about tires...

[Barb]

I currently have 700x23 on my road bike. They are Continentals and I like them but I feel like they will be sort of light weights when I begin to tour. I am sure that I will be hitting some dirt roads (light to no panniers) and I was just wondering if I would be better off on 28s. I am a woman of weight! I also don't want a bunch of flats. I just want good reliable tires that are comfortable. Ideas?

[bike4ever]

Continental also has a very durable tire called the Ultra Gatorskin. They have them in 23, 25 & 28. I run the 23 on my road bike (terrible roads in St. Louis) and the 28 on my commute bike.

[Grog]

A bit off your question, but make sure there's space on your bike for bigger tires. I'm running 700X23 and I know I would not be able to have more than 700X25 there...

So make sure you can bring the tires back if they don't fit!

G'luck!

[airbornetorch]

Will the 28's clear your frame? If they will then, yes the 28's will be better.

[Barb]

Yeah...the sad news is that I may not even fit the 25s. I am going in on Tuesday so that we can play with tires to see what works. Worse case senerio is that I flat more requently right?

[airbornetorch]

Size of your tire really doesn't have anything to do with how many flats you get. What really matters in any size of tire is the quality. For example some people have good luck with the Michellin Axial Carbon .click here for tires (http://www.biketiresdirect.com/productdetail.asp?p=MIMAC&tnum=212910&c=283715)(which comes in 23 and 25) or you could use tire liners
click here for liners (http://www.biketiresdirect.com/search_results.asp?tnum=212910&c=283715&kw2=liner)

Good Luck