scuzzo

just swapped out tires on my bike to 23mm from 25mm gp4000.. and i think i like the 23mm better.. im from that old school time.. way back with tony romanger and the big mig, Pantani sp.. before the reign of lance.. we were taught 23mm at most.. and for a while when i started cycling again.. friends got me to switch to 25mm.. and i though it did have more cushion but.. there something to be said for the nice tight feel of the 23mm tire.. i may switch back... and buck the 25mm heck 28mm trend of the cycling public.. any one else not totally convinced that 25mm give a better ride?? or has that dead horse been dug up dusted of and beaten enough?

do 23mm tires still deserve a chance?

shoota 

It's been beaten to death. That being said if you want to trade your pair of 25mm GP400s for my pair of 23s let me know.

aubiecat

The roads I have to ride on around my house dictate that I use at least 25mm. 23mm tires beat me to death.

exime

Well sometimes the conversation gets very confusing because many people use the GP4000 so we aren't really comparing 23c vs 25c anymore. We're really talking about 25c vs 27c tires.

That being said, I think an important factor is the size of your rims. You should probably match as close as possible for best aerodynamics and handling.

I'm thinking since I have 23mm rims the best options would be to use 23c GP4000 up front for aerodynamics and the 25c in back for more comfort and less rolling resistance.

topslop1

28mm Conti's all day everyday. What happens, I lose 3-4 watts at 25mph? Boo, hoo. They're smooth as butter and turned my Synapse into a much more versatile rider if need be.

dcsix

I went to 28's myself. Unless you are Big Mig or Marco or will be appearing in the Giro, you don't need them and you might enjoy a slightly mellower ride. You can still bump em up to 110 psi if you want...

mooder

I think the 25mm are more confortable but feel less responsive. I don't really care about a couple of possible watts of difference.

rpenmanparker 

I don't notice a difference.

tFUnK

How about rider weight? For some of us larger riders, we need that extra air volume of larger tires because we'd be pumping beyond the recommended max pressures of some 23s.

Seattle Forrest

25 mm feels a little better than 23 mm while cornering. They look huge after being used to 23s though.

CNC2204

S-WORKS TURBO 700x26, being using last 2 years and loving.

I have not found a better, faster tire.

Homebrew01

I have 1 brand 23 that is the exact same size as another brand 25.
Put a Continental 28 on my son's bike and at least I can see a bit of a difference now.

shoota 

Enjoying all those flats?

wphamilton

Rubino Pro III, 23 on my commuter and 25 on my road bike. The feel is indistinguishable to me except when I let both get under-inflated to about 60 PSI. The 23's felt less secure at that pressure, making me reluctant to corner at a high speed. Other than that, the same.

Lazyass

I'm from the time LeMond was winning the tour. I was riding 20c at 120psi back in the day. 25's are the smallest I ride now.

CNC2204

I haven't had one i over 4500 miles.

Although Last year wen dismounting the tire to work on a rear wheel i noticed a marked where something tried to puncture but didn't make it all the way.

I super glued to small patches of duct tape over the area inside and its been fine.

I have a new set this year.

These tires have flat protection 320 tpi.

I have 2 sets of Armadillo's and mounted a set last fall for the winter but they were so freakin slow i keep the Turbo's on year round.

I tried twice to run those Armadillos even after running them full time the year before but they just don't make riding very fun.

shoota 

Color me impressed. I've used the Turbo Pros and liked them.

rmfnla

Years ago Michelin came out with a line of lightweight skinwalls that came in 23 and 21. I put a 23 on the rear of my Gilmour and a 21 on the front, pumped them up to max, and promptly blew out the front on the first expansion joint I hit in the road.

A little extra cushion seems like a good idea to me...

omarcastz

Ding ding ding!! we have a winner here. All this talk of tire width; but it is highly dependent on the size of the rims. Whatever width rim you got, match it with the tire width. People are moving to newer wider rims, which pair better with wider tires. If you've got old school style narrower rims (nothing wrong with that), use narrower tires. Also, just like exime says, a general good practice for aero and comfort is to use a 23c in front and a 25c in the back.

Now, I am sure people here are going to swear one vs the other on 23c vs 25c regardless of the rim width but exime's answer is generally the best guideline. Use what works best for you.

CNC2204

Its hard to believe that 2 or 3 mm would make a difference but a 25 or 26 mm tire is a much softer ride for me.

Having said that hitting bumps & cobble stones on my TARMAC can still be brutal.

dim

my limited experience:

if you commute on rough roads with potholes, thorns and broken glass, get Schwalbe Durano plus (folding) in 25mm width ... bomb proof and has the Schwalbe puncture rating of 6

then, there are the new Michelin tryres that were launched this month .... I might try them as they supposidly offer good puncture resistance, and roll fast (I'm due for a tyre change on my daily commuting bike, and always like to try something new)

on the roads that I travel (for commuting in the wet), I'm not comfortable on any tyre that is thinner than 25mm (especially in the wet on bendy/windey roads)

FullGas

my fork won't accept 25s.

guess I could run one on the rear tho...

meh, whatevs...I never get off the bike thinking 'man, I wish I had a cushier tire...'

rms13

I'm riding Schwalbe One 28s now and love them. Supple, fast rolling, grippy and at around 65-70 psi it's like riding on a cloud

jtaylor996

Well the 23mm on my new ENVE 3.4 wheels don't ride as cushy as the 25s I had on the stock mavics. Some of that is due to the stiffer hoops, however.

But I'm going to be staying with 23mm as that's what ENVE says to use for aerodynamic purposes. If I want a softer ride I may switch to tubeless at some point.

PaulRivers

I've used 23's and 25's, and it's just a middle of the road riders opinion, but I think if you're not "racer weight" and you're more average weight, 25's are better in every way except one. That one way is if you have a super responsive bike that's older and build to handle a certain way with 23's.

I think with an average person of average weight, there's no advantage to 23's. You're a little slower, a little less grip, etc.