Originally Posted by
Robert Foster
You know I never thought I would be interested in a bike that would take wider tires than a 25 or at most a 28. People suggested CX bikes and I looked at them in horror looking at their MTB type brakes and semi knobby tires. The only experience I ever had was my Masi Café Solo that came with 28 commuter tires. Not my favorite ride. Now on some of the back roads I find myself on a wider tire doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.
Yes, wider tires can be more flexible when you have a less then perfect road, I have a 25 on the road bike and that's fine on anything from chipseal on up, the MTB has 26x1.75's (44.5mm) on it and those are much better on gravel or dirt, I would love to try a 32 on the road bike, but the fit would be iffy, even though it had 27" x 1¼ on it when new. I think the tire would fit if it was flat, then air up once it's installed.