44mm tires on a Roadini w/ fenders?

[Ryan Schlichting]

I’m looking to get some wider RH tires for my 2025 Roadini. I have the SKS fenders on now with 39-40 (measured) tires and still seem to have quite a bit of room. If RH sold 42s, I’d get those but they don’t. It’s either 38 or 44. So I’m thinking the 44s might actually work but I’m wondering if anyone has tried this? My rims are Velocity Quill which are quite wide at 24.5 so it could actually measure to 45. Oh, I’m talking about smooth tires by the way. I will carefully measure before I buy, but it’s always nice to hear others’ experiences. Thanks 

[Guy Jett]

Rene Herse

     650B x 42 Babyshoe Pass TC Tire

     Only 700C x 42 they have is a knobby (700C X 42 Hurricane Ridge TC Tire)

            Otherwise a 44 (Snoqualmie Pass) or 38 (Barlow Pass)

G.A. Jett

On Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 5:10 PM Ryan Schlichting <rds...@gmail.com> wrote:

I’m looking to get some wider RH tires for my 2025 Roadini. I have the SKS fenders on now with 39-40 (measured) tires and still seem to have quite a bit of room. If RH sold 42s, I’d get those but they don’t. It’s either 38 or 44. So I’m thinking the 44s might actually work but I’m wondering if anyone has tried this? My rims are Velocity Quill which are quite wide at 24.5 so it could actually measure to 45. Oh, I’m talking about smooth tires by the way. I will carefully measure before I buy, but it’s always nice to hear others’ experiences. Thanks 

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[Franco Rinaldi]

On my velocity quills my Rene herse 44s measure out to 42

Franco Rinaldi 

c:  646.403.0661 

-Pardon any typos, Siri typed this message-

On Dec 20, 2025, at 8:27 PM, Guy Jett <guy4...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Dan]

Which fenders do you have?

I have SKS P45s with RH Barlow Pass EL on Quills that measure out to 40-41mm. I wouldn’t want wider tyres and fenders on this bike. The pinch point isn’t the width but the height, specifically at the rear seatstay bridge. The tyres juuuuuust clear the nut my mechanic installed to mount the fender. 

[Ryan Schlichting]

I have the most recent batch of fenders so I think it's the B55.  But I doubt they're much different than yours. But it's a good point that the width of the fender might not sufficiently cover the wider 44 and/or it might not look right.  It's interesting that the width of the 38 vs. the 44 on the same brand rim is 40 vs. 42 as measured by Franco and Dan.  I think, Dan, you're right that the real difference is probably in the height where I'll likely be hitting the fenders.  I'll double check as best I can, but I'll probably go with 38 just to be safe.  Darn, I was trying to be greedy and get the biggest RH tire I could get in there. Thanks you all!

Ryan

[Dan]

Ha yes, I’ve had the same feeling. 

I reason that for a ‘Road’ bike the Roadini already has great clearance. If you want 44s and fenders then you’ll need a different bike! Maybe one of the new Hillbornes? Or a Crust Lightning Bolt? But then they ride quite differently…

The 38s ride great. Really comfy. I tell myself to enjoy it as it is :)

[Brian Forsee]

Ryan - you could check out the Ultradynamico Cava, it is available in a 700x42. Similar casing (if not the same) as the RH

Brian

[Eamon Nordquist]

It's highly recommended to have quite a bit of room between fenders and tires. Trying to squeeze the biggest tire you can physically cram under a fender can be dangerous. It becomes too easy for a piece of road debris to get caught between the tire and the fender. I've gone over the bars from an accordioned front fender before - piece of branch got caught and pulled into the fender. It's scary and can happen terrifyingly fast. I like 1.5  to 2 cm of clearance ideally. Rivendell suggests up to a 38 with fenders, and 43 without. If you want bigger, maybe a Roadini is not the right bike?

Eamon

Seattle

[Guy Jett]

Rene Herse has a page on Requirements for good fender installation.  Seems very thoughtful.  Jan recommends an absolute minimum clearance of 20 mm between the tire and any bridges and the fork crown.  And 30 mm as an ideal.  Velo Orange states that a 10mm vertical clearance is OK but, for safety reasons, I would be skeptical  V-O does recommend a lateral clearance of 10mm to 12mm (with an absolute minimum of 8mm.  That's helpful.  Both these vendors sell only metal fenders.  

Rivendell takes a different stance, preferring plastic fenders by SKS/Esge/Blumels.  One advantage is the the safety release for front fenders that many come with.  These release if anything tries to jam the front fender.  In addition, they carry Portland Design Works safety tabs for attaching to metal fender stays, and also spare clips for SKS.

All of the above have recommendations as to which width fender for which width tire.

G.A.Jett

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[Russell Duncan]

In the 44-ish tire size, I use the 700 x 43 Rock 'n Road, which was designed by the late Bruce Gordon. They are good tires at a fair price. I have them mounted on Pacenti Brevet rims on my early 2006 Surly Cross x Check.

Bruce Gordon Cycles — H O M E

1988 Bruce Gordon Rock ‘n Road: A Bike From the Past’s Future – John Watson | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

Russell Duncan

Western Massachusetts

[Patrick Moore]

I rode 61 mm actual superduperlight Big Ones under custom Kelpie fenders, with only ~1 cm between top of rear tire and fender where Chauncey had misjudged bridge height by ~1 cm. I had about 2 cm between top of front tire and underside of fender under the crown. The Big Ones of course are semi-slicks.

I had no problems in some 7-8 years riding where fallen cottonwood branches were likely, this despite often briefly pickup errant branches; doubtless this was because the Big Ones are, again, semi-slicks and also because the Kelpies use struts at least 50% thicker than your typical Honjo, Berthoud, VOs, etc, and the fenders themselves are also about 50% bigger in gauge. But my point is that with slicks or semi slicks, branch pick up is far, far less of a problem than with knobbies.

I presently use ~54 mmThunderburt mini-knobbies under the same fenders, with about an additional cm under each fender — so, about 2 cm rear, 3 cm front. 

OTOH again, I’ve seen an errant fallen cotton wood branch get into the spokes and lock up the front wheel on a fenderless bike; so the problem is not limited to fenders. Said branch locked the wheel, said bike did an endo, with bike and rider rotating in majestic semi-slo-mo to full vertical on tippy-tip of front tire, but said rider did a magnificent save and, while coming to a complete stop, didn’t even fall over.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Eamon Nordquist]

FWIW, I've had this happen as well, and it also resulted in an over the bars situation for me. Luckily, in both cases, I was young and made of rubber still! Everyone assumes their own level of risk. For myself, I'm no longer willing to push the limits. I do get the desire to ride the widest tire that will fit - wider tires are more comfy, give you better cornering grip, and handle bad surfaces better. I'm just saying that going over the bars is scary, happens FAST, and hurts!

Eamon

[Andy Beichler]

I'm running 700cx40 Gravel King slicks on a bike. They have a very nice ride and measure out to 40mm. I'm not sure which rims I am using but if you are curious, I can check in the morning.