Howdy, I recently gave some new life to an old 1980s raleigh road bike that I found on craigslist turned into a commuter. The tires are somewhat old, and I’m looking into replacing them. Would you recommend any different sizes for the wheels? Brands to look for? It’s not a common size tire on modern bikes. Also, I currently have 700 x 35c inner tubes in the tires. Is that an issue or will they work just fine for now? They were provided to me by my local bike shop.
I only use Conti Gatorskins or Hardshells. I raced with other stuff in the past, but without racing, less flats is all I care about. Generally speaking, in my area, you can pay more up front for the Continental’s, or you can pay the same amount or more in replacement tubes due to flats with cheap tires. Be aware that some tires like Conti’s are directionally oriented on the bike.
Pro commuter tip, buy tubes in bulk online so you always have a spare ready to go. You will find cheaper options buying 8-12 at a time from many online sources. Also if you can source a CO^2 inflator that works with threadless cartridges, get it. You can get threadless cartridges much cheaper online.