Possible tyre widths on rims?

[ethan5]

Hello,
I've got 700 x 25mm at the moment, I was thinking of getting some 700 x 23mm tyres but what would 20mm tyres be like to ride and would my rims take a 20mm tyre anyway? How might I tell? Also, would my present inner tubes fit in a 20mm tyre? Thanks.

 

[accountantpete]

I don't know the wheel but you need to check the inside width of the rim.

Here's a link to Sheldon - see the green/red graph 3/4's of the way down the page

here


20mm tyres are great to ride on flat tarmac but once you hit some rough stuff I think you will wish you had stayed with the 25mm tyre.

The tubes ought to give a range of tyre for which they are to be used 700 - 18/25 indicates 18mm to 25mm tyres.

BTW - in practice if you get your ruler out you will find most 20mm's are actually 22mm and 23mm's are closer to 24/25!

 

[Moodyman]

I dropped from 32 to 28mm and noticed the ride become much harsher. There's no discernible speed differential.

I think Pete is right, with 20mm you'll suffer on all but the smoothest of roads - and we don't many of those.

 

[GrasB]

sub-700x23c tyres are the fast rolling tyres but they tend to be less puncture proof than their wider siblings. Now interestingly one of the properties required to make a tyre roll fast is suppleness & as the tyre its self makes a huge impact on the ride quality, could mean that going to a 20c tyre makes for a more comfortable ride.

As a general rule of thumb if a 23c tyre bulges out a little over the edge of the rim a 20c tyre will go on just fine, you can always measure the inside of the rim(the distance marked 18 here), if it's more than 15mm then you're really pushing the limits of the tyre. The normal range for a inner tube is 19-25c but there are usually markings on the tube to tell you what size it is.

 

[ethan5]

Thanks for your help. My rims say '622 - 13'.

sub-700x23c tyres are the fast rolling tyres but they tend to be less puncture proof than their wider siblings. Now interestingly one of the properties required to make a tyre roll fast is suppleness & as the tyre its self makes a huge impact on the ride quality, could mean that going to a 20c tyre makes for a more comfortable ride.

As a general rule of thumb if a 23c tyre bulges out a little over the edge of the rim a 20c tyre will go on just fine, you can always measure the inside of the rim(the distance marked 18 here), if it's more than 15mm then you're really pushing the limits of the tyre. The normal range for a inner tube is 19-25c but there are usually markings on the tube to tell you what size it is.

 

[MacB]

Thanks for your help. My rims say '622 - 13'.

that should be fine then, according to Sheldons table that rim size is good for tyres from 18-25mm in size.