There has been much discusion about a 700 x 25 mm tire offering better ride, less rolling resistance, and perhaps flat protection. If that is the case, why is the preponderance of tires manufactured/sold in 700 x 23 mm? Even on websites with a huge selection of tires, relatively few are available in 700 x 25mm. Why?
I haven't had any trouble finding 25c tyres. For instance, I just looked at Wiggle's tyre selection, and 17 out of 24 on the first page (with the default sorting by popularity) are available in 25c.
I assure you no one is slapping 25c labels on the same 23's they've made for marketing purposes. If a 25c comes up short to the ruler test, the 23 they've been selling forever in the same model comes up even shorter.
Incorrect tire labeling has been common forever, but for a manufacturer, the bigger the number, the bigger the tire, even if it comes up short to listed size. They like to list a x-size tire that measures smaller that size because they come up light, id imagine. Its even worse in MTB.
Its not so much that people want a literal 25.00mm exact tire because thats the magic number, its that people want something larger than the "23"mm tires that have been sold forever.
The two best, true 700c x 25mm tires are Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech3 and Vredestein Fortezza TriComp...both fast, both feel plush and I have yet to flat, in over 1700 miles each.
The Michelin Pro4 is a true 25mm. On my HED C2 rims, it measures 28mm wide with calipers. I switched after many happy years on the GP4000s. I'm even happier now.
The 700x25 Pro4 is, as you point out, actually bigger than 25mm. This may cause problems in some frames/forks - it did in mine, unfortunately. The ride was great but it was just a little too big. I picked up some 700x23's, but haven't installed them yet.
I'll just mention here that wider rims increase the width of the mounted tire, in case it wasn't clear in the above posts. A tire that measures 23mm on a traditional 19mm rim will measure ~25mm on a rim like the HED C2, which is 23mm wide. A 25mm tire on 19mm rim will measure more like 27-28mm on a C2 rim.
I don't get it either. I've been riding 25s for a while and they are much more comfortable for me with negligible weight gains. I can find 25s, but have to hunt around for them. Try finding some 28 folders (except for Panaracer Paselas) if you want a real challenge. I generally buy tires from British on-line stores like Probikekit.com and Wiggle, and they tend to have a better selection of wider tires.
Like others mentioned, a lot of the tires sold as 25s aren't really that wide. My Continental and Vittoria "25s" are closer to 23-24 mm in width. Michelin tires used to run wide, and their 25s were more like 27-28 mm in width. If Michelins still ran that wide, I would still be using them, but perhaps they are closer to true 25s than most other brands.
It all depends on the bike you are riding. My Colnago has no issue with 25mm tires. My Ridley on the other hand fits 23's fine, but 25's are pretty tight. So on that bike, I stick with 23mm tires.
humm
The Vittoria Open Corsa CX is nice in 25 and I have no problems finding it in the US.
for 2013 Vittoria is expanding/changing things and have the Open Corsa SC in 25mm now. It's a natural wall tire. Vittoria is also changing their Open Pave from 24 to 25mm and adding a 28 mm too. Fun for me with the Pave in 25 now on the fire roads by work.
i just put challenge stradas on 23mm rims and they feel great. i think the 25's ride better on 23's even though they ride well on 19mm rims.
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