Mixed tire size?
 

Older steel road bike, has 700 x 22 front, 700 x 20 on the rear. My question is: Is there any advantage in mixing size re: stability, altering cornering, etc? Also, would the 20 be just a method of fine tuning the gearing? Your thoughts.......thanks

700x22 and 20?

Ride under 40kph much? Or on glass roads?

Nope ! Picked this up as used equipment, a pair of NET 97 wheels that had these mounted on em. I thought they were 700 x 23 until I got around to remove em. I am just ignorant as to what the application would be for these, particularly in two different sizes.....

Better speed and cornering when the front is skinnier than the rear, bt not sure how the opposite would benefit anything.

Wuuuut

A fatter tire will aid cornering grip, which is more important on the front than back. Also, a fatter tire will be more comfortable on rough roads.

It was likely not done for any riding improvement, might just be a mixed set of tires.

Actually, conti claims improved performance on the Continental Attack & Force tires with a front at 22 and a rear at 23. Some lighter rides even go down to 20 or 19 on the front. I believe it's really going to come down to rider preference and riding style. Personally, I ride 22 or 23 on both front and rear.

If they tires aren't old, I'd just flip them 22 rear and 20 front and ride it until they need replacing. I'm gathering since it's an older steel bike you wont doing any racing on it. If you are, consider the tires you race on carefully.

Tire width doesn't affect gearing any more than cog width does.

do a rollout test on different sized tires and see if your statement is true. It is not, and bigger tires generally have a bigger diameter and thus affects how your gearing feels. Sheldon Brown talks about this at length in his gain ratio section.

Going back 15 years or so and Kona MTB's used to have a wider tyre on the front than the rear.

To be honest- I have never ridden on a 2.0 but as I have lost the front on a 2.3 on a dry road- I do not fancy a narrower tyre unless I am going in straight lines.

Yes, fatter on the front will aid cornering traction, while a skinnier rear lowers rolling resistance where it's needed most.

Still, when I'm in the drops cornering, my slides seem to be front and rear with equal frequency, so I don't see any reason to go with different sizes.