Anyone still using 23 C tyres?

[Chislenko]

My Orbea Orca came with 23's. It will take 25's at a push but a very close fit in regard to rear frame and extremely narrow Ultegra brake calipers. Even with the caliper open a 25 will only just go in.

I never had a problem riding on 23's.

 

[Dogtrousers]

My bike goes up to 28s. I could possibly go to 30 ifI took the mudguards off.

I sometimes ponder the idea of getting a new bike that would take fatter tyres (and would have disc brakes) but I know deep down that I probably wouldn't be able to tell any difference and it would be a waste of effort and money. Not to mention that it would be terribly disloyal to my current bike.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

I never had a problem riding on 23's.

Nobody did.

Till wider tyres became the thing and people started to convince us that we used to hate 23's.

 

[Hover Fly]

I can’t remember old-fashioned thin tubs and fig-roll rims being uncomfortable, how much do the modern aero deep rims affect comfort?

 

[cyberknight]

It's not just the tyre size that makes a difference, so does the construction. I've just gone back from 25mm to 23mm on one bike and it's made a whole lot of difference to the ride comfort.

I've been running my PlanetX Pro Carbon on 25.5mm Jack Brown Race tyres which were made for Rivendell by Panaracer and sold through PlanetX for a while and are as below (not my pic)
View attachment 782562
They should have been good with a folding bead and light weight, but were possibly the worst tyres I've used - harsh ride and just didn't seem to provide any cushioning effect against the local crap roads. Don't know if it was caused by a very stiff and short sidewall - couldn't even do a quick thumb test to check the pressure as there was no give - or a harder rubber on the tread.
I swapped them out for a pair of dirt cheap (£7 each when I purchased them a couple of years ago) 23mm Vittoria Zaffiros this morning and went for a quick test ride - what a revelation. No road buzz, smoothed everything out nicely and I found myself going for a longer ride to try out known crap roads to confirm the better ride.
I suspect that a softer and deeper rubber compound on the tread combined with a taller and more compliant sidewall construction has helped with the improved comfort despite the narrower width and 10psi higher pressure.

Indeed
I had some wiggle brand tyres that on paper should have been good but they were harsh and slow

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

You’ve prompted me to take the ‘blue Ribble’ out of the shed, pump up the tyres, ‘diesel’ the chain, & go to work on it one day this week
(I finish at 20:00, so lights not required)

It’s got a fairly dire saddle on it, at the moment, as the ‘Flite’ (90s original) went onto the CGR that replaced it, & is now on my ‘Spa’

I’ve ridden it in this morning
Even with that (standard) Ribble supplied saddle (that can’t go back far enough for me), it’s a good ride
Light/fast/nice handling
I remember why l liked it so much

It must be longer than l thought since l rode it, as there’s no ‘British Cycling’ sticker on the top-tube, just the one for ’Squires Cafe’

 

[Bristolian]

You don't need a gravel bike for this. Any road bike from the last 2-3 years that markets itself as an endurance bike (e.g. Canyon Endurace, Giant Defy, Specialized Roubaix, etc.) will have clearances for at least 36mm nowadays and will probably come with 30-32mm tyres on the stock wheels by default.

As I said, wider tyres is just one of the reasons. I'm not in the market for another road bike and my Allez is limited to 28mm so, to meet my other considerations, a gravel bike is the best solution.