Max tire width for T 700 circa 1996

[Brazos 1954]

I am planning to start riding a bit more gravel with this bike and would like to up the tire size to around 700c x 40. Will it work without creating problems?

 

[black lightning 1987]

The touring bikes in the mid 1990s came with tires as wide as 38 mm. My guess is that some models of 40 mm tires might fit but I'd feel safer recommending 38s. Let us know if you try 40s. I'm running 33ish tires on a couple of older Cannondale touring frames for gravel and get along fine with that setup. Perhaps the newer frames will fit wider tires than the old ones. Here's the 1985 ST500 with Tufo tubulars.

 

[Brazos 1954]

The touring bikes in the mid 1990s came with tires as wide as 38 mm. My guess is that some models of 40 mm tires might fit but I'd feel safer recommending 38s. Let us know if you try 40s. I'm running 33ish tires on a couple of older Cannondale touring frames for gravel and get along fine with that setup. Perhaps the newer frames will fit wider tires than the old ones. Here's the 1985 ST500 with Tufo tubulars.View attachment 5227

Thanks for the information! I measured the distance between the chain stays and it's over 40 mm, but not by a lot. I may stick with 38 to have a little cushion for low pressure situations.