Originally Posted by
steve-in-kville
ETA: I most likely have a inside rim width of 15mm and should go to a 19mm for the wider tires size. Maybe I answered my own question??
If you are worried about tire width, don't. The charts used for determining tire width are way too conservative. Going from 15mm to 19mm is a very minor change and won't make a difference. It's 4 mm or 0.16" or a bit over an 1/8" or about the thickness of 2 nickels. It's a minor change and not worth the investment. You could use 35mm, 38mm or even 40mm
now without issue.
For comparison, I run 17mm rims with 2.12" tires (~55mm) on mountain bikes without issue. That's a bit extreme but not outside of the norm for mountain bikes.
If you have other reasons to upgrade the wheels...you need stronger ones or you want hubs that require less maintenance, then get (or build) new wheels. But for a minor tire change? Just go with what you've got.