Originally Posted by
SethAZ
I must be missing your point. So long as the calipers aren't rubbing against the side of the tire during use I don't see the obstacle here. I let most of the air out of the tire that otherwise wouldn't fit in between the calipers, mounted the wheel, then pumped it back up. Maybe newer brakes are much closer to the tire; I don't know, that bike has Ultegra 6500 on it and no part of the brakes touched the tire during use.
I have shimano ultegra calipers on my Trek. I can fit a 28 on the front but 28 on the back caused the tire to bump the center of the caliper slightly when standing (ascending). Undoubtedly caused by wheel flex. I went back to 25 on the back but continue to use 28 on the front.
I have 32s on my Lynskey. I can go significantly wider on the front, but the rear is fairly close to maxing out at 32 because of the seat tube and stays. Not sure how much wider it will take.