Widest tire for a Alex DA22 Rim
 

I am thinking of configuring an entry level GIANT OCR3 road bike I have into more of a winter/commuter bike. I almost never use it as a road bike so I was thinking of putting 28 or 32C Cyclocross tires on the bike. A few issues that may not be resolvable....

1: Can I fit a 28 or 32 C tire on my cheap Alex DA22 road rims? The rim width is 13.9mm (see photo)
2: It is a road bike with Caliper brakes, can I inflate the tire after I've squeezed it past the brake pads? Or is this just something you don't do without Cantilever brakes and the right frame/fork?
3: Any ideas on how to guess if I will have enough frame and fork clearance for the wider tire?

I attached a photo of the basic type of tire I was thinking in a 28C, most of the 32's look too large and knobby, I think.....

If you just aren't supposed to convert a road bike into a Cyclocross-ish bike, someone should be frank and tell me it's a bad idea!

Thanks!

1: As long as the bead diameter is the same, sure you can.

2: You sure can.

3: Try borrowing a wheel from a friend with the size tire you're considering and pop it in your frame.

4: It's your bike, make it fit your needs. If it'd take too much modification/kludging to get it to work, that's when you consider buying a bike built for the purpose intended.

I probably would not go beyond a 28 on a 14mm rim.

I've done 32s on a cross bike, should be OK.

I have a Giant TCX with Alex Rims DA22 and it came with 32mm tyres originally!

My friend rides an OCR3 with Gatorskins in a 32mm width on DA22 rims, but clearance is very tight! No room for fenders and he carrys a spoke wrench that he's had to use on occasion to keep the wheel very true.