The future of high quality 26"/559 tyres

[Joe B]

Being as many of us Thorn owners ride on 559/26" wheels its quite likely that I'm not the only person here have noticed that the big tyre manufacturers seem to be turning way from the size.

I like wide, good quality 559 tyres. Like just like Andy Balance says in Thorn's literature I find that they are very sure footed on greasy/lose descents, very comfortable, provide bags of toe clearance and are good round town too.  However looking at the tyre market all the big manufacturers now have a terrific range of high quality 622/700c tyres for the touring/gravel bike market which are not being made available in 559.  Their 559 ranges seem static, the best 559 tyres available haven't changed much in the last decade, i.e. Supreme/Dureme/Pasela.  I'm sure that there will always be some good quality 559 touring tyres available, such as the special run of Dureme's ordered by SJS or the expensive (but highly regarded) Compass tyres but I wonder whether we might be limited to expensive niche offerings like these in the future.

I raise this now because as some will be aware from one of my other posts I'm currently mulling over options for a new bike.  Until now I have been set on a 26" touring bike but with the focus that Schwalbe and alike are now putting into 622 gravel and touring tyres are they now a better choice for all but the most demanding off road conditions?

I should probably add that I'm referring to European conditions, I realise that there are other reasons for favouring 26" wheels when traveling further afield.     

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

Remember Nomad Mk2's with Discs can take 27.5" / 650b tyres 

[Joe B]

Hi Dave,

I have always admired the Nomad but its probably more bike than I need.  A Raven would suit me perfectly I suspect.  As I've mentioned in another thread I might buy a Raven frame in the coming months and share the Rohloff from my Thorn tandem between both bikes.  I know the cable routing is wrong but that's a minor problem.

[mickeg]

On this topic, see what I have said before
at:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=12883
or at:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=13097

A few more thoughts, as follows:

Years ago when someone asked me what they thought the better choice would be for touring in USA (where I live), it was easy to buy either 700c or 26 inch (559mm) tires.  My response usually was that it was hard to find a good road touring tire that was wider than about 35 or 37 mm wide in 700c but it was hard to find a good road touring tire that was narrower than about 40mm in 26 inch.  Thus, years ago I usually said if you want a wide tire, go with 26 or if you want a narrower tire go with 700c.  That has since changed with the 29er bike craze, now you can find a good 700c tire of almost any width.  But a narrower touring tire in 26 inch is still hard to find.  Fortunately, for touring I am quite content with nothing narrower than 40mm in a 26 inch tire for touring.

I prefer 26 inch for touring for a different reason, all of my 700c bikes that have fenders have toe overlap, but none of my 26 inch bikes with fenders have toe overlap.

I have a 700c touring bike too (that has toe overlap) but I built that bike up for lighter touring, it has a Titanium frame.  Thus, if I am going on a short trip and do not have a lot of weight, I would ride that bike instead.

If you have a coupled bike (S&S couplers or Ritchey Break Away) where you disassemble the bike to fit in a case small enough that airlines do not charge an oversize fee, 26 inch wheels fit in that size case easier than 700c.  But that might not be as much of an issue in Europe.  It is common in USA for airlines to charge an extra $150 USD for a one way flight if you have a case larger than 66 cm X 66 cm X 25 cm, but it is my understanding that airlines in Europe are much more bike friendly than airlines in USA and that it is easier to fly with a bike without that high of a fee fee for a bike.