I'm looking at getting the wheels on my 1982 Trek 736 rebuild and was thinking of getting some new rims as the existing ones are quite worn. The width of these rims is something like 15 or 16mm. Can anyone tell me what difference changing to a 23mm rim would make? Specifically I was wondering if it would allow me a little more tire clearance to fit some full coverage fenders in. Also I was wondering if my current brakers would be able to handle the wider rim?

It should lower the profile of a tire just a little. Your brakes should be fine with the wider rim

yeah. and getting your tires on will be much easier.

Thanks for the responses.