dignandag

Got about 1.5 mm clearance on either side at best and thinking I may need to size down to 25c

With wheels tightened down sufficiently, should I expect any rubbing with the 28c tires?

FBinNY 

Close only counts in Horseshoes. Clearance is cleaance, so you shouldn't expect rubbing IF THE WHEEL IS PERFECTLY ALIGNED.

The problem with tight clearance isn't that it'll rub, it's that it leaves you with no room in case a mishap bends the wheel slightly. For example, I've had to remove brake shoes to ride a bent wheel home after a crash. With your fork it wouldn't help and you'd be stranded.

Hendo252 

As others have said; doable as long as things stay true.

This is a pet peeve of mine; many modern bikes have difficulty with 28mm tires, including so-called "endurance" bikes.

For those of us that ride without team/sag support, and would prefer wider tires a few additional millimeters of space would be appreciated.

On a hard-core race bike, OK. But "endurance" bikes? Gimme a few silly millimeters wider...

FBinNY 

+1, decades ago there were stage race bikes, built for competition in an era with less team support. Look at old photo's of people like Fausto Coppi racing with a pair of tubulars on his shoulders. Those days are gone now, and I don't know if it's for better or worse, but the impact of racing on the bikes sold to non racers has become a bit of a problem.

Most of don't have team support, ride on lousier roads, weigh more than world class racers, don't ride at the same speeds, etc. Yet the industry continues to ignore that and produces bikes, including B and C level bikes, pretending that's we're all in competition.

I like performance road bikes, but a bit of extra fork clearance won't hurt that. Hubs and bearings that can go 5,000 all weather miles without service are possible, with little or no weight penalty. Fender/rack eyes on dropouts weigh a few grams and would be nice just in case. Decent cassettes starting at 13t can't hurt. I could go on, but I've made the point.

I know there are decent dedicated touring bikes, but one category that seems totally neglected are what used to be called club bikes. Fast high performance machines for amateur competition, or club sport. Capable of high performance touring on European or American roads, but made for those who pack light and want performance.

I'm sure they exist somewhere, but most people don't seem to end up with them, and so we have 200#+ riders overloading 25mm tires because that's what fits in the fork.

Rant over, but I'm still waiting for the bike equivalent of a high performance GT car. Until then I'll keep riding my older bikes knowing I can take tham anyplace comfortable in the knowledge that they'll get me home.