Dropout Tire Clearance

December 29th, 2009 / Jeff

There has been a bunch of interest lately regarding how large of a tire the Dropout will take.  We have posted the max tire size on the frame as 38c.  Let me clarify that a bit. 

The 38c recommendation is with the tire slammed (fully forward) in the rear dropout.  That is the largest tire size we felt comfortable recommending with the wheel at it’s most limiting position in the frame.  If you don’t run the wheel fully forward, but in the middle or back of the dropout, you can fit a larger tire.  In preparation for this post we put a 42c Continental tire into the frame and had clearance midway in the dropout. 

The fork clearance is ever greater. This photo shows a 47c Michelin tire on a 24mm wide rim.

plenty of room left

*Adam a giant bag of sunshine as always

And yes it will barspin that big tire no problem.  If you want to ride fatties go ahead.