BIG TIRES FOR EVERYONE.

For the past three years, one of the most discussed topics at Velosmith has been tire width and tire pressure. It was a CyclingTips podcast back in August 2016 that prompted the crew at VBS to really dig in and begin experimenting with wider tires and lower pressures.

Since then, we have not looked back. In fact, our average “pure road” bike tire size has been 32mm. Over the past two seasons we have seen the tried and true 23mm tire all but disappear followed closely by 25mm tires. The only call for 25mm tires is for repair work where the frame has limited clearance. These days, even the most aero road bikes are equipped with 30mm tires and our most popular carbon road set-up (the Enve Melee) has clearance for a 35mm tire.

Since June of 2016, I personally have ridden 30-34mm tires exclusively and in that time, I have not exceeded 60 psi for a single road application. Fast group rides, centuries, gravel - you name it. My go-to pressure is 50-52 psi front and rear. If you told me 15 years ago that anything less than 100 psi would not only handle well, it would be comfortable and fast I never would have believed it.