this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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Cycling noob here - help me understand tires and wheels so I can swap mine around (self.bicycling)
submitted 1 year ago by Obsession to c/bicycling
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I recently got my first road/endurance bike, a Felt VR60. According to the specs, the wheels it came with are: Devox WheelRDS.A3, Tubeless ready, 6-hole, 12x100/12x142 mm. Default tires it came with are Vittoria Zaffira V tires.

I'm thinking of doing some light gravel riding with this bike, so was considering some 30mm tires to swap between depending on the activity I want to do. However, I have no idea what I should be looking for when it comes to buying new tires/tubes.

  1. What factors do I need to worry about when buying new tires? I assume the wheel size matters, right?

  2. Can I reuse my existing tubes, or do I need new ones?

  3. Searching for 30mm gravel tires, I mostly found tubeless options. Is there a reason for that?

  4. Anything else I should know before buying and swapping tires?

Any help is greatly appreciated here :)

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[–] fodderoh 2 points 1 year ago

Tubeless is very common for gravel both because they aren't as susceptible to flats and because they don't need to be inflated to as a high a pressure as tubes do, which gives you more stability.

12x100/12x142 tells you wheel width at the axle, not size. Those widths are pretty standard in the industry. Unless you are very short, they are most likely 700c (29 inch) wheels.

You'll want to understand what width wheel your bike came with as wheel rims are meant to be used with compatible width tires.

To use a 30mm tire you would want a 700x30 wheel.

A 30mm wheel on a road bike out of the box would be unusual, I think. But I could be out of date on that. I know the trend has moved more towards wider wheels in recent years.

You'd want make sure your frame can take a 30mm wheel as well.

All that being said, if you have a good local bike shop, I would definitely recommend going to them. They will be able to look at your bike and help point you in the right direction. A local bike shop is an invaluable resource for folks just getting in cycling.