brainydexter

I am buying a new road bike and from whatever I've heard and read, 23 are very prone to flats. I would be commuting on this bike to work and even training for a century ride with the same bike.

Since I am buying a new bike, I can possibly ask if the LBS would change it to 25 or 27 (not sure if this is common).

Question is: Should I get the 25 or 27 vs 23 tires ?? Also, would I need to change the underlying wheel if I end up going for 25/27 ?

Update:
This is the bike I am buying: Scott Speedster S20

Also, I had this tire in my mind: Schwalbe Durano Plus HS399

mercator

I don't find much difference between 23 and 25 wrt flat frequency, but the bigger tires tend to have a bit more tread so they will last longer. If you are going to be doing a lot of commuting, that will make a bit of a difference in cost over time and might be a bit more comfy to boot.

Pretty much any wheel that takes a 23 will take up to 32 so that shouldn't be a problem, but you didn't say what bike you were getting. You should be aware that some road bike frames are a tight fit for any tire larger than 25.

StanSeven

There's really not much difference from width. But there are differences in flat protection between models. Also dome road bikes won't even take 25s. Check the manufacturers website and find out before you buy.

brainydexter

I couldn't find that info on the company website. I'll ask the LBS anyways. Here is the bike I am considering: SCOTT Sports - Speedster S20

Also, I had this tire in my mind: Schwalbe Durano Plus HS399

mercator

Those tires are the same size as what is speced on the bike you linked: 700c23, which is also helpfully described as 28". Consult Sheldon for the dirty details.
You want to consider a 700c25 or 700c28, I think brand you are looking at is available in those sizes.

brainydexter

so if my bike is compatible, should I then get a 27 to prevent frequent flats ?

powbob

Size of the tire doesn't have anything to do with getting flats. The advantage of bigger tires is the ability to use lower pressure for a given riders weight thereby increasing comfort.

mercator

If it were me, I wouldn't worry about flats until they became frequent. The tires that are supplied with the bike will wear out fairly quickly (they are kinda cheap) and you will know because you will either get a few flats or you will see the purple wear indicator appear on the back tire. That would be the time to get new ones, and yes, good tires are worth the extra money.

Zerwas

The Trek Domane I have came with 23mm tires. I test rode the bike before I purchased it. I then had them swap out tires with a 25mm tire to see if I noticed a difference in the ride quality. The short answer is YES I did notice a much better ride with the 25mm tires vs the 23's. If you ride in an area that has a lot of pot holes, bumps etc there very well may be a benefit to going with 25mm tires for flat resistance (some good Youtube videos to show the differences in width tires from the cobbles). All in all, go with a wider tire. Not sure about the 27's though. They might even work out better? I have no experience with them, so it's hard to say.

10 Wheels

The Scott may not take a 25.

unabowler

As an experiment I bought a 25mm and a 28mm tire this weekend (both Gatorskins) and put them on my Trek 1.5. I had to adjust the separation between the brake pads to make them fit but otherwise I had no problems getting them on, and I wondered about the 28. They were really effective in reducing road chatter on the typical rough pavement which is standard where I ride. The increase in comfort would have been worth a little loss of speed but I didn't notice any difference.

bruce19

Riding out of the breakdown lanes will help with flats more than tire size IMO. This has been true of motorcycling too. Breakdown lanes are where all the crap lives.

rms13

And bike lane. Basically don't ride up against the curb, that is where broken glass and debris live. Keep the stock tires and keep them properly inflated. I have been riding a set of Conti. Ultra Sports 700x23 that came with my bike for over 2000 miles. I commute and do extracurricular rides in a urban area and I've had one flat in 1 1/2 years on those tires and it was because I road through an entire six pack worth of broken beer bottles. I check my tire pressure every couple of days at least and keep them inflated within the recommended range of tire pressure. A lot of flats are pinch flats which can happen if your tire is underinflated. So make sure to get a good floor pump and keep your tires properly inflated and you'll be fine. But also get a spare tube, flat kit and a co2 inflator or frame pump. If you go with co2, learn to use it before you need it on the side of the road (learn from my mistake!)

Bike Gremlin

I would never ride a bicycle that can't accept at least 28 mm wide tyres. No matter what people say, I have found thinner tyres much more prone to flats, as well as allowing a lot more stress to the wheels (rims and spokes). So for anything except competition, I stick to 28, or fatter tyres.

rms13

That's an opinion. Like I said I have over 2000 miles on low end $20 tires with no flat protection and I've had one flat which was my fault and avoidable. I think stress on wheels is related to proper inflation of tires and how much you weigh

RoadTire 

For brake clearance problems Shimano makes a in-line quick release to supplement your regular brake quick release. I have 25mm (measured 27) on a regular narrow rim, and they just barely fit past the opened up brakes. Using the Shimano quick release will allow larger tires and keep the pads closer to the rim. A wider rim would also solve the problem but cost a whole lot more. If I go wider I'll have to purchase them.

Today I rode with my tires a little lower pressure, maybe 80 / 90 and the commute was really nice.

LesterOfPuppets

27mm tires are pretty rare. 28mm is the next largest common size above 25mm. There are a couple that come in 26mm, like the Panaracer Stradius Sport, also.

Bike Gremlin

I'd call it experience. What are roads like where you ride? Where I ride they are quite rough and I'd rather not be dependent on road quality, but ride where I like. 28 and wider tyres give me that freedom. Not to mention occasional off road that is very unpleasant on 23 mm tyres. The higher the pressure needed to avoid pinch flats, the more is a tyre prone to sharp objects sticking and entering them. Also, the thinner the tyre, the more chance a big hole would damage the rim and/or spokes.

42 mm tyres at 4 bar pressure (or lower) are practically bullet proof. 23 are the opposite. 28 somewhere in between. Didn't notice much speed and weight penalty when switching from 23 to 28, but did notice more comfort and less flats.

I <3 Robots

Given the same brand/model tire...going wider won't really give you more puncture protection. It'll improve the ride...but not puncture protection. Puncture "protection" comes from the tread or casing of the tire. Going wide won't give you more protection. A thorn will puncture the tire the same way regardless of what width tire you have. You'll need something like a Continental Gatorskin or some other reinforced tire for that.


So I was up doing some shuttle riding with my MTB this weekend and came across three guys that kept flatting. One dude flatted twice on one run...they all ran out of tubes. I asked how they flatted so much. I've never flatted there. They mentioned their flats were all pinch flats. Well...it turns out that they were going "wide open" and plowing over all the rocks. No wonder they flatted. It was just poor line selection.

rpenmanparker 

Most heree are assuming OP is talking about puncture flats from road hazards. OP didn't say it, but I bet he is referring to pinch flats. If you ran a 28 mm tire at the same pressure as a 23 mm tire, it would be much more resistant to pinch flats than the 23. You could probably lower the pressure of the 28 to get some comfort improvement and still find better protection against pinch flats. One normally talks about keeping the pinch flat risk the same and getting better comfort from a wider tire, but I can see turning the relationship around.

LesterOfPuppets

Yeah, the wider pressure latitude of fat tires is nice for pumping haters. You can pump a 28 up to 100 psi and be good for a week or two. Gotta top it off in a day or two on a 23mm.

brainydexter

I was talking about flats in general.

I am also going to use this bike to commute to work (around 12 miles one way). A flat would be the last thing I'd want in the morning (or for that matter, returning to home . Also, knowing the lazy bit I am, I'd probably be the sorts ensuring the air pressure is good on a weekly basis rather than on a daily basis before a ride.

So, I gather I should go for a wider tire (and probably with a little bit more protection or reinforcement). I'll ask the LBS if I can go to a 28 with my bike. Is there any way I can check this ? I couldn't find it online on scott's website.

Also, gatorskin/schwalbe/xyz - which one do you guys recommend ?

PaulRivers

Yeah, was going to write basically the same thing. Nothing wrong with getting a 25c if you're replacing the tire anyways. 28c and above may or may not actually fit on the bike. But the brand/model of the tire is important for flat protection, size isn't really.

I mean not in the 23-28 range - if you want to plow into stuff without worrying about a pinch flat you need a much bigger tire anyways.

LGHT

Have you looked into just getting thicker inner tubes? I got a flat and was advised by my shop to consider a thicker inner tube. The tube I got is really thick and beefy and I doubt I would get a flat unless it was a nail or something crazy. The only problem is the tube is a lot heavier than a regular tube.

rpenmanparker 

My point is that you may have been talking about flats in general, but the source of what you "heard" may have been referring only pinch flats, which is all that a wider tire would possibly protect against.