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Road tyre width


Malduik

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hey chops

 

i have a silly question (i normally do mtb but my wife has me on a roadbike too now)

 

what's the best width for an all rounder? 23, 25 or 27?

 

Looking to get conti ultra gatorskins, anyone with experience on these?

 

Cheers ^_^

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Gatorskins are the best in my opinion. I don't bother with lightweight tyres. I buy gatorskins and ride them until I can see the lining, takes quite a bit of mileage. Only two punctures in the last year. I use the 23's inflated to 8 bars.

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I also now have 23mm wirebead Gatorskins. Can't see why I have to pay R100 more for foldable bead. Was on GP4000s before but only got about 4000km and the rear tyre is run down square.

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There was a whole write-up a few months back about the reduced rolling resistance of a 25 vs 23...

 

Depends what you mean by all-rounder - if you mean racing and training for racing then 23/25 probably works. If you spend most of your time just riding all day, maybe the 27 is a better bet.

 

My two road bikes have 23's, while my cyclocross has 28 (and 37 on another wheelset), depending what I'm up to. The 37 is awesome for all day riding, but won't fit into a road frame

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It can also depend on your frame. Some road frames don't have enough clearance between the seatstays and between the chainstays to fit anything much larger than a 23.

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  • 8 years later...

Morning hubbers

 

I need to change my tyres and I'm running 23mm at the moment.

My frame and rims can accomodate 28mm and I am seriously considering it, spoke to some bike shops and it seems that wider is better and many are switching to that.

Any comments from you guys would be appreciated, just remember its only Tuesday..........thanks

Edited by coppi
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Wider is way better...

 

Proven to be less rolling resistance, I find the cornering and stability amazing, and you can run a slightly lower pressure safely to aid in comfort and road noise suppression.

 

Go as wide as your frame fits without the tyre profile looking too much like a light bulb...

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Morning hubbers

 

I need to change my tyres and I'm running 23mm at the moment.

My frame and rims can accomodate 28mm and I am seriously considering it, spoke to some bike shops and it seems that wider is better and many are switching to that.

Any comments from you guys would be appreciated, just remember its only Tuesday..........thanks

 

Direktech is not going to be happy with you replying to a 9 year old thread!

 

I have found 25mm to be a nice medium between the 2. My mother is running 27mm and enjoying them, did 2500km in France with them and no issues. (Running tubeless) 

 

At the moment I am running 23mm on the front and 25mm on the back (As thats what was cheapest for GP4000s and my fat ass can do with the extra 2mm

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Wider is way better...

 

Proven to be less rolling resistance, I find the cornering and stability amazing, and you can run a slightly lower pressure safely to aid in comfort and road noise suppression.

 

Go as wide as your frame fits without the tyre profile looking too much like a light bulb...

Yeah, if have those older rims, even running 25mm looks like a bit of a light bulb. wider rim the better.

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I moved away from 23 mm altogether except on one tubby wheelset where I have 21s - they are like rock and you will feel it when you ride over a shadow in the road.

 

Everything else run on 25s. Like Savage said, it is a good medium width that will do most things well. Take away some of the road buzz that a 23 will give you. Can run them a bit softer too and not snake bite.

 

But for everyday commutes and for rougher things like Eroica, I run a 28 back and a 32 front. Wow, what a magic carpet ride compared to the 25s.

 

Edit: I would easily go for 27s if they clear your frame and brakes. Check that it doesn't rub the chainstays when you stand and push hard causing some wheel flex.

Edited by DJR
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I have 25's on wide American Classic Argent rims, which actually come out to around 28mm in the real world, but are right on the limit of what my frame accepts, and then I have 32's on the go-anywhere machine and by golly, how plush those things are!

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