Road noob with questions.

[Signal11th]

*can someone move this the the appropriate forum please*

Morning Chaps,

I've been an avid mountain biker for longer than I care to remember but with advancing age I thought I would give road bikes (or as I would call them "racers" ) a try.

I've managed to snag a really good nick Claud Butler Milano 2009 for £150 (yes yes I know its a CB but to be honest for my first bike I'm not going to spend a 1000).

Now apart from the frame being a tad small for me everything seems to be in working order apart from one weird thing. The front wheel (or is it the tyre) is smaller than the back. I've looked at the milano specs which seem to indicate both wheels should be the same size. I

Obviously I don;t want to go out and buy a 28/29 front wheel then find out it doesn't fit so was this just a weird thing the previous rider did or is there another reason to do this???? I have a 28 inner tube in the front tyre but when I inflate it it takes the tyre over the rim but looking on websites the x28 inner tube seems to be the standard.

edit I dont think the wheel sizes are different just the tyre sizes, christ this is even more confusing that MTB's ..
Siggers..

 

[mattr]

It's not *that* unusual to have different tyre sizes front and rear. Continental used to do (or still do?) a pairing called force (rear) and attack (front) which were 24mm rear and 22 front (i think). Mavic also have some that are slightly different sizes front to rear. (And in the 90's it was very common to use different size MTB tyres front to rear, surely you would have noticed )

As for the tyre coming over the rim, that sounds like a fitting problem. A 28mm inner tube should be useable in any 700c tyre from about 23mm to 32mm. (useable but not ideal!) You maye have got the tube trapped underneath the bead of the tyre tho, as it is probably a bit on the big size. This will lift the bead off the rim. Alternatively, the front tyre isn't actually the right diameter. It should have something like 622-23 or 622-25 stamped on the side. This are the official sizes for a 700x23 and 700x25 tyres.

 

[Signal11th]

Re:

yes it bulges around the valve area, I have ordered 2x conti 700x25 tyres and some new inners so will see when they arrive.
still struggling with the fact I have to move the brake lever to change gear as well,, very strange..

 

[mattr]

If you let the tyre down, then you can push the valve up into the tyre, it should pull the innertube out from under the bead. Then reinflate.

But decent tyres and tubes to fit is likely to be the nicest solution. And it'll put your mind at rest!

 

[NeilM]

Re: Re:

still struggling with the fact I have to move the brake lever to change gear as well,, very strange..

You'll soon get into 'roadie' mindset.

I built my first road bike last year, having been an mtb'er since the late 80's, so I know exactly what you are going through. :mrgreen:

There's a whole new world of cycling out there, enjoy!