I have tires, marked on the sidewall as 700x41C, that are mounted on wheels marked 700C(622x17). I've read 50 or so posts on the subject and I think I have this figured out, but I still have a few points of confusion:
- exactly what does the 41 refer to? Is this the width of the tire, when infalted, across the tread? Is it the distance of the tread from the inside of the wheel?
- does the 622x17 on the rim mean that, according to Sheldon Brown's webpage, I can use a tire/tube sized between 700x23 and 700x37 on these wheels?
The "41" in 700x41C is the nominal width of the tire in millimeters when on a rim and inflated. Some tires are mismarked - if so, they're usually smaller than the marking. I've ridden 700x23C tires that really measured 21mm and 700x28C tires that really measured 25mm.
I've had difficulty trying to mount 700x23C tires on 622x17 rims. The bead would not seat properly and the tires would slip off as I pumped them up. So I went with 700x25C.
Actually, where I looked on Sheldon Brown's website, you can fit 25-37 tires on 17mm rims and 23-32 tires on 15mm rims. Sounds a little more accurate...
