Bad tire choice? 2.3s

Hi guys and gals,

I was running a 1.95 rear and 2.1 front on my hardtail over the winter, it's performed pretty well,
especially after bumping up the front to the 2.1 (a tip picked up from this group - thanks !).

In fact - I liked the confidence that the bigger front gave me so much, that I decided to up both my
tires to 2.3s for the summer - since there is less mud to contend with, just (hopefully) some nice
hardpack with the usual roots and rocks.... Now - Fitted them all up, took the opportunity to stick
some new cloth rim tape on, and a couple of DH tubes, even though my 2.125 (max) tubes would have
done for 2.3s I reckon, I'd rather be 100% sure I've got it right.

So 10 minutes to switch all that around, and all's well, bikes looking good with the 2 Tioga Factory
2.3 on, but one thing I did notice was that on the front - there is very little clearance (<1cm)
between the Avid brake noodle and the top of the tire, and at the back, its a pretty tight fit
between the stays too - probably less than 5mm clearance there, and again the <1cm clearance below
the rear noodle...

So am I either

a. A damn fool whose going to break something either on the bike or on my person when the tire rubs
or catches on something crucial.

or

b. Someone who worries too much, and if the tire fits, then it'll still fit at 30 mph down a
rocky track...

Cheers,

CandT

 

You'll be fine unless

1) Your rear wheel gets knocked out of true

or

2) You ride through lots of thick mud.

In either case the consequences are no more life threatening than normal. I'd quite like to fun
fatter tyres on my bike but it's really only got clearance for 2.2 at most, it being semi-vintage.

Andy Chequer