I am pretty ignorant about bikes, so bear with me. I recently bought a Cannondale Synapse 2. My other bike is an older road bike that I'm now using exclusively for Zwift. I went back and forth about whether to buy a road bike or a gravel bike, but I do like to race (road) triathlons occasionally, and this one went on sale, so ultimately I decided on the road bike. However, I'm in the PNW, and there are a lot of gravel options out here. Therefore, I'd like to get a second set of tires. I have a couple questions:
1.) The bike comes with 30 mm tires. The spec indicates that the max allowable tire size is 32 mm: https://www.cannondale.com/...ce/synapse/synapse-2 However, eyeballing it and measuring crudely with a ruler, it's obvious there is clearance for a larger tire than 32 mm - at least 35 mm, maybe even 38 mm. Is there a concern other than clearance in terms of max tire size? Or is it OK to max out tire size as long as there is no rubbing? Is the issue possible compression / distortion of the bike when going over bumps and having interference between the wheel and the frame as a result, even if it doesn't happen nominally?
2.) How do I know the max allowable tire size the wheel (as opposed to bike frame) can support? I can't seem to find any specs for the wheel specifically. For example, if I were to buy 35 mm tires, should I expect them to fit on the same wheel, or do I need to buy a different wheel?
I'm not interested in anything serious but there are some low key gravel trails near where I live that I think would be fun to ride. I rode some gravel on my old bike with 25 mm tires and didn't particularly enjoy it, so I'm hoping it would be a bit more pleasant on 35 mm tires.
1.) The bike comes with 30 mm tires. The spec indicates that the max allowable tire size is 32 mm: https://www.cannondale.com/...ce/synapse/synapse-2 However, eyeballing it and measuring crudely with a ruler, it's obvious there is clearance for a larger tire than 32 mm - at least 35 mm, maybe even 38 mm. Is there a concern other than clearance in terms of max tire size? Or is it OK to max out tire size as long as there is no rubbing? Is the issue possible compression / distortion of the bike when going over bumps and having interference between the wheel and the frame as a result, even if it doesn't happen nominally?
2.) How do I know the max allowable tire size the wheel (as opposed to bike frame) can support? I can't seem to find any specs for the wheel specifically. For example, if I were to buy 35 mm tires, should I expect them to fit on the same wheel, or do I need to buy a different wheel?
I'm not interested in anything serious but there are some low key gravel trails near where I live that I think would be fun to ride. I rode some gravel on my old bike with 25 mm tires and didn't particularly enjoy it, so I'm hoping it would be a bit more pleasant on 35 mm tires.