i have been riding 700 x23 since i began riding. due to an injury i gained a lot of weight before the beggining of the summer (up to 265#) now i am down to 225# and still dropping slowly.

i need new tires and i am wondering if i should stick with the 23 or go with a 25 until the weight comes off a little more-----what are the benefits of both?

thanks :D

If all you are doing is training and riding, not a big diff in 23vs25. 25's will give a softer ride, fit wise on your bike, no problem. Actually Continental tires seem to be closer to a 25 (23 size) than most I have seen. Weight wise on the tire is a few grams more, nothing to go nuts about. 25's, I have a hard time finding them in a tire that I like.

One option is to run a 25 in the rear and a 23 in the front, but I doubt that it will make much difference, may improve the ride a little.

~Al

I weigh 200/205 and chew up tires fast due to the type of roads I ride, combined with my body weight. I've always used 23's, excluding when my old Klein was brand new and it came with 25cm tires. My main problem is tire wear. Most of my rear tires started showing a lot of wear around 1K. If I was lucky I could stretch them out to around 1200 miles. I mounted a set of Conti Ultra 2000 folding 25's and the difference of the ride was very noticeable. The 25's made my bike a lot more comfortable and my tires lasted twice as long. I had an almost brand new set of Vittoria Rubino Pro Slicks 23's mounted on my Klein (I seldom ride it anymore) and switched tires with my main ride (the Conti 25's). At first the 23's had a more racy feel to them but after a while they felt too harsh (note I ride lousy roads). I just mounted a brand new set of Ultra 2000 25's yesterday and the difference of the ride was unbelievable. You should try the 700x25's, you might even consider the 700x28's. You just have to remember to reset your computer for the change in tire size. The larger tires won't slow you down, I wish I would have gone with the 25's a long time ago. My LBS never has 25 tires in stock and I have to order them over the internet. I picked up some Ultra 2000 folding for $18.45, half of what the Rubio Pro Slicks cost. I've read that anyone who weighs over 195 pounds should be using 700x25 tires. The trade off is more weight, but your tires will last longer and your bike be more comfortable (but I guess that depends a lot on the types of roads you ride)....

Like others have said, not a ton of outright difference between the two, but it is noticeable to a certain degree depending on how sensitive you are about feeling things on the bike. For a given tire, 25's weigh more than 23's and sometimes will have a lower pressure rating than their narrower brother.

There's articles all over the internet about the benefits of wider tires (and probably quite a few about their downfalls). I suppose at some point there's a point of diminishing returns as the wider a tire is, the less aerodynamic and (more importantly) heavier they are which will impact performance. These articles show that wider tires (within reason, most are going through the same level of comparison you are, a 23 vs a 25/28):

- Actually have less rolling resistance than a narrower tire of the same model as the elliptical contact patch is actually smaller with a wider tire
- Are more durable (more rubber)
- Ride better (more air in there)
- Corner better (more rubber on the road)
- Pinch flat less (more air for the tire to deform around)
- Protect rims against impact damage better

Granted, they are heavier, but not by much. I run Vredestein Fortezza 25's and on my digital scale they usually are around 240 grams +/- a few grams. Not superlight, but not anything that I'm about to worry about. As soon as your riding friends find out you are running wider tires, you will get some strange reactions (you did what?), but that's the stigma that the marketplace has created to get the lightest marketable tires - no one markets 25's anymore, all of the advertising and comparisons are for the defacto standard 23's now.

As you can tell, I think big tires rock. The next set of tires I buy will be 28c. Looks like they'll fit fine on my Gunnar, not so sure if they'll fit under the fork crown of my Steelman. 25's can be a bit harder to find, but IMO the search is worth it. Harris Cyclery is one web source that has a wide selection of fat tires, or with a little planning your LBS can always order some for you. Continental (GP3000, Ult 2000), Michelin (Pro Race), Vredestein (Fortezza), Avocet all make race-quality tires in 25 and there are others as well.

Hope this helps.

Dinosaur, did you ever ride the Conti Ultra 2000 is 23's? Is it possible that you just like the ride of the Conti's better than Vittoria's and the improvement in ride was due to tire type switch, not size?

Mich Carbon 23s on one bike and 25s on the other. If I am not thinking about it, I can't tell which is which. To be honest, I'm not sure I could tell you the difference if I thought about it. The 23s are just easier to get. The difference between 23s and 28s may be a different story.

Dinosaur, did you ever ride the Conti Ultra 2000 is 23's? Is it possible that you just like the ride of the Conti's better than Vittoria's and the improvement in ride was due to tire type switch, not size?

Yes, I rode the Ultra's in 23's. However I was thinking about this and it might depend a lot on your bike. They make a heck of a difference on my Colnago Master X-Light/Mavic O.P.'s, but on my Klein with the Rolf VC wheels the 25's don't seem to make that much difference (the Rolf wheels are pretty darn stiff). I have used primarily Conti GP3000's 23's in the past on both bikes...

i have been riding 700 x23 since i began riding. due to an injury i gained a lot of weight before the beggining of the summer (up to 265#) now i am down to 225# and still dropping slowly.

i need new tires and i am wondering if i should stick with the 23 or go with a 25 until the weight comes off a little more-----what are the benefits of both?

thanks :D
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Actually there is some differences between the two-assuming they are actual 23's and 25's. The wider tire as one poster mentioned will provide a softer ride due to the greater air volumn; but they will also stop a tad faster; they will not have as great of a tendancy to drop into ruts and groves on the street possibly preventing a accident; they will handle a heaver load better and last a tad longer. I weigh 162 and I ride on 25 because they are safer on the street; and since I don't race anymore, a 23 just doesn't serve any purpose on the street-unless you want a lighter and faster tire.

Actually there is some differences between the two-assuming they are actual 23's and 25's. The wider tire as one poster mentioned will provide a softer ride due to the greater air volumn; but they will also stop a tad faster; they will not have as great of a tendancy to drop into ruts and groves on the street possibly preventing a accident; they will handle a heaver load better and last a tad longer. I weigh 162 and I ride on 25 because they are safer on the street; and since I don't race anymore, a 23 just doesn't serve any purpose on the street-unless you want a lighter and faster tire.

When comparing two products:

A double blind study with a large sample is optimal.

Anecdotal experiences from people who used both products are OK.

Every other opinion is worth what you pay :D

When comparing two products:

A double blind study with a large sample is optimal.

Anecdotal experiences from people who used both products are OK.

Every other opinion is worth what you pay :D

Really? You know a lot for a double blinded man! Tell you what since you seem to believe tire size is not important. Why don't you put on 1 inch wide tires on your car and drive around. You will notice that the 1 inch wide tire will: 1) not hydroplane as much as your current 6 inch tire; and 2) there will be considerable less friction and that means you'll get more gas mileage. And while your driving around on those 1 inch tires just write down some thoughts about how they handle!

OK, now I've gone WAY overboard to give someone who is blind more insight as to why a wider tires is better in certain situations, and what the hell does cars have to do with bicycles anyways? IT'S THE SAME SCIENCE just on a smaller scale. You have patch contact area, you have load, you have speed, you have tire pressure, you have road surface, you have friction. Any of this sinking in yet? Obviously on a bike you can't have a 6 inch wide tire, your not going to be able to go fast with it by any means, but if you got dragged behind a car up to say 30mph and another cyclist is pedaling along beside you with 20mm tires and then both slam on your brakes (assuming load and braking system is equal), the 6 inch tire bicycle will stop way shorter. Now away from the obsurd to the rational, you do the same thing with 23mm tires and with 25mm tires and hit the brakes hard and the 25 will stop a tad shorter...NOTICE I did not say it would stop way shorter, just a tad, but that tad could mean the difference in getting hit by a car and just missing the car.

I could go into all the other things I mentioned but hopefully common sense has take over you by now and realize that maybe just maybe a 25 on the street is a tad better for handling; BUT the 23 is also a tad (theres that word again) faster due to the less friction on the road.