New wheels+tires or NOT

Hi Spirox,

I upgraded my commuter bike wheels from a set of cheap alloy wheels with 30mm Continental GP4Seasons to a set of deep-section carbon aero wheels with 28mm Continental GP4000's and Latex tubes, the difference in rolling resistance alone was very noticeable and there was without a doubt a gain in speed.

Switching from your large 650b wheels/tyres to some skinnier 700c wheels/tyres will make a noticeable difference (improvement) on the smooth stuff - it will also make the rough stuff feel.... rougher.

Two wheelsets make your bike even more versatile, one for the rough stuff and one for the smoother tarmac/road rides.

Not sure I've much to add here apart from a resounding, yes to getting new wheels and tyres. The bike will handle differently and feel more spritely accelerating.

I ride a 23mm, 25mm and 28m tyres, the smaller ones being against the tide of bigger is better trend. 23mm on a 17mm internal measure 25mm, the 25mm on a 17mm internal measure 29mm and the 28mm on a 18mm internal are maooosive.

For me 25mm tyres run tubeless at about 75-85psi is the all rounder sweet spot for tyres (I'm 72kgs BTW). I find they can handle the English NCN routes which are as cross/gravel as it gets!

what did you decide?

Do you have a whyte Glencoe by any chance?

I used to have one - it came with those exact wheels and tyres. Lovely to ride below 18mph (and normal-ish wind)...but an absolute pig if you wanted to go faster or uphill.

The glencoe allowed me to change to a spare 700c wheelset I had with 28mm tyres and immediately there was a massive difference, around 2mph - although bear in mind if all you do is pootle about or easy cruise then you won't find as big a difference

Sounds like a solid plan to me to get a 2nd wheelset

The weight makes most difference further away from the hub so lighter rims and tyres will make a difference for climbing and accelerating but as has been discussed a lot, more aero is better than lighter for most (apparently only starts to make a notable difference over 12mph). That said my friends bike has Schwalbe Marathon tyres on all year round and its hard going up hill.

As you say you arent racing or competing so its up to you how much you want to spend on these improvements. Ive got 30mm depth rims and internal width 19mm which seems to work fine for all conditions for me with 25 or 28mm tyres (wider rims give a better tyre profile for aerodynamics).

All depending on the condition of the roads near you for the tyre width - if theyre quite decent then 25-28 will be faster, but if its pretty rough then 32-35 may be more suitable. 

There are loads of options of tyre which will make a difference to your riding, again depends on the road surface condition. As an example I use 28c Schwalbe Durano (race guard) in winter and 25c Continental Grand Prix or Michelin Pro4 in summer. In general there is a trade off between rolling resistance and puncture resistance, those I use sit in the middle of both ranges.