How wide and what type of tire to expand the conditions for my Pocket Rocket?

[Rob Macleod]

Hi Friends,

I have a Pocket Rocket Pro from 2010 that I love and drag all over the place but I need to explore some wider tires, perhaps wheels.

The current wheels are labelled Velocity A23 and I cannot see any other specs from the outside (see photos below).  I usually ride Schwalbe 20 x 1 1/8“ tires, so clearly road tires.  I sometimes go onto gravel paths, but the ride is not fun.  

What are my options for some wider, more forgiving tires as I prepare for a trip to Portugal in May, where our sources claim a lot of the good riding is on gravel paths?  I am still researching the bike routes in the very southern part of the country around Salema so pointers would be much appreciated.  But the main question is about making the bike a little more flexible. 

Thanks in advance,

Rob

For more Bike Friday adventure shots, you can visit my bike webpage.  Most recent was a wet, cold ride up Alpe d’Huez. 

[John Thurston]

Rob, check the archives for June of 2025. We had a discussion of wider 451mm BSD (the size on your Pocket Rocket) tires. One I recall coming up was the Tioga PowerBlock. Tioga calls the 451mm rim size "OS2". I really like the PowerBlock. If they will fit into your frame (and under your brakes), they are worth trying.

Regarding your rim. The A23 is (IMHO) a solid performer. I have it in several sizes. I use it with tires up to 50mm in width. Those wide tires are a little "light bulby" on that rim, but they get the job done. Be aware that as you increase the width of your tires, the expansive-stress you put on your rim increases. So when you "go wide", you also need to run lower tire pressures.

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

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[Harry Travis]

I have not searched the archive as John urges. But, as shopper of tires for Tioga, I alert you to the fact that there are tires beside the OS2- funny that I only now recognize that as the name of an obsolete personal computer operating system from IBM that I used for 6 years - series of tires, OS being the acronym for “over sized”. The tires that are for 451 rims can be picked out by their mounted diameter, which is listed for every tire in the Tioga catalog. The FastR and FastR-x tires listed as 530cm are / must be for 451 rims. They are 1 3/8” in diameter. They are less dirt-grippy than the Powerblocks.

Go to the Tioga page for Powerblock tires and the use of those listed diameters of all tires is apparent: They tell you if swapping out the 451 rim for a 406 will fit under the fork or behind the joint of rear triangle to the stem or bottom bracket assembly, depending on the design of the rear of your pocket rocket.

Harry Travis

Portland OR USA

[John Thurston]

Tioga's 'Fastr' tires are marked in the traditional manner; decimal widths are for the smaller 406mm BSD, fractional widths are for the larger 451mm BSD. Only the PowerBlock is messed up, and is marked in decimal inches for 451mm BSD.

I just stumbled across this one (maybe it was discussed back in June, I don't recall) https://boxcomponents.com/products/box-one-tires-2

Box One is a folding bead, 120tpi, 1 1/8 and 1 3/8 (which they claim are 25.0 and 32.2mm wide), and 187 and 234g That's an impressive weight! I see it on flea-bay for $55

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

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[Roberta]

I put the 1 3/8” Maxxis tires that some including John recommended on my Pocket Rocket and I can attest that they do fit ride better than the thinner Kendra tires. Since it’s the winter and it’s been snowing here I haven’t ridden the bike more than about 10 miles but they seem pretty good.

Roberta 

Philadelphia 

[robert clark]

406 rim offers tire widths where 451 rims  typical on pocket Rockets.. have limitations   another set of wheels perhaps?
Or another Bike Friday?  their Al Packa is selling well ... because of its widertire width capacity...  

My pocket Llama came with 47-406 tires....

I have another bike with Rim brakes, I built wheels   around drum brake hubs 

but it was an MTB  so width capacity of the frame  was already there..  

just they retrofitted,  no braze on fittings needed, like disc brakes do.. 

[robert clark]

frame clearance is your limitation....   measured narrowest point?

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