Changing from 32mm to 28mm tyres?

[citybabe]

I have a Specialized Vita cycle with 700x32mm tyres. Would I be able to put 28mm tyres on?

 

[Spiderweb]

Yes although you may have to swap for narrower inner tubes too.
Check the info printed on the inner tube if they are 700x 28-38 they'll be ok.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Yes although you may have to swap for narrower inner tubes too.

This ^^^ Even if they are 28-38 you'll find such big tubes a pain to get in. I use the ones for 25s in my 28s: much easier and no chance of a problem (or 'over-inflation').

 

[dbeattie]

And it's a good idea because you'll go faster

 

[Fab Foodie]

Why do you want 28c tyres instead?

 

[Vantage]

And it's a good idea because you'll go faster

Nope.
TDF competitors have been switching from 23's to 25's as the bigger carcass can soak up road vibrations better thus saving the rider energy and as they are less prone to skipping along the road, enable the bike to be ridden faster.
There comes a point when too big a tyre becomes a hindrance to speed, but 32c ain't it. Mine rolls better on supple 38c tyres than stiffer 32's.

 

[dbeattie]

Nope.
TDF competitors have been switching from 23's to 25's as the bigger carcass can soak up road vibrations better thus saving the rider energy and as they are less prone to skipping along the road, enable the bike to be ridden faster.
There comes a point when too big a tyre becomes a hindrance to speed, but 32c ain't it. Mine rolls better on supple 38c tyres than stiffer 32's.

It's a bad idea because you'll go slower!

 

[Ajax Bay]

And it's a good idea because you'll go faster

Nope.

I believe @dbeattie is talking about only using 622-20 to 25 tubes, because they are significantly lighter and less material for hysteresis loss within the tyre, and therefore will be faster (a little bit).

Mine rolls better on supple 38c tyres than stiffer 32's

Relatively poor value comparison. Does your bike "roll" better on supple 38s as opposed to supple 32s?
One of the challenges for this approach ('wider tyres give a better ride and roll better in the real, unsmooth road surface, world') which I think has a lot going for it, is that it is rather difficult to get tyres wider than 28 nominal which have competitive rolling resistance. The Marathon Supreme is probably the best balance of reasonable weight, lowish rolling resistance and thickness of tyre. What would be your recommendation for a supple 38/37? Please link to its entry on rollingresistance.com.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Surely it depends on the intended tyre use and type
Speed , terrain/road surface, tread for wintery use etc.
Unless racing/high speed use on half decent surfaces I can't see a good reason for dropping to 28c unless maybe a wider choice of tyre or a very good discount!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Or clearance for mudguards.

Indeed!

 

[Vantage]

Relatively poor value comparison. Does your bike "roll" better on supple 38s as opposed to supple 32s?
One of the challenges for this approach ('wider tyres give a better ride and roll better in the real, unsmooth road surface, world') which I think has a lot going for it, is that it is rather difficult to get tyres wider than 28 nominal which have competitive rolling resistance. The Marathon Supreme is probably the best balance of reasonable weight, lowish rolling resistance and thickness of tyre. What would be your recommendation for a supple 38/37? Please link to its entry on rollingresistance.com.

I believe the bigger of 2 identical tyres will indeed run better on the average crappy road surface we're used to in the UK, but on a perfectly smooth surface it'd be a different story.
If memory serves, on a discussion about Vittoria Voyager Hyper tyres on the cuk forum some time ago, someone linked to an independent report that tested the differences in rolling resistance between two identical but different sized tyres. The differences being not only almost impossible to test (human and weather discrepancies) but were very marginal. However small though, the bigger tyre faired better.
How big a difference in size we could make that claim to I don't remember reading or seeing but I think it's fair to say that while a 35/37c tyre could rival it's 32c counterpart, a 50c might struggle noticeably.
As for the recommended tyre, myself and I'm sure many of its users will have no difficulty in praising the aforementioned Vittoria Voyager Hyper. Light, supple, fast. It's carcass is thinner than some tyres but my current set have over 3000 equal road and offroaded miles on them and still have plenty of life left in them. The guy who recommended them to me and others on the cuk forum reports over 7000 miles on them...with little sign of them wearing out.
I can't link to rollingresistance.com unfortunately as it appears it's up for grabs.