23 vs 25 war

[Milzy]

Some chums reckon at our kind of average Joe Bloggs speeds we'd benefit from running 25's on sportives due to the new research on rolling resistance. Think one guy is reading all this technical twaddle on all his facebook groups. He's saying that you need to be more close to pro speeds to benefit from 23's. Although now many pro's also choose 25's these days. Personally I've tried both & the 23's feel faster even if they are no different or slower.

Discuss.

 

[Archie_tect]

Anyone got a tape measure?

 

[TissoT]

Simple... Ride on 23s if they suit you !

 

[Brandane]

With the badly dressed/potholed road surfaces we have to contend with, I find 23s give too much feedback from the poor surfaces, and speed suffers because of this. I actually prefer 28s as a speed/comfort compromise. (Although my road bike has 25s on ATM but even they are uncomfortable). 23s would be great if roads were like velodromes!

 

[I like Skol]

You guys need to get with the program!

20c is where it's at......

This extract is from the 1990 brochure for the Raleigh road bike I have bought for my son. It is on 23c tyres at the moment but I am wondering if I should swap them to 20c for period correctness?

 

[John the Monkey]

There are 23s, and 23s. I've always found that Michelin ride plusher than their sidewall measurements suggest (although the 25c Pro Race 2 is probably my all time favourite tyre).

I've never noticed much difference in speed between 23s and 25s, personally - and I've had nice, and harsh riding tyres of both measurements. But then I'm not trying to eke every last bit of speed out of my riding, I'm just hoping that the place I'm heading to has cherry bakewells left.

 

[ianrauk]

I have changed my leisure bikes tyres to 25's and apart from a little bit more comfort haven't noticed any difference.

 

[andyfraser]

I find Vittoria Rubino Pro 23s very comfortable so that's what I use. My hybrid has 32mm Marathon Pluses on though.

 

[nickyboy]

25s are a little more aerodynamic than 23s and have virtually no rolling resistance difference. That is why pros are moving towards them.

If you want to extract the last 0.1% from your effort, use 25s. Otherwise ride whatever feels comfortable

 

[Easytigers]

I've used both and just prefer the feel of 23s

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I prefer 25s because I'm allergic to prime numbers .

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I can't make my mind up. Where can I get some 24s to split the difference?

 

[MartinQ]

I prefer 28s because its a magic number (physics).
Put 28s on the commuter simply to smooth out the roads a bit, especially when its dark and the pot holes jump out at you. Noticeably smoother, but can't comment on speed.

 

[TissoT]

I can't make my mind up. Where can I get some 24s to split the difference?

Use 25s... And half the tyre pressure to make a 24 ..

 

[John the Monkey]

I have changed my leisure bikes tyres to 25's and apart from a little bit more comfort haven't noticed any difference.

On my Long Haul Trucker, I went from 32c tyres to 42c. Granted, different makes, but it made chuff all difference to my average speeds.