Road Cycling - newb question: tire width

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newroadie
08-03-04, 01:13 AM
ive been biking a lot the past few months, and recently bought a used trek road bike. the bike came with 700/23 tires. i have been reading around on these forums, and i think these tires may be a bit too thin for my purposes, which are mainly recreational riding with occasional commuting. my question is, do i need thicker tires, and will they fit my bike? thanks.

nutbag
08-03-04, 01:28 AM
You can definitely get wider tires; I'm not sure what the maximum is -- I think well over 27mm cross-section.

Most people find 23mm tires to be comfy enough :)
Pat
08-03-04, 01:48 AM
On road bikes, you can go up to at least 32 mm assuming one that size will have frame clearance. For normal laid back riding 23 mm is ok. Most commuters go with a larger size because they often ride at peak traffic times and want a big tire that they so they can go over nasty stuff in situations where the traffic squeezes them and limits the options.

redfooj
08-03-04, 02:28 AM
23mm is fine unless you are a larger rider... in which case a 25 or 28 may be better for comfort
DogBoy
08-03-04, 07:23 AM
I'm a large rider and the 23 on my roadbike is fine for my recreational riding. On my commuter I use 28s because I add another 20 lbs of stuff (bike lock, clothes, shoes, towel etc.) and want the tire to absorb more of the bumps. Also, my commuting route has more pot-holes than any other road I've ever seen so the extra air helps cushion the ride a bit.

I don't notice a big difference in rolling resistance from 23 to 25, but from 25 to 28 there is a significant difference.