Usually riders use wider tyres in the front because it gives accurate steering in the front and basically called steer tyre. It is normally followed by amateur riders to try different sized tyres in the front and in the back and front tyre would be wider than back. This would give cornering grip under the fork and provides comfort. In the rear end normal threaded tyres would give good wet weather grip and provide needed mud clearance through the rear stays.

28s seem to work pretty well for me, even running over some of the horribly cratered roads that can be found in particularly suburban/industrial parts of Shanghai.

No, I was saying that I started out with tires that were 1.25" wide, and later got a hand-me-down 700c wheelset with 20mm tires - and that I LOVE the narrow 20mm tires. But that I think most of what I love is being able to inflate to 100+ PSI, and the huge weight difference...my next set of tires will probably be 25mm.
I guess my point was that you can commute on rail thin tires if you want - it's just personal preference. Just because 20mm tires are "racing" tires doesn't mean you can't commute on them - for me, it beats the heck out of using 1.25" tires.

+1, you can even throw drops on there if you want for a bombproof "road" commuter. I personally use 1.25" slicks, but will probably go with 1.5" the next time as tubes are easier to come by.

Commuting is, as many have already said, different from racing. Two considerations come immediately to my mind. First, you can't count on your road surfaces. An example: yesterday I went out to do some shopping. About a mile of my route was torn up. No marked detour, no obvious alternative (a lake to the north and a limited access highway to the south). Riding over the dirt, gravel and soft sand was lot easier with wider tires. Second, although in general skinny tires are faster, wider, lower pressure tires can actually have less rolling resistance than skinnier higher pressure tires on roads that are less than perfect.

I feel a lot more comfortable going over curb cuts on a bigger tire. This makes it worthwhile for me. Unfortunately, I bought some cheap tires for my mtb commuter, and now I wish I hadn't. They are heavy and really feel sluggish. It is nice to be able to ride them wherever I want without issue though.

I'm pretty sure that the trend with the tubular tires that racers use is towards bigger cross sections. They have the additional advantage that it's fairly difficult (often said to be impossible) to get a pinch flat with a tubular.

rims have a width rating. I can't stand the look of really narrow tires on a 26" rim, so I went with a 2" tire. Probably one reason I don't like them

+1 on this entire rely.

Riding at night, you often hit potholes without warning and a few extra mm of air give you protection against damage and punctures. I find that 32mm are overkill for fast road commuting but fine for rough tracks.
The main decision is what kind of brakes are going to give you the required tyre/fender clearance. You can always fit narrower tyres but brakes limit the wider selection. I find that long drop calliper brakes are a good solution with enough room for 28mm+ fenders (mine can fit 32). The only other contender, for wetter conditions, would be disk brakes.
Note that 28mm seem to be the most variable tyre in terms of actual, measured width.

I tried my MTB converted as a commuter (slicks, fenders, rack) for a couple of years. My commute is 12.5 miles each way, quite hilly (up and down of course) for about 1/2 of it, the other half being pretty much a flat steady speed ride, some traffic riding. I could never get my MTB comfortable for this kind of riding. It's fine on the trail where you're constantly varying your riding but for chugging along for an hour requiring relatively constant position and effort, it just killed me. I worked hard at dialing in the position, but could never get it. I don't think MTB's are intended for this sort of stuff, although I know that some make it work very well. The road-style cross bike commuter I have now is 1,000 X more comfortable and enjoyable.

So I built up a cross frame into a commuter with 32mm tires (and fenders and rack). Just for reference, I also have a very light weight carbon fiber, racing-tired road bike which I also love.

This type of "road position" commuter is so much more better for me compared to the MTB. Again, for long-ish steady state riding, I just don't think MTB's are intended for that and I just wasn't able to make it comfortable although it works great for trail riding.

But on the question of the tires: I LOVE those 32 mm tires! What do they do that the 23's on the road bike don't (by the way the high end 23's on the road bike are surprisingly comfortable and durable, no complaints there).

The wider tires:

give you more carefree riding. No need to avoid gravel patches, you can divert from the pavement onto grass, dirt or gravel without feeling unsteady, they are much more steady and comfortable in potholes, pavement cracks, transitions, etc.... and because of that, a lot of the supposed loss of pure speed really disappears. You just don't slow down or worry about your path/route. I have never had a flat (about 1000 miles so far) and have never given one thought to road debris, including glass. I don't seek it out and make normal efforts to avoid it, but don't worry about it and haven't had a problem.

Plus, yes maybe the bike is slower.... in some situations, but not all! And some of that has to do with the overall weight of the bike, not the tires.

It's about 5-7 pounds heavier (mostly from the large tires, fenders, rack, trunk bag; the bike and wheels are only a couple pounds heavier), so it is a little slower going up hill.

I don't think it's much slower at all on the flats on smooth pavement. OK,call it a TINY bit slower on the flats.

But I believe it's faster - AND more care free - on rough pavement, transitions, avoiding obstacles, etc. It's hugely faster on any sort gravel, even smooth gravel. But rough loose gravel? No comparison, the 32's can handle it, the 23's are terrifying and/or I just can't ride on it.

Another thing that contributes to overall speed and mitigates any supposed increase in rolling resistence is the fact that I run the 32's at about 60 lbs (compared to 90-100 on my 23's). This means I don't notice every little crack and bit of gravel on the pavement, and am much more likely to roll on through rather than avoid this stuff or slow down for it.

So for commuting, I think the wider tires actually make my commute faster and easier.

I switched from 37s to 28s about a year ago, and, as you said, the rocks are still not a safety problem at that width, but I have noticed an odd little phenomenon with the less-fat tires: when I ride over rocks in the road with the 28s, they often shoot out to the side at very high speeds, and sometimes hit parked cars.

+1 on that!

I use 28 gatorskins for my commute and have done so for years. I love them. Much more fun than my mountain bike with slicks. However, when it is dark in the winter and pot holes are covered in rain, I prefer to run 32s.

I also ride the 28s on gravel trails without any issues. Anything thinner than 28s in gravel is not fun for me..just scary. When I hit the road, I hate the feel of larger tires. They feel very stable (mostly due to the weight) but also a bit dead.

I think it comes down to how confident you feel when you are riding. Get a bike that can accept tires to 42 with fenders. Many cyclocross do. Ride bikes with different sized tires. Most shops have plenty of selection.

I have been commuting for 35 years and I settled on 28s. My buddy has been commuting for 40 years and he has been commuting on 40s. Its just personal preference.

I just put on 28's as an experiment, and noticed the same thing. It's the pressure. Wider/softer tires conform to the stones- hard narrow tires send them flying!

Jan Heine did a test in Bicycle Quarterly a couple years ago that showed, for comparable tires, fatter was not slower. (Comparable meaning similar in weight, tire thickness, and construction).

Two problems with that conclusion. First, it's hard to get lightweight tires in 32 with high thread counts. Second is that fatter tires often have thicker rubber, which is good at least for a commuter, because the thicker rubber lasts longer before wearing out and prevents flats.

If you try to hustle in early to make that important meeting with tires that aren't really worn out yet, Murphy will see that you get a flat. That gets you to your meeting late and dirty. :(

when weather allows, i commute on my road bike with its 700x23 tires inflated to ~130psi. it's not so much for the speed, i just like the sensation of a really high-pressure tire. it makes me feel like i'm riding on steel wheels, no rolling resistance at all (i also haven't had a flat since moving over to my road bike for commuting, knock on wood). however, tires that narrow and high-pressure really aren't the safest bet when roads are wet, so i have a hybrid that came with some 700x37 tires. they're pretty nice tires, but i can feel the extra weight, and their max inflation is only 85psi, so i think i might drop down to a 32 or 28 with a slightly higher max pressure when it comes time to replace them.

I have a fairly short commute back and forth to work of less then 10 miles.. all down hill in the mornings, all up hill in the evenings. Mostly asphalt on the roads while the town streets are cement with lots of patched cracks and joints for off the seat jolts. The asphalt shoulder riding area has a lot of stones, glass, etc. that so far have not given me flats, but I try to keep a sharp eye out for obstacles.
My last commuter bike was a KHS Urban-X with 26"x1.5 60# Kenda Kwest tires with quite a bit of tread, while my current bike is a Specialized Sirrus Sport with 700x32c tires that are fairly smooth and I keep them at about 80-90# I've noticed a big difference in rolling resistance with the new bike, much faster and seems much easier to get up the hills.. but it is also harsher, I can feel a lot more vibration and the bumps come through more and the handling doesn't feel quite as easy as with the KHS although it feels faster, is this because of the narrower tires and lack of heavier tread?

Racing happens at very high speed. Narrower tyres have lower aerodynamic drag than wider tyres. Aero drag is proportional to velocity squared so a bit faster means a lot more drag, hence minimising this drag becomes a priority.
Commuting happens at moderate cruising speed so aero drag is much less significant.

Rolling resistance is drag that is pretty much constant at all speeds so is much more significant to the rider at low speeds. At the SAME pressure, a wider tyre has LESS rolling resistance than a narrower tyre. BUT narrower tyres can accept higher pressure.

The 3 factors: aero drag, rolling resistance and pressure all contribute to the efficiency of a tyre at a particular speed. Most people find that the sweet spot for longer commuting is 25-28mm. In the dark or in treacherous conditions, most people prefer to fit a wider tyre. If your route is rougher or you take in some tracks and trails or carry a heavy load, then a wider tyre is better.
There is no harm is having generous tyre clearance on a commuting road bike, you can always fit narrower tyres, but on a racing-clearance bike you are limitted to 25mm max.
Most people looking for more clearance go straight to CX or touring style cantilever brakes but I really like long-drop (57mm) calliper brakes for clearance up to 32mm.

Advice for a 2x15 long commute is a bit different to a 2x8mile urban commute, generally longer rides require racier machines.

It has already been mentioned and I am just repeating... for commuting a bike that will accept wider tires (and fenders) makes sense. You can run lower pressures (about 50 to 60 psi) on 700 x 34/35c tires and not worry too much when you are unable to dodge cracks/potholes/rail tracks on the road of which there are plenty in a typical commute. Wider tires also mean that you can ride over drainage grates without fear of your tire getting caught and thus causing damage to your rims.

Having said that, wider tires in general are heavier and less aerodynamic than thinner tires (23/25 mm). I would not want to be on wider tires (and a heavy bike) in a race/fast group ride where I might have to accelerate hard to bridge a 50 meter gap where strong head or crosswinds are blowing.

I think I found the optimal commuter tire (Spring to Fall) for my CX bike... it is the Continental Cyclocross Speed folding tire. It is lighter than tires with wire beads but at the same time robust enough to withstand the challenges of daily commuting over a variety of surface roads.

Thanks Michael

I have been considering increasing the size of my Continental Reflex City Contacts to maybe another larger size of the same tire. I think they also come in a 2.1 size. I haven't had the need but I like the idea of being able to take on a gravel road without fear.

slamming into a pothole that you thought was just another puddle.

When I was light and rode fast I used a road bike with 28mm tires for commuting and touring. Hopping over obstructions and unweighting at speed addressed a lot of the issues with small tires and ruts/bumps in the road. Now that I'm an old fat fart I don't go as fast so deep aerodynamic position isn't possible, my hp is less and I weigh more. Less hopping and more plowing. Fast 35mm tires give me all the speed I need and the degree of cushion makes it possible to cross ruts with less risk of the rim being grabbed. While my average commuting speed is about 5mph less than when I was younger I'm guessing the 35mm tires are only a 1mph penalty under 20mph. I remember a few big guys who raced 30yrs ago and their commuters had 32mm tires. Once the weight goes up there's more benefit to ride and puncture resistance with wider tires than there is a penalty in speed.

RE rim width ratings: as long as the internal rim width is smaller than your tire, it will fit. i run 23/25 mm tires on xc "disc only" rims (i am a weight weenie) with an internal rim width of 19 mm. many roadie rims now have wide internal rim width so that the tire sidewall is nearly vertical.

I commute with 26x2.1" Slicks. That's when I'm using my folder and throwing it on the train. 10 miles r/t.

When I'm riding the whole way in solo, it's 33 miles round trip and I ride 700x23mm on an old road bike.

I would definitely not choose the larger tire bike to do the longer version, although I take that 16+ mile ride home fairly often. 30+ miles/day pushing big tires around would take it out of me. I'm a teacher and need some energy throughout the day....

Good point! I'm satisfied with running 28s on my road bike commuter, but that difference comes to 1.8% reduction in total drag. Small speed gain, but not totally trivial. Also, assuming that your tire is 10% of the wind resistance is correct, it would be about a 1% gain for 25s over 28s, which is also tempting.

Better traction
Better braking
More cushioning
More weight carrying ability
Less chance of pinch flats under heavy loads
Won't fall into cracks and grates as easy as narrow tires

Good fat tires for street riding also have pretty low rolling resistance so the added drag isn't a huge deal for a commuter.

1.8% is trivial. Totally trivial. So trivial that I won't even go in there...

My 28mm SMPs are over 3 years old(4 years in May) and have had 2 flats...both rear. One was a 2" self-starting screw I had to remove w/the phillips attachment on my multi-tool. :eek: I've been running them @ 120 psi w/no problems the whole time. Maybe if you went over the recommended psi they wouldn't be so sluggish. And 32mm Marathons vs 28mm Continentals isn't really a fair comparisonas the Contis are lighter and aren't quite as flat proof as the Marathons. Especially the the Marathon Plus.

I figure it's better than 1/10 mph at 20. It's a matter of perspective, personally I think anything over that amount is non-trivial since those tenths can add up.

Naturally it means nothing with respect to commuting time, but I like to ride in addition to commuting, and I like to go fast even though I'm not fast.

Wow! Had to doublecheck there and make sure I was really in the 'Commuting' forum!

Personally I like to deal with priorities and if my tires width was actually holding me back, yup - I'd change 'em! But its not.

And if bicycle aerodynamics was holding me back, then since I'm not running 60mm aero rims or a sculpted frame, and in fact have lights and other paraphanalia in the airstream, and a helmet that's probably more of an aerodynamic issue than the tires - its not worth losing sleep over.

And thats without even taking into account that 75% of aerodynamic drag comes from the rider, and I seldom wear spandex while commuting, and often carry a backpack with tools, lunch and a change of clothes, and in spite of all that - its still speed limits and traffic that hold me back. Naaaawww .... personally think I'll stick with the fat tires. The braking performance, long life and comfort I get to use every day.

Just swapped out the Nokian studded winter tires for a summer wheelset. Have 700 x 23c, 700 x32c 700 x 40c and Schwalbe 700 x 50c tires hanging up to choose from. The Schwalbes went on. I can break 55km/h with those in the flats so don't think the width is a handicap - it fact it lets me maintain a higher average speed on some pretty crummy roads.

Tires
 

It would seem that I already run wider tires than most with my 26 x 1.5 being 38.1mm. These are stock on my Surly LHT and I like to think that they were selected after long hours of discussion at a Surly board meeting. I guess if I have some trouble on gravel or dirt then I will select a wider tire.......until then I guess I will stick with my 1.5's. :rolleyes:

If it makes you feel better then sure, it works. But in reality that would be something like 40 seconds on my 40 minute commute. I could make that up by pedalling harder for one block. At that rate I would put my safety and comfort over the speed improvement.

I did say that I'm perfectly happy with my 28s, so I mostly agree with that. But 1.8% difference in total drag is more than I'd previously estimated that difference to be, and if it works out to that I may reassess. I have almost 50% reduction of drag by other means already so it wouldn't make that much difference, but every bit extra speed or reduction of effort is that much more fun.

Unfortunately, I suspect that it doesn't really work out that way since much of the wheel drag is due to the spokes and hub area and it may be that the 10% number includes that also. I've found for example that covering the rear wheel spokes with disks reduces overall drag somewhere around 2-4%. If that is the case the improvement from 28c to 23c tires would be considerably less than 1.8%