Rims and tires and spokes, oh my!

[BeeLady]

I need a basic primer on rims and tires before my new Bianchi Volpe arrives this week.

Rims: WTB DX23 - what does this mean? I suspect 23 inches on the rims but everything else is in CM or M so who knows? The frame I'm getting is 44 cm.
So, what does WTB DX23 mean or is it just Brand info?

Bike also comes with All Terrainasaurus tires, 700 x 32c. I know I don't want those tires as I'll be 99% on pavement/asphalt/road.

I was reading how 700 x 32c has nothing to do with size/width of the tire but is some tire manufacturing code. So, does anyone know if these sized tires are fat, medium or thin (like rode bike tires). And will my next tires have to be the same width to fit on the rims?

And lastly and most important, based on the rim size any suggestion for a mainly road tire that will fit my new rims?

Would like to understand this stuff rather than just have the LBS tell "buy _____ tires". BTW - 36 spokes - nice tuff wheel I hope!

[KnottedYet]

I just bought Vittoria Randonneurs 700mm diameter x 28mm width with reflective sidewalls.

Haven't even ridden on them yet! My old tires were also 700x28, and that seems like a very nice width to me. Skinny enough to be fast on the pavement, but wide enough to be smooth riding and forgiving of my less-than-graceful riding.

The new Vittorias run lower pressure (85lbs vs 120lbs) and have slightly more tread than my old tires. I'll let you know how they ride after I ride tomorrow.

Dunno what your rims mean. I have Campy "Omega 19" on mine.

I would consider 32mm width tires a nice medium width, but someone riding really thin road tires would consider it quite wide.

I think my hybrid has 38mm width tires. Those are very very comfy on the pavement, but probably are a little slow.

[BeeLady]

Thanks Knotted - I'll take your tire recommendations with me when I pick up my bike and ultimately depend on my favorite guy at the LBS to get me to the right tires, size, etc.

I put some smoother tires on my beater grocery store bike and they made a world of difference. If the rim sizes on both bikes are the same I could probably go with the same tire. Am still confused about whether the rim width and the tire width are tied to each other. Had just started that chapter in my Parks Blue Book but don't have it with me to try and figure it out.

[Bad JuJu]

I've got no advice on tires, but wanted to say that the Volpe's a great bike--have fun with it. And post some pix when you get it. Is it that new color--Gang Green? Love that name!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Bike also comes with All Terrainasaurus tires, 700 x 32c. I know I don't want those tires as I'll be 99% on pavement/asphalt/road.

I was reading how 700 x 32c has nothing to do with size/width of the tire but is some tire manufacturing code. So, does anyone know if these sized tires are fat, medium or thin (like rode bike tires). And will my next tires have to be the same width to fit on the rims?

And lastly and most important, based on the rim size any suggestion for a mainly road tire that will fit my new rims?

700 x 32cm tires are a medium-wide tire. I have 700 x 38cm on my bike, but I will be changing them eventually to slightly less wide than the 38's. I have wide tires because I was a new rider nad we were going to be riding a LOT of rough gravel roads, and I was very nervous about skidding and flats.
Now I am a bit more confident on my bike. DH and I still ride lots of rough gravel, and so we don't want to go skinnier than a 28cm wide tire to avoid flats. DH recently changed from a 700 x 38cm tire to a 32cm wide tire, and he really likes those. They are faster but can still handle monster gravel without flats. (did the test of fire yesterday!). A 700 x 25cm for example would have likely flatted out on us. I plan to change soon myself to the 32's.

But your situation can handle a slightly thinner tire, since you say most all your riding will be on asphalt. So for you, I would second Knotted's recommendation of 700 x 28cm tires- definitely not slower wide tires, but not dinky/racey and flat-prone either.

[Veronica]

I did some mud and gravel yesterday on my 23, 27 combo. That's a 23 in the front, 27 on the rear. I wouldn't recommend it. But it certainly can be done if you're careful.

V.

[Veronica]

but not dinky/racey and flat-prone either.

Knock on wood, but in two seasons of riding 23s, I've only had two flats - a double actually, when I was riding on a bike trail through a seedy part of town and picked up glass in both tires. Kind of hard to avoid when it has been distributed across the entire trail.

V.

[Mimosa]

Looking at the bike and the pavement you are going to ride on I would say low-profile 700x28c. And a tyretype with cevlar in it could help to keep of the punctures.

[BeeLady]

Thanks for the info - got it on 32 being wider than 28s. Now I know what direction to head. I can change the tires back to 32s if I ever do any off-road stuff.

Probably will shoot for a 28 and Kelvar sounds good if my LBS has it. Can't wait til I know enuf about all this stuff to look for deals on-line!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The 700 x 28cm with Kevlar sounds just right for you in my opinion.

[KnottedYet]

Rode 10 miles on my new Vittoria Randonneur tires. They have completely changed the way the ride feels!

Smooth as butter, smooooooth.

I ran over parts I knew were juddery and twitchy, and Flosshilde just sailed through. Lower pressure does nice things for my erratic bumpy riding style.

I didn't notice a huge difference from the increased traction/tread, except maybe a tendency toward tracking straighter? Or maybe feeling more stable going around corners?

No slowing down from the lower pressure or tread that I could notice.

I really like these tires!