Anyone gone large (28mm tyres)

[Huggis]

I'm building a new road bike and can't decide whether to go for 25mm or 28mm rubber. I'm not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, weight around 88kg. Wheels are Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon Disc. Roads around here are pretty poor and mainly consist of chip seal.

There seems to be a lot of contradicatory articles, some stating 28mm as having lower rolling resistance. Has anyone upsized and noticed any pros or cons?

 

[smutchin]

Wider tyres FTW. Much more comfortable and no noticeable effect on speed.

I have 25mm tyres on one road bike, but only because it doesn't have clearance for bigger.

I have 28mm tyres on my fixie, on which I did a 200km audax yesterday.

I have 28mm tyres on the other road bike but i plan to swap those for 32mm tyres at some point because it has the clearance for them.

I did LEJOG on a bike with 32mm tyres last September. Spent a lot of time in the company of some very quick riders.

The friend I rode with yesterday did it on a bike with 42mm tyres and it didn't seem to slow him down at all.

I can't think of any downsides. (ETA: assuming your bike has clearance for fatter tyres.)

 

[Brandane]

I am no athlete either, and no unrealistic aspirations to become one. I have 4 bikes but only one of them could be loosely described as a road bike; it's a Specialized Secteur. It came with 25 mm tyres as standard; but with the very odd exception, on any British roads I have ever ridden on, even 25's are uncomfortable (at pressures of between 80/100 psi). I now ride that bike on 28's and can't say I've ever noticed a difference in speed, but the gain in comfort is very obvious.
Two of my other bikes are steel framed, with 32 mm tyres, so I suppose it's fair to say I prefer comfort over speed. Bike number 4 is a MTB..

 

[Huggis]

Thanks. Yes the frame 'should' have clearance (KTM Revelator Sky). I say should as many tyres measure wider than they are

 

[smutchin]

Potential clearance issues.

That's something you need to think of before upsizing on a particular bike but it's not a downside to actually using fatter tyres.

 

[Lancsman]

I have put 32mm on a Secteur, with shimano RS20 wheels it is the first time I have used wider tyres on a roadbike but I loved them no problems at all

 

[MichaelW2]

Given identical construction and pressure, wider tyres have lower rolling resistance. They have higher air resistance and are heavier and lower max pressure. The faster you ride the more you gain from nzrrow tyres, but at lower speeds they dont have such advantage.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Yep, gone 28c on the Rourke and the fixie. My 80s Holdsworth is the only bike running 23c now -Michelin Pro Race... for summer days only :-)
On Oxfordshire's shitty roads, 28c make a lot of sense.

 

[mjr]

Remember, for years and years, the most common British road bike tyre was 27x1¼", which is 32mm wide (unless you're Schwalbe, for whom it's sometimes 28mm). It wasn't without some justification IMO. I'm still riding them

 

[Dogtrousers]

I sometimes ride 28s, sometimes 25s. I can't detect any difference.

However the 28s tend to clog up the mudguards with mud in winter due to reduced clearance. That's why I'm on 25s at the moment. Riding the 28s a teaspoon is an essential bit of kit for mudguard clearing.

 

[Hedgemonkey]

I went to 28mm awhile back, mainly due to the road conditions on my commute and now I wouldn't even go back to 25mm. Could be an age thing, but they seem to roll just as well and are far more comfortable.

 

[Blue Hills]

I'd go for 28, my standard tyre for round london's sometimes wonky roads. I think they are a good compromise. My main new favourite bike would have 32s on but i then realised that i can't get them on my rims - unless i'm being daft. So they will go on the sputnik equipped bombproof bike.
I did in a moment of madness buy two 25s, thinking i'd use them on the D Dynamo but fate taught me a lesson. I'd kept them a while. Setting up for the dd one exploded so i sold the other. I have been on country rides with some folk on narrower tyres and the trepidation with which some of them enter descents never fails to amuse me.
In any case i think there is some much quoted evidence that in most cases there is no speed penalty.

 

[smutchin]

You might want wider still in Kent.

I live in Kent. I would opt for a minimum of 32mm on all my bikes if they had the clearance for it.

 

[iandg]

I switch between 25's and 28's on my road bikes. When my supply of 25's are worn out I'll stick with 28's

 

[User482]

The brands vary considerably in their actual width. Michelin Pro 4s in 25mm measure nearly 28mm, for example.