work boots. Well, since he's no longer with us,the laces had no purpose. I looked at them and after a moment or two of grief, I had an idea. I could use these in those old XC 5 shoes! 

While the laces are waaaaay too long, they worked great and now those old special edition shoes feel fantastic. I want to wait until I put in a multi-hour ride, but I am probably going to cut the laces shorter and I'm very optimistic this has solved my issues with those shoes. 

Of course, I could have done this literally years ago, but with my over-abundance of footwear I just had forgotten all about those shoes until I saw Jacob's back-up pair of boot laces. Now I have no idea why I thought about those shoes just then, but I am glad I did. 

When Wide Is Too Wide

Rim widths have sure changed a lot in the past ten years. I've noted this in several earlier articles on this site. A good historical reference point can be seen HERE for instance. 

That article was written exactly six years ago now. So, even since 2020 things have radically changed in terms of what people are thinking about for inner rim widths. I'm speaking to what gravel riders use here. So, while references to mountain biking will be made, I am primarily thinking about gravel/all-roads riding. 

Why Is This Important?

The most influential facet of a bicycle ride - besides the all-important rider - is the wheel. Wheels have obvious influences over your riding experience, but I want to focus in on how inner rim width works in concert with tire volume and width. 

What happens with this relationship can greatly affect your comfort, efficiency, and overall experience on a bicycle. Take a look above at the image above. I was trying to visually show what happens to a tire when the beads of the tire are set further apart by the inner rim width when it is arguably too wide for the tire being mounted on that rim. In this example I have a 700 x 42mm WTB Resolute mounted on a Spank rim with an inner width of 30.5mm. 

The 30.5mm inner width with 2.8" tires

The profile of the Resolute gets flattened out. This might seem to be a good thing on the surface of it. However; what happens in reality is that the more tire you get to hit the surface laterally makes rolling resistance increase. Furthermore; if the casing gets too squared off you will start to notice a self-steering effect which is not desirable. This increases the rider's efforts to steer the bicycle through corners and in difficult terrain. 

I allude to some of this in my 2021 article on the Spank rims and those Resolute tires HERE. What I did not show there, or talk about much, is how having the beads of the tire set too widely apart from each other affects ride quality. 

There is an optimal shape tire manufacturers design to which allows what they have designed for to be fully expressed during a ride. These qualities are many. What we feel most is influenced by how the tire casing works against the surface you are riding on and the results of the steering/riding inputs the rider exerts on those tires. 

What happens when the beads of a tire are too far apart usually affects how well the tire casing can conform to the riding surface. Generally speaking, a tire sidewall should bow outward, not being a straightened out line from surface to rim bead seat. The straighter the tire sidewall gets the worse that tire works at doing its job of conforming to the surface. It affects negatively how the tire responds to rider input. Combine this with a flattened out tread area and the problems get more magnified. 

Of course, I am describing a worst case scenario, but this happens incrementally when we go from 25mm wide internal widths to anything around 30mm with gravel tires in the 45mm - 50mm range, which is arguably the sweet spot for tire width in gravel now.  Most gravel racing rims are not 30mm wide internally either, so why the worry?

Image courtesy of Continental Tire

 Aero vs Comfort & Handling:

The problem is aero related and how an aero focus in racing influences what you and I get to ride.  Most road cyclists who follow Pro racing know that aero is everything these days. Teams spend gobs of cash trying to find every advantage in aero to make their riders more efficient and faster. Of course, this has spilled over to gravel racing as well. 

Pro gravel riders are pushing the limits on tire widths. We are seeing wider than 2" tires being used in some cases. Aerodynamics dictate that a smoother airflow is achieved when a tire side wall seamlessly transitions off of the rim side wall on a deep section rim. Just like you see on skinnier road racing aero set ups. This affects choices in rim width.

The accompanying image here is from Continental showing the 700 x 50mm Dubnital on a wide, deep section rim. You can see the smoother transition from tire to rim clearly. This is all driven by aero concerns. 

Of course, this causes the tire to have some undesirable effects, as outlined above. In every gain in one area you often get compromise in another area. Racing isn't about comfort, at least not in a top-of-mind design sense. It matters, but these days, aero is king. 

I feel the wider tire thing is going to pull back a little bit from the excesses we see now. I also feel that rider comfort and handling will start to become more important in gravel racing as courses world-wide start to reflect a more MTB-XC feel than a true gravel road type experience. This is because, well, what I see most being called "gravel" isn't gravel at all. 

But this is a subject for another article. 

For now I think it is fair to say that the outlandishly wide inner rim widths and hyper-focus on aero for gravel will relax in favor of better handling and rider comfort leading to faster racing in the long run. I could be wrong, but this is my opinion. Got any thoughts? Hit me up in the comments section.