OFNAJOE

I know you can but will it hurt anything? I think the wheel is 15mm wide, will find out for sure when I get my bike back on Wed.
Thnaks Joe

Bill Kapaun

Shouldn't be a problem.

https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

moxfyre

Yes, it's generally fine as long as you don't mind what is likely to be a slightly harsher ride. Be warned that if reduce the tire width on the front wheel, the traction and handling may change for the worse... get used to it before you try aggressively cornering. This is by no means inevitable, and may depend on the quality of the tire as much as the width, but I have noticed that front wheel traction declines rather rapidly when you go below 25mm.

HillRider

Most 25's aren't really 25 mm and may be no different from a real 23. The differences, even if both are really true to size, are negligable.

barba

You likely will not notice a thing.

Bikedued

I noticed the rims bottoming out with a 23 on rough pavement, which no longer happened with a 25. My latest 700 wheeled bike got 35's. Very nice ride,,,,BD

Bob Dopolina 

That's got to be a tire pressure issue. What kind of pressure do you ride and how heavy are you?

regarding the handling differences between a 25 and a 23: The size of the contact patch is almost identical. it is a princess and the Pea argument to claim to be able to feel a difference. If you could feel a difference I would put it down to either different compounds in different tires or a fresh tread vs and older tread.

23c is pretty much the size of choice in terms of a balance between traction and speed. A bigger tire will certainly be more comfy but not always more stable as the larger casing will deflect or flex more during cornering.

Go with a 23 if you think you'll like the tire and the colour looks good on your bike.

Wordbiker

Won't it pop before you can shave 1mm off each side?


Wait...never mind.

You meant "Can you change from a 700X25 to a 700X23 **********"

moxfyre

Likely true.

As I said, I don't mean to be a scare-monger. However, I replaced a worn-out 25mm tire with a brand new 23mm and felt noticeably worsened traction in the next criterium race I did, and went back to a new 25 up front and it was pretty much back to original. It may well have been due to slightly different tire fabrication, just thought I'd throw it out there. Nobody's had a similar experience?

erader

i used to ride conti grandsports 25mm for years. i sure as hell could tell a difference between the 23s .

ed rader

Bob Dopolina 

Based on the data coming from in-house testing by Continental, the difference in the size of the contact patch on the road between a 25 and a 23 was minute. The total area was about the size of a dime. If you change models of tire or if you have say, a 10psi difference in tire pressure, the the rate of deflection was increased by an amount that was far more significant than the 2mm change in casing size in identical tires.

It is also worth noting here that I am talking about test on Continental tires. We have all seen 25c tires we could swear were 28c and 23c tires that looked like 19c. In a situation like that I think it would be pretty easy to tell.

Also, if you were changing between an old, threadbare 25mm and a new 23mm I can easily agree that you would feel a significant difference. But...if we took 2 new tires and inflated them to equal pressure and you rode them under identical situations, it would be very difficult for you to distinguish between the two. If you could, you would certainly be the exception.

atomship47

i switched from 32's to 28's on my bontrager camino rims.

i switched from 28's to 23's on my 105 rims.


no problems with either.

OFNAJOE

If I stay with 25's what tire do you all suggest ( I know I just opened a can of worms ) for speed ?
Thanks ALL, Joe

barba

https://probikekit.com/display.php?code=Y1132

Bob Dopolina 

I have an unabashed bias towards Continental. I won't even try to pretend otherwise

I am riding the GP4000s right now. I know it is a 23c tire, but the new "black Chili" compound and Vectran breaker give the tire great road feel, solid handling, good puncture resistance and it feels fast, fast, fast. I switched from the regular GP4000 and I actually can feel a difference.

I mentioned some in-house testing done by Continental before. Their results showed that a 23c tire was the fastest of all possible sizes (19c-28c). So if it is speed you're after, you might want to consider this factor.

Bikedued

I think it was more of an undersized 23, and a true sized 25 difference. The Serfa 25's look like a 1 3/8's
compared to the tires I took off. The 23's were also worn. I had about 90 pounds in both, maybe a little more. I'm also somewhere between 210-230, I haven't weighed myself in a year or more.,,,,BD

erader

maybe you didn't read what i said. i could tell he difference. the 25mm conti grandsports were fatter than the 23s and so were the grand prixs and ultra. the reason i used the 25s is i'm a big guy and they offered more rim protection and a plusher ride.

i could easily tell the difference in ride, and like i said i rode them for years.

ed rader

smurf hunter

If rim protection is an issue, is more or less pressure helpful?

On either extreme I see problems - too little and you ride on the rim, too much and every road vibration may be transferred to the rim.

I used to run the stock 25mm Bontrager that came with my bike @ 120psi. Since I put on 23mm Conti Ultras I find 110psi to feel reasonably comfortable and still handle worlds better than the originals.

BTW: I weigh in around 200lbs.

Bob Dopolina 

Since you're bottoming out you might want to increase the pressure to 110. You also need to check it before each ride. Air tends to seep out and pressure usually settles somewhere between 60-80 psi after only a few days. That is clearly too low.

Bob Dopolina 

Yes, I read it.

Bikedued

I run about 100 in the 25's, and no more bottoming. I also like a bit softer ride, so 110 would be like a covered wagon in my opinion. I don't know about telling the difference between 23's and 25's, but I for one can tell 27" vs 700. Some people would say that was impossible, but the 27" feels smoother over the same pavement regardless of tire size. At least to me....,,,,BD