I want to put thinner tires on my bike to try and make it a little quicker. The size I have now is 26”x1.5”. I can’t imagine it’s as simple as finding the same wheel diameter with a thinner tire size, but maybe it is. And if I do end up going to a thinner tire, would that affect my derailleur? I have an older Trek hybrid if the picture helps at all.
by No_Buy_4002
11 Comments
It actually is as simple as buying tires for a wheel of the same diameter (26″) but of a narrower width! They make 1.2″ tires and 1″ tires. Below that you’ll probably find tires measured in millimeters. Here’s a link to a tire dimension conversion chart:
https://www.biketiresdirect.com/tire-size-chart-article?srsltid=AfmBOoovXfT5PhCurL0RTAaEkg1fvEjfvMki4Xsykq5eTl0f44cCykRF
It won’t affect your derailleur at all.
This is a bit of a fallacy/myth – thinner, harder tires do not necessarily translate into “faster”
[https://www.renehersecycles.com/12-myths-in-cycling-1-wider-tires-are-slower/?srsltid=AfmBOopj6xm2JU3SSRX0F8lyqL52RG094hQ9DpesNmd3OVhegttLC_7v](https://www.renehersecycles.com/12-myths-in-cycling-1-wider-tires-are-slower/?srsltid=AfmBOopj6xm2JU3SSRX0F8lyqL52RG094hQ9DpesNmd3OVhegttLC_7v)
You are correct in that you simply need to find a tire in the wheel diameter of your bike that is compatible with your rim width.
Are there any model markiings or identifiers on your rims?
Edit: Sharing the above link ^^^
Make sure you’ve got the right size. The ones you have look good on the bike. Do you get enough low gears with one chainring?
On that frame, I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you make regular use of that trunk. Thinner tires don’t necessarily mean added speed. You might shed a tiny bit of weight, but again, you’re hauling a trunk, so…
Definitely don’t go down less than 30mm, if at all, think yours are 38. Just change out to slicks rather than the ones with tread like you have. Lookup changing tires or tubes on YouTube easier to see than describe in text
Those tires are perfect for commuting. Why change them? Take the $100 and go on a date or something.
There is no major tread on those that will be slowing you down anyway. MTB tires with knobs suck power, but a firm tire with tread cut into it for water clearing like this will not.
You don’t want thinner tires my dude.
I made the same mistake back in the day. Went from 2.0 to 1.25 and it fucking sucked. Felt slower, felt weaker and the ride was more harsh.
Rock the fattest tire you can fit in the frame. You will feel faster and tougher, trust me.
Thinner isn’t always faster, i would just keep those tires. I swapped some 26×2.1 for some 26×1.3 slicks which only felt slightly faster and especially since you have a rear load on your bike, a thinner tire would deform much more under weight.
those are about as thin as you can go
there is a chart for rim width vs tire width
there is a range
Go find your tires on bicyclerollingresistance.com. you may not need skinny tires.
The difference pedaling 40mm tires vs 32mm is not much if you select a tire with decent rolling resistance.
I stripped some 32mm of my brand new bike for some 40mm hard pack gravel tire. I wanted more grip and compliance, I was looking for a 40mm that had similar tread to a beach cruiser tire. I went for pirelli cinturado gravel h tires. I will say, there are better tires. The pirelli’s work good for me and I am a fan of pirelli. I’ve always liked pirelli and after becoming a fan of F1, pirelli is right there with me. It’s my preferred choice for cars and for now, bikes.
I’m open to being convinced on better tires, but in no rush.
Other considerations are cycling clothing and a drop bar bike. The clothing basically brought my speed back. 40mm gravel tires with cycling clothing is about as fast as 32mm road tires with pants and a t-shirt.
Also, road tires ride rougher @ 90psi…