Originally Posted by
Duragrouch
28 is not bad! 23 to 28 made a big difference on my road bike. If you are staying on pavement and not dirt, not sure wider would get you more traction. Remember, the contact patch size under the same pressure will be the same, though different shape, though a lot wider and you could run lower pressure to get a larger contact patch size and better ride, the latter is the biggest benefit of wider (and deeper) section tires. But the above photo looks like 28 is about the limit, looking at front derailleur clearance.
If you did buy a different bike, you might want to get something that expands your capability, if you wanted, like for dirt riding as well. Anything that fits you, has wide gearing range, and can fit a wide range of tires, would be very versatile. Or a folder; A Brompton doesn't take up much space, and it can increase your riding frequency if not bike commuting, and most especially on travel. I've gone permanently folder, but not as small as a Brompton yet.
I think the 28s feel so unbelievably narrow to me because I've only ever ridden MTBs on the road before. 23s sound insane! The rides I did were on tarmac road but since they were out in the countryside there was areas where gravel, dust, manure etc. had made its way onto the road so not a perfect surface but at least I didn't have to worry about cars or people seeing me crawl around corners lol. I do like the idea of a bike I can take anywhere.. at the moment I'm leaning more towards a mountain bike for reasons I've mentioned in previous posts, maybe one that has lock out forks would be good for when I am on the road.