Disc Trucker + Schwalbe Marathon Deluxe.. rim?

[RandomGuyOnABike]

Just a quick question before I start building my touring bike. I was looking at going with the Surly Disc Trucker, 700c. On the stock bike, they include 700c x 37mm Continental Tour RIDE tires. I was looking at upgrading(?) those with a set of Schwalbe Marathon Deluxe HS420's.

Judging by the schwalbe site, they offer tires in the 700c x 35mm and the 700c x 38mm ranges.

So, from experience, which would be the better tire size for fully loaded touring (weekend trips atm, aspiring to do trans-continental one of these years)? Also, would the stock rim handle the tire size(s)? I have to admit, I could find almost no rim reviews / education online yet :\

[Pat Lamb]

Just MHO, but if you're just getting a bike, ride it until you wear the tires out.

If you're going to be touring mostly on-road, you can ride just about anything, width-wise.  37/38 might be a little cushier since you can drop the pressure a bit, 35 or even 32 might be marginally (but almost certainly not significantly) faster.  Off-road, wider tires have an advantage, since they have more area to distribute the load on sketchy surfaces like sand or mud.

Tires are a wear item, like brake pads.  Unlike brake pads, it doesn't matter much which one you choose, as long as you avoid knobby tires.  It's almost a fashion.  Listen to all the yelling and listen to the person whose yelling you like the most.  Next time, a couple thousand miles down the road, you can choose something else or start yelling yourself.

As for rims, Alex Adventurer look perfectly adequate for any of the above tire widths.  If you go below 32 tires, you might want a narrower rim.  Velocity Dyad and Mavic A317 are also good, and Sun CR-18 can be built into a good wheel.  After you build the wheel, you can forget it until the rims are worn out (except for repacking the hubs every year or two).

[DaveB]

The difference in actual tire size between 700-37 and 700-38 will be minimal and may be absolutely nothing depending on how truthful the published sizes really are.   The 700-35 is also going to be very close in installed size to the others.  You are agonizing over trivial differences. 

The stock rims will certainly handle any of these tires and, in general rims are very tolerant of a range of tire sizes.  Cyclocross riders routinely  fit 700-30 and even larger tires to narrow road rims.

I'll second Pat Lamb's recommendation to wear out the original tires first before "upgrading" to the Schwalbes.  Why spend the money when you have a very suitable set of tires now? 

[RandomGuyOnABike]

Gotcha. I don't know why, but I tend to do things like this, over planning/thinking things 

I suppose I'll stay with the stock tires for now, however, I will be upgrading the saddle to a Brookes Flyer saddle 

[staehpj1]

Gotcha. I don't know why, but I tend to do things like this, over planning/thinking things 

I suppose I'll stay with the stock tires for now, however, I will be upgrading the saddle to a Brookes Flyer saddle 

Wearing out the original tires is a good idea.

BTW, I would consider using the stock saddle for at least several hundred miles before "upgrading" it.  You may find that after your body breaks in to it that you actually like it.  It may not be the case for you, but for me the Flyer would be a downgrade.  I consider the stock saddles that came on all of my bikes to be more comfortable than any of the Brooks models.  Out of dozens of saddles I have used over the years a Brooks B-17 was my absolute least favorite.  Add the weight of the springs of the flyer and I'd like it even less.

Note I am not saying that the Brooks models don't work well for some folks, merely that it isn't a slam dunk for everyone.

[Cyclesafe]

With the mind focused on touring and the body confined indoors by the weather, it's easy to blow nits into problems.  Putting Schwalbes and a Flyer on your bike will likely add nothing, and in the latter actually could cause you a problem.  These are great questions to ask after experience requires you to find alternatives for what you already have.  If you want flat resistance, invest in a pair of Kevlar tire liners (not Mr Tuffy).  Decide first if there is a comfort issue with your stock saddle: if so, then the Flyer would not be the first to consider due to weight and the fact that it just isn't as springy as one might think.  BTW, I like the B-17 narrow, but like with Pete, it's not for everyone.

[bobbys beard]

as everyone has said... use the ones that came with the bike. they're decent tyres. i find it useful to swap over the front and back after a while to get more even wear out of them.

i found puncture resistant (very thick)  innertubes worked the best in texas. i got very few flats once i put those in. i'd recommend not getting self fixing inners in hot places as the heat seems to thin the glue so all it does is spit liquid out making it near impossible to fix even with a patch.

the width makes very little differnce to a tourer, as by the time you've got a bit of weight on the back they will be squashed much wider anyhow.

[PeteJack]

as everyone has said... use the ones that came with the bike. they're decent tyres. i find it useful to swap over the front and back after a while to get more even wear out of them.

Sheldon differs on this. You want the tire that is least likely to blow out (i.e. the least worn) on the front. 'Rotating' by moving the front tire to the back and putting a new one on the front is acceptable

[RussSeaton]

I'll repeat what everyone else has said.  Use the tires that came on the bike.  On my touring bike I have some 35mm wide Specialized tires I think.  They are wide, thick, heavy.  Just what I want on a touring bike.  Not sure I have ever flatted them.  I think 35mm is a great width for a touring bike.  38 or 32 is also good.  Doubt it makes any difference which width you pick.  For flats I do think wide, thick, heavy is the way to go for the least.

I am a fan of Brooks saddles and do advocate getting one.  Not the one with built in springs though.  I have one of those in a box in the basement.  Never used it.  On the many bikes I have a B17, Swift, Team Pro copper, and Team Pro classic.  There are two Team Pro saddles.  One with hand hammered rivets and one with machine stamped rivets.  The machine stamped rivets one is best because the hand hammered rivets eventually stick up and cut your shorts.  The machine stamped rivets are smoothed over so they don't cut your shorts.

As for rim, use what came on the bike.  Heavy, wide rims with lots of spokes are great.  36 spokes is best.  I suppose 32 will work if you have to use it.  But 36 is best.  Heavy rims are best for touring.  For touring you do not want light.  Heavy!

[DaveB]

As for rim, use what came on the bike.  Heavy, wide rims with lots of spokes are great.  36 spokes is best.  I suppose 32 will work if you have to use it.  But 36 is best.  Heavy rims are best for touring.  For touring you do not want light.  Heavy!

Well, I'd  qualify that statement.  You want STRONG rims and if they have to be heavy, so be it.  There are plenty of heavy but not very strong rims and they aren't what you want.  Modern modestly deep section rims can be very strong and support 32 spoke lacing without being excessively heavy.

+1 About using the rims that came on the bike. Surly knows a thing or two about touring bikes and, within reasonable price constraints, has spec'ed very functional components.

[RandomGuyOnABike]

Welp, I went ahead and decided to upgrade the tires. The rims: Yea, I was way overthinking things. With any luck, I'll be picking up the bike tomorrow. For the seat, I do want to ride it for awhile as is to see how comfortable the stock seat is before I go spending any more money 

My original plan was to wait another 2 weeks for it, so that I could also get a set of Blackburn Outpost racks (front and back) as well as some Axiom panniers. However, after test riding.. I don't want to wait! It feels soooooo much better than using my MTB. To be expected I suppose, but now, I look at my MTB, and I just can't bring myself to ride the distances that I like to ride =(   I guess I'll relegate it to being a MTB rather than a touring bike O.o