I have a cyclocross bike (Wayzata) that I love to ride for general riding on roads an paved and unpaved trails. I am using 32mm tires and my question is this: What difference does a slightly wider rim make in terms of safety/performance?

I have used a set of road rims (narrow) for this application and the 32s are within recommended limits for the rims, but only just barely. Making turns at speed, it seems as if I can feel the tire sidewall flex.

Alternatively, the same width tires on a slightly wider Mavic A319 rim creates a much different tire/wheel profile and feels more stabile. I am very happy with this combination so far. (Minimum width tires for these rims is 28 I believe). There is almost no weight difference between the two tire-wheel setups.

I note that HED is marketing slightly wider rims even for road tire profiles, touting supposed performance benefits. I was just wondering if anyone has experimented and/or put any thought into this? Does the rim width really make the difference I think it does?