700x32 tires & brakes - question

[Cataboo]

I'm thinking about putting a 700x32 tire on my back wheel. It's a surly pacer frame, so it definitely has room for the 700x32, but I've got tiagra brakes it which I are 39-49 mm reach.

The bike currently has a 700x28 panaracer t-serv on it, and I'd like to go up to a 700x32 tserv. If the measurements are right, I'd need another 4 mm on top & 2 mm on either side to go to the bigger size tire. I definitely have it on the sides, but on the top of the 700x28 tire to the bottom of the tiagra brake, there's about 1/4-9/16 of an inch of space which is 6.35 mm assuming that's the smallest... That gives me 2.35 mm to spare. Is that enough or is that cutting it too close?

Anyone else running 700x32 tires in standard road brakes?

[Becky]

Good question! I don't know what the right answer is, but it sounds awfully close to me.... Can you post a pic for us visual learners?

Looks like Surly recommends standard-reach brakes for the Pacer: http://www.surlybikes.com/pacer.html Tektro makes a reasonably affordable option: http://www.velo-orange.com/te52br.html or there's always Ebay/Craigslist.

I'm interested to hear what others think....this is a good learning opportunity.

[DebW]

You can probably get away with 2 mm of clearance between your tire and brake. But if you ever ride off road and encounter mud, you'll find that the brake clogs with mud very easily.

[Cataboo]

Thanks, I'll post a pic later tonight.

[Cataboo]

Here's pics of the 700x28 on the bike:





Ignore the extraneous shifter cable that's not hooked up yet in this pic:

[Cataboo]

I've been looking at it - and I think that long reach brakes aren't necessarily going to fix anything - the brakes that I have reach the sidewall of the tires, no problem... They've got the side clearance for a bigger tire - but they don't have the top clearance.

So what I need is a brake that's thinner at the top piece.... and I'm not sure how I figure out which ones those are.