Choosing a tyre for the roads and trails around Hout Bay
The right tyre here is decided by where you ride, and the riding on this side of the peninsula changes character in about ten kilometres. What works on Chapman's Peak is not what you want on Silvermine.
On the road
Chapman's Peak and the run over Suikerbossie are fast, well-surfaced and relentlessly exposed. Most riders doing that loop are on a 25mm to 30mm tyre — fast-rolling, but with enough air volume to take the edge off a rough patch of tarmac. Continental's GP5000 family and Schwalbe's One and Pro One sit in that bracket. If you commute or ride winter miles, a tougher casing like the Gatorskin trades a little speed for a lot fewer roadside stops.
On gravel and dirt
Gravel tyres here run wide — 700x45 and 700x50 are the common sizes, in the Schwalbe G-One and Maxxis Rambler and Reaver range. That extra volume is what lets you run lower pressure, which is most of the comfort and most of the grip.
On the mountain
Table Mountain and Silvermine are rocky, and rocky terrain punishes thin sidewalls. The 29in tyres we carry — Maxxis Ikon, Rekon Race, Forekaster and Aspen, Schwalbe Racing Ray and Rocket Ron — mostly come in reinforced casings for exactly that reason. Faster-rolling centre tread for the fire roads, more aggressive shoulder knobs for the singletrack.
Tubeless, tubes and what to carry
Most of what we stock is tubeless-ready, marked TLR, TLE or TR on the sidewall. Tubeless seals small thorn punctures as they happen, which matters on the Cape's duwweltjie thorns. It needs sealant and a way to patch a bigger cut, and a decent pump or CO2 to seat the bead — see pumps and inflation.
Running tubes is still perfectly sensible, particularly on a commuter or a winter bike. Inner tubes need to match both the tyre width and the rim depth, which is what the valve length on the box refers to.
Common questions
What size do I need?
It is printed on the sidewall of the tyre already on the bike — something like 700x28C or 29x2.25. Bring the old tyre in, or a photo of that number, and we will match it.
Can I fit a wider tyre than the one on there now?
Usually a little wider, sometimes not at all. It depends on frame and fork clearance and, on a road bike, on the brake caliper. Bring the bike past your local bike shop and we will measure it rather than guess.
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