Sub-38mm wide 650b tires?..

[Max]

OK, suppose that I'd be looking at replacing Grand Bois Lierres by some other, sub-38 mm wide (on Synergy rims) 650b tires for the purposes of taking the long way in to work and back, across a variety of surfaces, including dirt / gravel / broken pavement, but not really anything in the way of glass-strewn city streets... 

Sub-38 mm, because the Trek 400 gives me ~4 mm of clearance at the chainstays with Lierres, without dimpling the chainstays (which I'm not averse to doing, save for not having the tools for it). 

I accept if the weight of the tire is taken up by a steel wire bead, but not if it's taken up by a bunch of rubber in / on the side walls. I also prefer having no lugs on the tread – at most some ribs a la Hetre. In other words, low rolling resistance is more important to me than weight. 

Googling about nets me either Kojak 27.5x1.35 inch, or Michelin Wild Run'R 27.5x1.5 inch. The former comes in at ~330g, the latter comes in at 490g (!). Pari Motos are probably too fragile (?) for the intended use. 

What say, ye, Good Persons of the 650b persuasion? 

- Max in A2

[Philip Kim]

parimotos have a gravel king version with a bit tougher sidewalls in 1.5in width. I would say they run small.

for reference I had the 1.75's:

on velocity synergies they run 38mm

on pacenti brevet rims they run 40mm

so I expect the 1.5s to also run on the smaller side. Pretty nice riding tires, they feel tough but are pretty light. Although I'm riding hetres now which are a bit heavier, they are more pillowy.

[Harald Kliems]

The Col de la Vies that I had on my Gunnar Roadie conversion initially I think measured quite a bit under 38mm on Pacenti SL23s. Of course they don't really fit your other criteria. 

 Harald.

[David Parsons]

On Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 8:06:07 AM UTC-7, Max wrote:

OK, suppose that I'd be looking at replacing Grand Bois Lierres by some other, sub-38 mm wide (on Synergy rims) 650b tires for the purposes of taking the long way in to work and back, across a variety of surfaces, including dirt / gravel / broken pavement, but not really anything in the way of glass-strewn city streets... 

Hutchinson Confrerie des 650b;  nominal 32mm, actually 33-34mm on all the rims (CR18, ztr355, SL23) I've ridden them on (need to mailorder from France)

Schwalbe One; 25mm on SL23s (need to mailorder from Germany)

I get a flat every 500 miles or so on my Confreries; haven't gotten any flats on my Ones (but I'm running them tubeless, so the sealant could be hiding a multitude of sins.)   If you stay off the streets flat magnets (pari-motos) might not be a problem, but they're only barely under 38mm.

[Kieran J]

The two pairs of Soma B-Lines I've had measured around 35mm on Synergy rims. Good tires, pretty durable too.

KJ

On Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 11:06:07 AM UTC-4, Max wrote:

[David Cummings]

Ditto with my two pairs.  Maybe grow to 36mm, but certainly not 38.  (Depends on rim too, I suppose - one pair on Grand Bois and the other on Zac19)

[njh...@gmail.com]

I've been using the Hutchinson "Confrérie des 650B" for about a year on one of my bikes.They have a slick tread, measure 33mm wide on Velocity A23 rims, mount perfectly true, seem to wear pretty well, and I haven't yet had a puncture on them. You can run them tubeless if you want, though they're not specified as such - I've been running them tubeless on the A23 rims at ~40psi front / 60psi rear.

You can get them pretty cheaply from XXCycle in France for about $26/tyre: https://www.xxcycle.com/tyre-hutchinson-confrerie-des-650b-275-650-b-ts,,en.php

[David Cummings]

Depending on how narrow you want to go, looks like Boulder Bicycles has a few GB Cypres tires in stock (32mm).

David In MT

[Dave Johnston]

Rivendell has or had a 650b x 33.33 tire. Nifty Swifty and Maxy Fasty were the names I think, it looks like the Jack Brown. I'm not sure if these are still made, Riv doesn't seem to carry them anymore. If you decide on these ping me for a price as I have an extra set of Maxy Fasty still in the package. I'm going to try B-Lines next, I think they will fit on my conversion as long as they are <36mm actual.

[tomm...@me.com]

Nifty Swifty are still available from Bikeman (http://www.bikeman.com/TR2322.html) and elsewhere. Running these on my Bob Jackson 650b conversion.

--Tom

[Les Lammers]

I ran these on a Bleriot and never had any issues or flats.