I’m literally just starting in the world of vintage bikes, and I’m about to begin my first project. My goal is to transform this 1991 Trek 800 (size 20″) into a gravel bike. My main question here is which tire size I should go for. I’m torn between the 26×2.0 and the 26×1.5. I want it to be fast and also look good. Can someone give this novice some advice? If you have further tips, I’ll be glad to read them too.
I mean, I guess it all depends on what kind of terrain you’ll be riding on and your local weather conditions. As wide as you can fit is a good general rule for off-road riding. If the ground is hard and dry, you don’t need as aggressive a tread pattern as you would if the conditions are muddy or particularly loose.
Ok_Relation_7506 on
I would say the wider one of these two tires is probably even faster than the 1,5“ one. The 2.0“ has more equally spread knobs which will result in less surface contact between tire and road and this will lead to lower resistance if they have chosen a rubber that is soft enough.
Choose the thinnest sidewalls you can get. Go wide and tubeless if you plan to update the rims.
– Thin sidewall + wider tire = lower pressure
– lower pressure = more comfort
– more comfort = more speed
My 2 cents… I read and watched a lot about tires and this is what I learned from the OGs (Jan Heine, Ronnie Romance…)
Silly_Republic_1596 on
I don’t know your budget but I would look at the Simworks Homage 26.
That’s what I ran on my gravel conversion for a while and I loved it!
It’s a 26×1.95 so it’s got plenty of squish but also it’s not too big. Tan sidewalks are a classic, and the knobs and tread are a little closer to a gravel tire.
6 Comments
Hello all!
I’m literally just starting in the world of vintage bikes, and I’m about to begin my first project. My goal is to transform this 1991 Trek 800 (size 20″) into a gravel bike. My main question here is which tire size I should go for. I’m torn between the 26×2.0 and the 26×1.5. I want it to be fast and also look good. Can someone give this novice some advice? If you have further tips, I’ll be glad to read them too.
This is the 2.0
https://preview.redd.it/01qy8w5vkqee1.jpeg?width=1026&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf93b2398c50ce5f8f7d002d570ee7bc2482784e
And this is the 1.5
https://preview.redd.it/2yks7tqxkqee1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9928d98ad6ecbd859c3fe5b649c545a15dff4b74
I mean, I guess it all depends on what kind of terrain you’ll be riding on and your local weather conditions. As wide as you can fit is a good general rule for off-road riding. If the ground is hard and dry, you don’t need as aggressive a tread pattern as you would if the conditions are muddy or particularly loose.
I would say the wider one of these two tires is probably even faster than the 1,5“ one. The 2.0“ has more equally spread knobs which will result in less surface contact between tire and road and this will lead to lower resistance if they have chosen a rubber that is soft enough.
Choose the thinnest sidewalls you can get. Go wide and tubeless if you plan to update the rims.
– Thin sidewall + wider tire = lower pressure
– lower pressure = more comfort
– more comfort = more speed
My 2 cents… I read and watched a lot about tires and this is what I learned from the OGs (Jan Heine, Ronnie Romance…)
I don’t know your budget but I would look at the Simworks Homage 26.
That’s what I ran on my gravel conversion for a while and I loved it!
It’s a 26×1.95 so it’s got plenty of squish but also it’s not too big. Tan sidewalks are a classic, and the knobs and tread are a little closer to a gravel tire.