So how many roadies have switched?

[Wilbur]

From 23 to 25's that is.  Notice a difference?  

[ChrisL]

Yes and yes.  The biggest difference is the lower PSI and more compliant ride.  It was noticeable for me.

[bikeman564™]

I've ridden 23s and 25s back and forth for years. I can't tell the difference because I ran the same pressure. I typically run 110 up front, 120 out back. Although I could probably drop 10 per tire and still be fine. I'm currently on 25mm continental gatorskins.

[Rattlecan]

I listen to the guys out on the sales floor from my perch back in the repair department going on and on about how much better wider tires are. Can't believe it's taken the industry over a hundred years to figger this out.

 Problem is, some of these customers they are selling on this "new" idea have bikes that were built in an era when forks and brakes only just cleared 23mm tires.

 So, after they've convinced some poor schmo to cough up for new tires, I'm the guy that has to come along and tell 'em they ain't gonna fit.

[ChrisL]

20 minutes ago, Rattlecan said:

I listen to the guys out on the sales floor from my perch back in the repair department going on and on about how much better wider tires are. Can't believe it's taken the industry over a hundred years to figger this out.

 Problem is, some of these customers they are selling on this "new" idea have bikes that were built in an era when forks and brakes only just cleared 23mm tires.

 So, after they've convinced some poor schmo to cough up for new tires, I'm the guy that has to come along and tell 'em they ain't gonna fit.

Are they really new though? I was riding 25 tubulars in the early 80's and they fit.  Sometime in the 90's someone got the bright idea narrower was better and we had 19mm on our bikes. 

23's have been the standard for clinchers for some time but wider tires and their more compliant ride due to lower PSI has been a known concept for decades.

Run a 25 and a 23 rock hard and you probably won't tell a difference.  More air volume of a larger tire allows for lower pressure so I went from 90 front, 95 rear with 23's to 75 front and 80 rear on 25's. I can tell a difference.

[dinneR]

42s at 50-54 psi. Like riding on clouds.

 

 

[ChrisL]

5 minutes ago, dennis said:

42s at 50-54 psi. Like riding on clouds.

 

 

Sweet! I have 32's on my crosser and run 40 & 45.  I'm running 20 & 25 on my mtn  bike with 2.2's.

[groupw]

I went from 23 to 25 a couple seasons ago. With my aluminum frame Giant, it took the edge of some of the coarse pavement in our area. No negative effects on performance that I could tell. 

[Dirtyhip]

LOL

[ChrisL]

21 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

LOL

? whatchu laughing at? 2 mms and 10 psi is important stuff for roadies.

[Dirtyhip]

11 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

? whatchu laughing at? 2 mms and 10 psi is important stuff for roadies.

I know.  I just can't help myself.  

My 35's seem so narrow, when I get on them.  I ran over a ground squirrel, on my old Bianchi.  That was terrifying.  Luckily, I did everything right and didn't eat the pavement.  The squirrel paid dearly.  I opted not to brake at all.  I was afraid it would endo me if I braked.  I think they were 23's.  We'd have to ask @roadfrog what size they were.  I forgot.

[maddmaxx]

Yes, I've changed.  I went from 23's to 32's.  No I haven't noticed a performance change.  

[Further]

went from 23's to 25's on the Robaix, looks like 28's will fit, if I buy another set of tires they'll be 28's.

[Longjohn]

So how many roadies have switched?

I’d rather fight than switch. ( anybody remember the old Terryton add on TV?)

I switched to 28s on my road bike to better handle the gravel roads in my area.

[pedalphile]

7 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

My 35's seem so narrow, when I get on them.  I ran over a ground squirrel, on my old Bianchi.  That was terrifying.  Luckily, I did everything right and didn't eat the pavement.  The squirrel paid dearly.  I opted not to brake at all.  I was afraid it would endo me if I braked.  I think they were 23's.  We'd have to ask @roadfrog what size they were.  I forgot.

The tyres? or the squirrels. Do you use metric sizes for wild life?

[Zealot]

When younger I used the 23s and ocassionally 21s because I liked the 'style' of the very narrow.

 

Switched to 25s a while ago and haven't looked back. Much improved in comfort and a lot less flats. 

[donkpow]

1 hour ago, Longjohn said:

So how many roadies have switched?

I’d rather fight than switch. ( anybody remember the old Terryton add on TV?)

I switched to 28s on my road bike to better handle the gravel roads in my area.

[Parsnip Totin Jack]

I'm running 25's now and haven't noticed much difference but I'm running them at 100 psi front and rear, just like the 23's. I switched because I needed a new set of taars and had a Specialized Armadillo 700x25 laying around. Bought a second one and have been running them for over 5,200 miles. Tread still looks good. I'll replace with the same when I need to.

[bikeman564™]

8 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

LOL

  

[TrentonMakes]

My roadie came with 28s.  Love 'em.

[Square Wheels]

Our supply of tires is now 25s.  I haven't ridden much this year, so I haven't shredded any ties and am still running my old 23s.  My bike is horribly stiff, I doubt I'll notice the difference.

[Road Runner]

I've always run 23s.  Always been happy with them.  Never felt the need to change.  

[Dirtyhip]

3 hours ago, Further said:

went from 23's to 25's on the Robaix, looks like 28's will fit, if I buy another set of tires they'll be 28's.

Is it a new Roubaix?  That one can run wider tires now.  You can run 32.  

I would be cautious putting too wide on an older frame, Rubbing can ruin a frame.

[Dirtyhip]

1 hour ago, pedalphile said:

The tyres? or the squirrels. Do you use metric sizes for wild life?

Strangely, road tires are sized metric, but MTB is sized in inches.  Must be cause MTB originated in the US, or so I hear.

[Fret Buzz]

9 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

I know.  I just can't help myself.  

My 35's seem so narrow, when I get on them.  I ran over a ground squirrel, on my old Bianchi.  That was terrifying.  Luckily, I did everything right and didn't eat the pavement.  The squirrel paid dearly.  I opted not to brake at all.  I was afraid it would endo me if I braked.  I think they were 23's.  We'd have to ask @roadfrog what size they were.  I forgot.

I recently ran over a groundhog on my road bike. He didn't seem too happy about it.

I run 25s at least 95% of the time. I have some 23s that are probably on a set of wheels in the garage somewhere, and I have 28s that make a random appearance. But the 25s at 90 psi (max) on the rear and 80-90 psi on the front are my everyday set-up.

Tom

[Dirtyhip]

1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

I recently ran over a groundhog on my road bike. He didn't seem too happy about it.

I run 25s at least 95% of the time. I have some 23s that are probably on a set of wheels in the garage somewhere, and I have 28s that make a random appearance. But the 25s at 90 psi (max) on the rear and 80-90 psi on the front are my everyday set-up.

Tom

OH my gosh.  Those things are huge.  Was everything OK, or did you dump the bike?

[Zephyr]

My road bike came with 25's, I have never ridden 23's.  I recently went to look at new tires and the LBS tried to see me 26's.  He said it is the new thing and he mentioned some 'study' that there is no change in friction resistance.  I stayed with my 25's.

On my original commuter which was a mtb, I had 35's then went down to 32's.  My commuter I use now uses 28s which is good as it rains here all winter and is good in the rain.  A little sketchy on the odd day when we get snow though

[Fret Buzz]

3 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

OH my gosh.  Those things are huge.  Was everything OK, or did you dump the bike?

Up and over. Didn't even get a chance to unclip. Looked back over my shoulder to see him scurrying into the bushes on the other side of the path.  I didn't see him until the last instant. The front wheel, then the crank, then the rear wheel all went up and over, but luckily for him (and I hope he was okay) the chain was on the big ring, so he wouldn't get too chewed up from it hitting him. It could have been really ugly (for me).  

On a ride a couple days ago, a chipmunk darted out, smacked into the side of my front Zipp 404, and headed back from where he came (with a headache). Had I been riding my "winter" wheelset with their standard depth rims, he would have died an ugly death. 

Tom

[Fret Buzz]

5 minutes ago, Zephyr said:

My road bike came with 25's, I have never ridden 23's.  I recently went to look at new tires and the LBS tried to see me 26's.  He said it is the new thing and he mentioned some 'study' that there is no change in friction resistance.  I stayed with my 25's.

On my original commuter which was a mtb, I had 35's then went down to 32's.  My commuter I use now uses 28s which is good as it rains here all winter and is good in the rain.  A little sketchy on the odd day when we get snow though

A "25" is a "24" is a "26" is a "28.  There is no standardized measuring body, so if Specialized says 25, Conti says 26, and Michelin says 24, they could  all be identical in width and outer circumference on your rims.  They would likely be completely different on MY rims.

Tom

[sheep_herder]

When I started riding again in the late 90s I purchased 28s since I have to ride 2/3rds of a mile of gravel road to get to pavement.  My Holdsworth may have had 25s, but I've never ridden 23s. Now, all of my bikes have 28 or larger, and yes I run lower psi for comfort.  I've also mentioned in the past that some of my tires have higher profiles than others, and that adds to the cushion.  One has to be careful with these, and make sure they will fit vertically within the frame. Bicycle Quarterly has been big promoters of wider tires over the last few years.

[Zealot]

3 hours ago, TrentonMakes said:

My roadie came with 28s.  Love 'em.

I've seen this bike. If it had anything less than the 28s, they'd look way too small!  ;-)

[Kzoo]

My first daily rider was a used TT bike with 23's.  It's stuff and twitchy but I didn't know any better.  It worked well for me.  Then in '11 I bought the Cannondale Synapse and it came with 25's  So I went from one end of the spectrum with the TT bike to the other end with the endurance frame of the Synapse and changed tire sizes at the same time.  That said, I like the 25's and don't see myself going back.  

[Fret Buzz]

2 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

My first daily rider was a used TT bike with 23's.  It's stuff and twitchy but I didn't know any better.  It worked well for me.  Then in '11 I bought the Cannondale Synapse and it came with 25's  So I went from one end of the spectrum with the TT bike to the other end with the endurance frame of the Synapse and changed tire sizes at the same time.  That said, I like the 25's and don't see myself going back.  

A TT bike should have 18s (21s MAX!!!!), so whoever set that bike up was clueless!

Tom

[jsharr]

I am old and fat and slow, so my tires should be too, right?  

[Road Runner]

2 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

I like the 25's and don't see myself going back.  

Once you go big, you'll never renege?  

[donkpow]

A change from 23 mm tires to 25 mm tires results in an increase of air volume of 18%.

[Fret Buzz]

Just now, donkpow said:

A change from 23 mm tires to 25 mm tires results in an increase of air volume of 18%.

How much weight does that add? I like to get rid of rotating weight!

Tom

[Kzoo]

13 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

A TT bike should have 18s (21s MAX!!!!), so whoever set that bike up was clueless!

Tom

I have a spare set of tri-spoke wheels with 18's on them but never rode daily on them.  The 23's were the previous owners training tires and I just continued to use them.

[donkpow]

3 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

How much weight does that add? I like to get rid of rotating weight!

Tom

Look. I let that BS slip about how all tires are the same size. I'm not running down the rabbit hole with

you on tire weight.

[Kzoo]

2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

How much weight does that add? I like to get rid of rotating weight!

Tom

Winter air or summer air?

[Road Runner]

3 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I like to get rid of rotating weight!

Take a knife and cut off the air nozzle.  

[Fret Buzz]

Just now, donkpow said:

Look. I let that BS slip about how all tires are the same size. I'm not running down the rabbit hole on you with tire weight.

Reading comprehension! "They could all be identical in width and outer circumference on your rims". Think of it this way, if you go by a Conti 25 and a Spec 26, put them on your rims and measure them, you might see that both are 24.5mm wide. Why? Because the "25" and the "26" those guys use aren't measured by an independent measuring standard. Then, factor in different widths in rims - ENVE vs Zipp vs Mavic vs Simano, and all of a sudden, those SAME tires on a different set of rims are 26.2 mm wide.  It is MAGIC!

Tom

[Fret Buzz]

4 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

Winter air or summer air?

Mainly Fall air.  Although really a mix of Summer and Fall - probably 30/70.

Tom

[donkpow]

1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

Reading comprehension! "They could all be identical in width and outer circumference on your rims". Think of it this way, if you go by a Conti 25 and a Spec 26, put them on your rims and measure them, you might see that both are 24.5mm wide. Why? Because the "25" and the "26" those guys use aren't measured by an independent measuring standard. Then, factor in different widths in rims - ENVE vs Zipp vs Mavic vs Simano, and all of a sudden, those SAME tires on a different set of rims are 26.2 mm wide.  It is MAGIC!

Tom

Without a citation, I call BS.

 

[Fret Buzz]

Just now, donkpow said:

Without a citation, I call BS.

 

No need to make a face!

Seriously, though, you have access to a lot of bike rims. Go do the measurements for us and report back.

Tom

[Zephyr]

42 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

A "25" is a "24" is a "26" is a "28.  There is no standardized measuring body, so if Specialized says 25, Conti says 26, and Michelin says 24, they could  all be identical in width and outer circumference on your rims.  They would likely be completely different on MY rims.

Tom

Learn something new every day.  Thanks.  Now I can go to sleep for the rest of the day as I hot my benchmark for today!

[Fret Buzz]

1 minute ago, Zephyr said:

Learn something new every day.  Thanks.  Now I can go to sleep for the rest of the day as I hot my benchmark for today!

Spend some time reading Jan Heine and Bicycle Quarterly and you will see how a lot of this stuff is not as straightforward as we might think (or want).

Tom

[Zephyr]

I am not too worried about rotation weight or tire weight.  I'm 15lbs overweight and if I want to save ounces, I'll just not have a cookie with my coffee.  My wife and I both run 25's, same tires on different rims.  Maybe I'll bring some calipers home from work and check them out.  

[Road Runner]

If I road on crappy roads, I would probably switch to a bigger tire.  But I plan my route to ride on mostly smooth and well maintained roads, so 23s are not a problem for me.

[Fret Buzz]

38 minutes ago, Zephyr said:

I am not too worried about rotation weight or tire weight.  I'm 15lbs overweight and if I want to save ounces, I'll just not have a cookie with my coffee.  My wife and I both run 25's, same tires on different rims.  Maybe I'll bring some calipers home from work and check them out.  

Sweet! I won't call you out on not owning your own set of calipers for your home workshop because you are stepping up and taking care of this research (unlike Lazy Don).

Tom