ependydad wrote:
For me, when I upgraded to 17.5" wheels (link), it came down to spacing between the tires. My 16" tires were extremely close- like < 2" of space between them. To upgrade to a better 16" tire meant a larger outer diameter than what I had and I just wasn't willing to risk putting the tires so close together. By going up to a 17.5" wheel, you have a lower sidewall height and therefore, a smaller outer diameter. I actually increased my space between tires.
If that's not a concern, maybe you'd like the shorter sidewall of the 17.5" tires. They do seem to roll on themselves less this way.
Does better mean bigger...some have an 85 series tire and some have an 80 series tire. If you had 85 series as stock tires you could have went to an 80 series and gotten the same or better quality tire and possibly gained some space between them, though they say 1.5" in between tires is sufficient. Sailuns have both series in the 16" version. The 80 series is only .9" shorter than 85 series so a person would only loose less than a 1/2" in ride height and would gain .9" between tires from same brand 85 series, other brands I'm sure would be different.
