Widest tires on a Creo?

[Captain Slow]

I'm interested in riding my Creo on gravel and thinking about a second set of wheels. I am going to try to adapt a set of 27.5 wheels that I have for my MTB to work. The rear wheel should work fine.

I'm wondering what the widest tire anyone has put on a Creo for off-road use. I think that a 650 x 47 tire will give me the same diameter as 700 x 30 so in terms of diameter I'm pretty confident a 650 x 50 tire would work fine but will it fit from a width perspective?

Curious to know what gravel set-ups people are using on their Creos.

TIA

 

[StmbtDave]

I have 38’s on my stock rims. They’re just fine for both road and light gravel. They’re no where near having a clearance problem so I’m sure you could easily run much wider if you wanted.

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

I was going to post similar question, but I’ll just tack onto this, itok. I am curious what the widest 700c and 650b that will fit, with a little mud clearance. I’m guessing that a 700c x 43 will fit, but what are the limits?

 

[Amoto65]

Pondering this question myself as I am thinking of going wider.

 

[wmason]

Pondering this question myself as I am thinking of going wider.

When the Creo was purchased I installed 42mm tires, no problem.

 

[Akrotiri]

From the online reviews I’ve seen the widest was a 27.5 setup with 1.75 inch wide tires.

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

Whoa, like MTB tires! I do want to keep in 700c size for now.

 

[Deacon Blues]

@Captain Slow, I have 47mm Specialized Pathfinder 2Bliss tires (which I love) on my Cannondale. This 27.5 tire had a width of 50mm, when mounted on my fairly wide rims.

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

When the Creo was purchased I installed 42mm tires, no problem.

Yes, it “appears” like 42 should work, and I was thinking the Gravel King SS would be a good start.

 

[e-levity]

Specialized’s recommended max tire are widths are conservative, probably to allow for mud clearance.

We live in the dry southwest US and have run 50mm wide 650b Soma Cazadero tires (measure a true 50mm on an i30 rim) and 47mm wide Specialized Tracer 700c tires (measure a true 47mm on the i21 R470 rims) on our Creos without issue. We’re liking the Tracers! They run smooth on pave, have grip on dirt and gravel, and are are very cushy. We set them up tubeless, and off-road we’ve used pressures down to 26psi for traction and comfort. They do make the Creo look a bit chubby:

 

[Captain Slow]

Geez, that's interesting. I never would have guessed.

 

[SHAKEYSTART]

I was wrong about the above. I took delivery of my Creo, installed 700x44 gravel tires. Now I know the difference between 700c and 650b. It is the sidewall height. The 650b x 47 tires on my Salsa Warroad have massive sidewalls. Those tires are balloons of cush. The ride is incredibly supple. They soak up every bump and rattle in the road. No suspension needed. In contrast, the 700c x 44 tires on my Creo SL have a short sidewall. Running them at 30psi, like the Warroad, doesn’t do much for a supple ride because there’s so little sidewall to soak up the bumps. Even with Specialized’s Future Shock stem it is a harsher ride than the unsuspended Warroad.

I’ll switch the Creo to 650b rims when the 44mm tires wear out.

Were the 700c tires you tried the Biways also, because they offer it in 700c as well and I was thinking about the 44 in that tire.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I have the Pathfinders (650b 44mm) on my Cannondale Lefty 3 and I'm VERY happy with them.

 

[JeffC57]

The Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready are getting top reviews now for 700c gravel tires.

Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready 42 Rolling Resistance Review

Rolling resistance and puncture resistance review of a Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready 42 cx/gravel bike tire. Also includes detailed weight and size measurements

www.bicyclerollingresistance.com

Thanks for sharing this link. The Pathfinder Pro 38s were furnished with my Creo CC EVO. Good to know these tires have a good puncture rating. I sometimes fail to dodge all the sticks and ruts filled with larger gravel on the rail trails. I might move up to the 42's some day.

 

[Deacon Blues]

If not already I'd recommend going tubeless.

 

[etgo]

Anyone have tried using 700x48c?

 

[Rincon]

Were the 700c tires you tried the Biways also, because they offer it in 700c as well and I was thinking about the 44 in that tire.

Sorry for the late reply. Yes. My Creo is running 700 x 44 WTB Byways. Nice tires. But I now have a pair of Extralight René Herse Hurricane Ridge 700 x 42 tires in the shopping cart. I want supple, like the 650x47 WTB Byways, and the Extralight René Herse tires are built for a supple ride.

 

[Elkman]

Still using the stock 700x28 tires on the factory rims which have a width of only 25mm. The rim width is the gating factor in terms of tires. In theory the rims can be used with tires up to 50c in width. I would not worry about differences in rolling resistance up to 28mm wide tires but great than that there will be performance trade-offs. I already can run with a 30% lower tire pressure with the 28mm tire as compared to the 23mm ones on my non electric road bikes. Wider might provide gains on gravel or soft dirt or snow but not on the surfaces on which I ride the Creo.