Semi-OT Rant: Wheel and Tire Semantics

[559Rando]

Does it bug anyone else when people refer to 700C as 700cc? Drive me batty!

I might be hypersensative, but I also cringe when I see references to tire widths using the width "c" such as a "23c tire." 700x23C is ok to me, but if you're just specifying width and not wheel size, can't we talk about them in terms of milimeters? I was once told me a bike shop owner that the Moulton I was inquiring about could fit a "28c" tire. And those itty bitty Moulton wheels most certainly are not 700C.

And while I'm at it, talking about "650" drives me nuts. There's no one 650 wheelsize. There's 650A, 650B, 650C and they're difference sizes!

Am I the only one bugged by this?

[christian]

I exclusively use the ISO sizing. If you can't hang with my common size 305mm, 406mm, 451mm, 559mm, 571mm, 584mm, 622mm, 630mm terminology, then we're just not going to hang.]

How about those new Jamis 584mm MTBs?

[559Rando]

I exclusively use the ISO sizing. If you can't hang with my common size 305mm, 406mm, 451mm, 559mm, 571mm, 584mm, 622mm, 630mm terminology, then we're just not going to hang.]

That's the way to do it! ISO is the biz!

[MattTuck]

This is on topic, as far as I'm concerned. Just wait a month, then the real OT threads will start.

[oldpotatoe]

Does it bug anyone else when people refer to 700C as 700cc? Drive me batty!

I might be hypersensative, but I also cringe when I see references to tire widths using the width "c" such as a "23c tire." 700x23C is ok to me, but if you're just specifying width and not wheel size, can't we talk about them in terms of milimeters? I was once told me a bike shop owner that the Moulton I was inquiring about could fit a "28c" tire. And those itty bitty Moulton wheels most certainly are not 700C.


Am I the only one bugged by this?

Ya mean those 28 inch tires?

[christian]

ISO is the biz!Somewhere in Geneva, a bureaucrat is shedding tears of joy.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/ISO_english_logo.svg

[William]

You people are way to technical. I always say I want tires Yay big...

http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/auto/r/786x0/3/3/33d30_ORIG-yay_big.jpg





:rolleyes:;)
William

[rice rocket]

I exclusively use the ISO sizing. If you can't hang with my common size 305mm, 406mm, 451mm, 559mm, 571mm, 584mm, 622mm, 630mm terminology, then we're just not going to hang.]

How about those new Jamis 584mm MTBs?

Then it sounds like you're referring to the size of that specific bike.

You should preface it with ISO or maybe ETRTO.

[sc53]

I'm sure i have offended then, as I routinely say "23c" or "25c" tires. What should I be saying/writing??? At least I didn't think it was cm. Although I kind of did a while back till I realized how big a cm actually is, and no way those tires were 23 or 25 times the size of one cm.
School me! lest I offend again.

[559Rando]

I'm sure i have offended then, as I routinely say "23c" or "25c" tires. What should I be saying/writing??? At least I didn't think it was cm. Although I kind of did a while back till I realized how big a cm actually is, and no way those tires were 23 or 25 times the size of one cm.
School me! lest I offend again.

The quick and easy way to fix this is to use "mm" instead.

Your offenses have been pardoned!

[559Rando]

Somewhere in Geneva, a bureaucrat is shedding tears of joy.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/ISO_english_logo.svg

Zee bureaucrat to whom you refer will save said emotions until his or her scheduled 15 minute break.

[Ti Designs]

I love it when a customer comes in and asks where they measure. Let's see, a 630mm bead seat wheel is what they call 27", but a 622mm bead seat wheel is what the italian tire makers call 28", and what the mountain bike world thinks of as 29". 26x1.5" is NOT the same size as 26x1-1/2" and none of these things can be figured out with a tape measure...

[Llewellyn]

Does it bug anyone else when people refer to 700C as 700cc? Drive me batty!

I might be hypersensative, but I also cringe when I see references to tire widths using the width "c" such as a "23c tire." 700x23C is ok to me, but if you're just specifying width and not wheel size, can't we talk about them in terms of milimeters? I was once told me a bike shop owner that the Moulton I was inquiring about could fit a "28c" tire. And those itty bitty Moulton wheels most certainly are not 700C.

And while I'm at it, talking about "650" drives me nuts. There's no one 650 wheelsize. There's 650A, 650B, 650C and they're difference sizes!

Am I the only one bugged by this?


Quite possibly. Surely there are bigger things to worry about? :)

[palincss]

Does it bug anyone else when people refer to 700C as 700cc? Drive me batty!

I might be hypersensative, but I also cringe when I see references to tire widths using the width "c" such as a "23c tire." 700x23C is ok to me, but if you're just specifying width and not wheel size, can't we talk about them in terms of milimeters? I was once told me a bike shop owner that the Moulton I was inquiring about could fit a "28c" tire. And those itty bitty Moulton wheels most certainly are not 700C.

And while I'm at it, talking about "650" drives me nuts. There's no one 650 wheelsize. There's 650A, 650B, 650C and they're difference sizes!

Am I the only one bugged by this?

Not at all. Everything you mentioned drives me nuts, too. It's not hypersensitivity on your part; it is illiteracy on theirs.

[palincss]

I'm sure i have offended then, as I routinely say "23c" or "25c" tires. What should I be saying/writing??? At least I didn't think it was cm. Although I kind of did a while back till I realized how big a cm actually is, and no way those tires were 23 or 25 times the size of one cm.
School me! lest I offend again.

Your tires are 23mm or 25mm wide. 700x23C is a 23mm tire in the 700C size -- as distinguished from (the now obsolete) 700A or 700B sizes. The letter designation may be obsolete in 700, but is definitely not obsolete in the 26" 650 sizes, where 650A, 650B and 650C tires are still common.

[palincss]

I love it when a customer comes in and asks where they measure. Let's see, a 630mm bead seat wheel is what they call 27", but a 622mm bead seat wheel is what the italian tire makers call 28", and what the mountain bike world thinks of as 29". 26x1.5" is NOT the same size as 26x1-1/2" and none of these things can be figured out with a tape measure...

Amen! All the more reason to go with the ISO designations.

[Llewellyn]

Amen! All the more reason to go with the ISO designations.

Completely agree but the confusion arises because people just get used to designations like 700C, 26 x 1.5" etc, so that's what they use.

Part of the problem exists because tyre manufacturers still put the "non ISO measurement" on the sidewall of their tyres as well as ISO (at least on the ones I've seen) . If they only used the ISO sizing then that might start to force people to use that designation (although granted it would be a slow change, eg we've been metric in this country for nearly 40 years but some things still use imperial measurements and some people still use imperial terms - now that s***s me to tears!!!!)

[gavingould]

customer walks in to the shop:

customer: "i need a tube"

shop employee: "what size?"

customer: "it's a ten speed/it's a kids bike/it's an old schwinn"

shop employee: "well, there's more than one size... do you have the bike, wheel, or tire with you?"

customer: "i thought they were all the same"

NO SOUP FOR YOU.

see also: customers who interchangeably use the terms tire, tube, wheel, rim, etc.
i swear people call the shop and do this kind of stuff to piss us off!