road tire on hybrid bike?

Question

my hybrid bike has 700 x 28c tires (50-85psi). can i put road bike tires on it? something faster like 700 x 25 or 23 (100-150psi). another question, what is the "c" for in "28c"?

Answer 1

You can go with thinner tires the 700 refers to the wheel size and the 28c is the with of the tire in mm. You have to measure the rim with to find out the tire range you can use.



http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width



http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#isoetrto

Answer 2

The "c" I believe means clincher, the most common type of tire which has a tube to hold air, and the wheel has a lip on the rim which the tire clinches on. The other types which are dedicated to racing is tubular, or tubeless, which requires you to glue the tires onto the rims.



The 700 is the circumference, which is 700mm if you measure it, the 28 is the width in mm.



Yes, like all the other answers you can go down in size, since you have plenty of clearance on the fork, and the brake for 28. You can possibly go up as well, probably up to 35-42mm width. 23mm is the standard for road cycle tires, you may be able to find smaller than that but they are being phased out because of the frequency of flats and proven that they are not faster than 23mm tires.

Answer 3

OK. I have a different impression of "hybrid tires". Yes you are limited to 700X28's for frame clearance. To me, a proper tire in 700X28 IS a hybrid tire. That is the size my hybrid came with and I think they will roll a little off road just fine. I do it. Buy some Specialized Armadillo tires and you will not have an off road problem. Like you said you won't be doing any jumps. Go visit the store where you bought your Specialized and I think the experts there will have a same opinion on riding the Armadillo off road.

Answer 4

You can also try something with a proven low rolling resistance like Continental bicycle tires. You don't necessarily need something narrower, but definitely as smooth a tread as you can get.

Answer 5

Yep, your rims would take 23mm tyres. I would wait for winter to be over before you start with the thinner tyres though...