Hypno Toad

That's true. For me, I've never had an issue with the rough ride of high pressure, narrow tires. I have a wide range of tires on my bikes: Kona runs 28mm & 35mm at 60 to 90 psi; the Mondonico runs 25mm at 90 to 100; and like I said the Felt is on 23mm at 100 to 105 psi. I notice the difference in the comfort with the wider, lower pressures, but it's just not a big deal to me.

And for a really soft ride, I get out the Pugsley with 3.7 inch tires and 10psi... cobble stones? what cobble stones?

SquireBikesalot

I don't like using tire levers and I can't really get 23's on and off without levers, so 25's all the way! The tire itself makes a big difference too. For comfort avoid super durable tires like gatorskins, they feel like solid rubber and they're noisy to boot. If you want to go ham and get an extra comfy ride and can fit 28mm tires, I've greatly enjoyed running 60psi on my commuter totally pinch flat free.

CNC2204

S-WORKS TURBO, worlds fastest tire.

Thank me later ...

RPK79

Translation: We paid Michal Kwiatkowsk to ride these so we could make this claim and sell more tires.

fietsbob

Its stiffer so you can sprint faster ..

DuaneH

I bought a set of HED Ardennes SL25 wheels a few years ago. I run them with 23s and keep them about 90 psi. Probably the best contribution to a comfortable ride that I've made.

A.Z.K.

25mm was one of the best upgrades I did, comfort, durability and also felt faster

Personally I'll never ride 23 again.

I went from 23mm to 25mm continental competition tubs on my race wheelset both run at 10.5bar (152psi) 25mm can take some serious abuse and the cornering inspired confidence in crits.

I once ran a 21mm (emergency) and it was really uncomfortable, bottomed out and exploded after 25km.

dvdslw

Have you tried 25's on your Ardennes for comparison to the 23's? I just ordered some new wheels with a 19mm internal width and am on the fence between a 23 or 25 tire.

DuaneH

No, I haven't. The recommendation from my LBS for the HEDs was to use 23mm. The rim internal width is ~24mm I think and the idea is the way the 23mm tire forms on that width rim offers the best response. Additionally, with a 23mm tire on a 24mm rim the chances of pinch flats is much less and you can run at lower pressure which helps a lot on Quebec roads.

This is a pretty decent article about these wheels:
Hed Ardennes Gets Fatter - Slowtwitch.com

PepeM

24mm internal?

DuaneH

Oops. Meant to say 23mm wide and 24mm deep.

dvdslw

Ardennes are 24mm deep, 23mm wide, and 17.8 internal width. Ardennes (+) are 24.5mm deep, 25mm wide, and 21mm internal width.

DXchulo

I've gone back and forth between 23 and 25 in the same brand and don't really notice the difference. As mentioned, the biggest benefit on 25s is being able to ride at a lower PSI, but I'm not very heavy and I can get low enough on 23s without suffering pinch flats.

I'd say it's at least worth giving the 25s a chance. You'll have a little more room to experiment with low pressures and there really isn't a down side. I've certainly never felt slower on 25s that I did on 23s.

DuaneH

Thanks. Yes, I have the 25SL. Not the plus.

dvdslw

Got it, like you I think I'm going to give the 23's a shot. I like the idea of the wider rim giving the tire more volume and width without the added weight penalty of a larger casing. Plus, the new Schwalbe Pro One's I'm wanting only seem to be available in 23's currently.

Machka 

From my experience ... you won't notice any difference at all.

Jiggle

Haha, no. The Turbo Cotton and Tubeless are both faster.

Jiggle

Yeah but the way he was taking those corners in the rain to maintain a solo lead at worlds was impressive. Then Sagan did it the year after. I gotta give credit where it's due.

OldsCOOL

If smoother is what you want, why stop at 25mm? Go wider and drop some psi's.