My bike specs say fork clearance is 50mm and rear tyre clearance is 47mm. However, my unexperienced eyes and measurements are telling me to go with a knobby 55mm (or even 60mm) for front and 50mm for rear tyre.
I haven’t ordered my tires yet. Between the designers and builders of my bike and me, I’m pretty sure I’m wrong and I’d like to use this as a learning experience. What am I missing?
by toperato
6 Comments
Maybe, but you don’t want to use up all of the clearance as the wheel will deflect some when cornering.
Don’t forget about allowing room for mud and rocks to pass through as well.
I’d go for 50mm front and rear.
In addition to what others have mentioned, the mud and rocks that will get caught and cause you to suddenly stop if the gap is too small, and the fact that the frame flexes particularly in the rear triangle when cornering meaning a large tire might make contact with the chainstays – you want to consider that different brands run slightly different sizes and if you’re nearing the maximum that might be enough to push it over the edge.
You can probably squeeze 47mm front and back….might even get some 50mm but that’s definitely pushing it.
Stated frame clearances include room for mud. If you are going to be riding somewhere where there is absolutely no chance of anything sticking to the tire, you could probably squeeze a 2.2 in the front and a 2 inch in the back but it would be close.