Thought I'd become familiar with the tyres on our new Focus Planet e-bikes. Man, what a minefield.

[Point Reyes]

Our bikes came with the 47-622 Schwalbe Energizer Active Plus tyres. Trying to decipher the sizes is very confusing. There's ISO, American, Imperial Metric and who knows what else.

I guess a lot of dealers use Imperial Metric which would be 700×47C for our 47-622(I think).

Someday I'll have to buy new tyres but right now I'm looking for some spare tubes so I guess I need 700c x 37-47c but I'm not real sure.

Is there something that simplifies this a bit?

Many thanks.

 

[vfr400]

Our bikes came with the 47-622 Schwalbe Energizer Active Plus tyres. Trying to decipher the sizes is very confusing. There's ISO, American, Imperial Metric and who knows what else.

I guess a lot of dealers use Imperial Metric which would be 700×47C for our 47-622(I think).

Someday I'll have to buy new tyres but right now I'm looking for some spare tubes so I guess I need 700c x 37-47c but I'm not real sure.

Is there something that simplifies this a bit?

Many thanks.

None of it is critical. It's not that critical regarding tubes because they stretch a lot. The only important thing is the 622 for the tyres, which is the rim size. You go to a different width if you want - anything from 25 to 50 should be OK. Maybe a bit wider if your rims are wider than 19mm.

Scwhalbe Energizer tyres are quite good for touring bikes. They're quite heavy but have good puncture resistance. Weight is always the penalty for puncture resistance - the heavier the better.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus gives the ultimate puncture resistance. They're hard as nails and last forever, but, obviously, hard tyres don't grip as well as soft ones. You have to decide how much grip you want, how long you want them to last and how much pucture resistance you need. Many people choose the highest puncture resistance for their tyres as punctures would be a lot more frequent than falling off.

 

[sjpt]

Is there something that simplifies this a bit?

No. It nearly got simplified by the introduction and common use of ISO/ETRTO sizes, but then the marketing men got active and really confused things with the introduction of silly unnecessary new terms such as 29er.

622 is the really critical number, that is the bead diameter. But yes, for spare tubes 700c x 37-47 should be fine, the width is not critical for inners as long as they are in the right ballpark.

 

[flecc]

Someday I'll have to buy new tyres but right now I'm looking for some spare tubes so I guess I need 700c x 37-47c but I'm not real sure.

Is there something that simplifies this a bit?

It's difficult to simplify and easy to complicate as most explanations make clear! However, you've got it right, 700c x 37-47 tubes are the right ones.

622, 700c, 27.5", 29" (aka 29ER) and even modern 650B are all the same diameter.

Variations:

29" mountain bikes often have the rim wider to accommodate larger tyres.

650B was originally a slightly smaller diameter until it was adopted for road bikes.

The USA once had a 27" size which was the same as the earlier 650B in being slightly smaller diameter. Tyres are still made for those since there stil so many of those bikes around, but they're much more rare now this side of the big pond.
.

 

[Point Reyes]

None of it is critical. It's not that critical regarding tubes because they stretch a lot. The only important thing is the 622 for the tyres, which is the rim size. You go to a different width if you want - anything from 25 to 50 should be OK. Maybe a bit wider if your rims are wider than 19mm.

Scwhalbe Energizer tyres are quite good for touring bikes. They're quite heavy but have good puncture resistance. Weight is always the penalty for puncture resistance - the heavier the better.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus gives the ultimate puncture resistance. They're hard as nails and last forever, but, obviously, hard tyres don't grip as well as soft ones. You have to decide how much grip you want, how long you want them to last and how much pucture resistance you need. Many people choose the highest puncture resistance for their tyres as punctures would be a lot more frequent than falling off.

Thanks, that clarifies it for me. It's not quite as confusing. Also glad to hear the tyres are decent too.

 

[Point Reyes]

No. It nearly got simplified by the introduction and common use of ISO/ETRTO sizes, but then the marketing men got active and really confused things with the introduction of silly unnecessary new terms such as 29er.

622 is the really critical number, that is the bead diameter. But yes, for spare tubes 700c x 37-47 should be fine, the width is not critical for inners as long as they are in the right ballpark.

OK makes more sense now. Thanks alot.

 

[Point Reyes]

It's difficult to simplify and easy to complicate as most explanations make clear! However, you've got it right, 700c x 37-47 tubes are the right ones.

622, 700c, 27.5", 29" (aka 29ER) and even modern 650B are all the same diameter.

Variations:

29" mountain bikes often have the rim wider to accommodate larger tyres.

650B was originally a slightly smaller diameter until it was adopted for road bikes.

The USA once had a 27" size which was the same as the earlier 650B in being slightly smaller diameter. Tyres are still made for those since there stil so many of those bikes around, but they're much more rare now this side of the big pond.
.

OK, thanks alot, I think I've got it straight now.

 

[Point Reyes]

It's difficult to simplify and easy to complicate as most explanations make clear! However, you've got it right, 700c x 37-47 tubes are the right ones.

622, 700c, 27.5", 29" (aka 29ER) and even modern 650B are all the same diameter.

Variations:

29" mountain bikes often have the rim wider to accommodate larger tyres.

650B was originally a slightly smaller diameter until it was adopted for road bikes.

The USA once had a 27" size which was the same as the earlier 650B in being slightly smaller diameter. Tyres are still made for those since there stil so many of those bikes around, but they're much more rare now this side of the big pond.
.

I'm originally from California and am used to just inches but I'm getting my head around it. Thanks.

 

[sjpt]

I'm originally from California and am used to just inches but I'm getting my head around it. Thanks.

Even with inches it can be confusing, eg 26" x 1.5 (559mm bead) is different from 26" x 1 1/2 (584mm bead)

 

[Point Reyes]

Even with inches it can be confusing, eg 26" x 1.5 (559mm bead) is different from 26" x 1 1/2 (584mm bead)

Yes, I just read about that. Best to stick with 47-622 (especially 622).

 

[flecc]

I'm originally from California and am used to just inches but I'm getting my head around it. Thanks.

At 85 now I grew up with inches, but in my first employment in my teens I also had to use metric for three years. The end result since is that I've freely used them interchangeably all my life, using whichever is most suited to the job in hand.
.

 

[Point Reyes]

At 85 now I grew up with inches, but in my first employment in my teens I also had to use metric for three years. The end result since is that I've freely used them interchangeably all my life, using whichever is most suited to the job in hand.
.

That's what I'm finding since moving over here.

 

[Nealh]

It's difficult to simplify and easy to complicate as most explanations make clear! However, you've got it right, 700c x 37-47 tubes are the right ones.

622, 700c, 27.5", 29" (aka 29ER) and even modern 650B are all the same diameter.

Variations:

29" mountain bikes often have the rim wider to accommodate larger tyres.

650B was originally a slightly smaller diameter until it was adopted for road bikes.

The USA once had a 27" size which was the same as the earlier 650B in being slightly smaller diameter. Tyres are still made for those since there stil so many of those bikes around, but they're much more rare now this side of the big pond.
.

Not forgetting 28" which is used for road/touring bikes also 622 but thinner tyres.