23c vs 25c

[Red17]

I'm currently swapping between 2 road bikes, one on a 23 and the other on 25 tyres. On smooth tarmac I don't notice much difference, but on the rough old roads around here the 25's make a big improvement in comfort. I'm about to change the 23's on the bike with them on and replace them with 25's when I get round to ordering some new tyres.

 

[Mugshot]

I swapped from 23s to 25s sometime last year, personally I feel they soak up some of the roughness of the roads so are a bit more comfortable and I've noticed no difference in speed, downside is they're pretty tight to my mudguards and leaves get stuck far more readily, which drives me crazy!!

 

[Pale Rider]

Wider tyres roll better than narrow ones.

Probably not much in it from 23 to 25, but it may explain why several posters on here report 'no difference'.

http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/rollwiderstand.html

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Over the years I've used 23's 25's and 28's and they all feel the same, at the moment I've got one bike with 23's on and one bike with 25's on and I can't feel any difference between them.

 

[Cuchilo]

I did a roll test with the 20mm tyres I've just put on . Compared to my 23mm ones they didn't even make it to the end of the test site . Lots of other factors to consider mind you but I was surprised .

 

[potsy]

Well I'm currently commuting on a bike with a 23 on the rear and a 28 on the front, averages out to 25ish

 

[ColinJ]

I am going to try 25Cs on my Cannondale once I have made room for them by transferring the Crud Roadracer mudguards back onto my Basso. I think I will be able to feel an improvement, but we'll see.

 

[Hacienda71]

I have 25mm rims with 23mm tyres. The profile of the tyres and rims combined is really smooth. I suspect 25mm tyres on the rims would be more bulbous.
All that said when I have used 25's on another bike I haven't noticed much of a discernable difference in terms of ride or comfort.

 

[anothersam]

Has anyone here done this upgrade?

To see what the hubbub was about I threw a 25 on one of my bikes a while back; didn't want to invest too much in the experiment. Of chief interest was the ability to run them at a little lower psi, which I figured would be a nice bonus when repairing roadside punctures. I notice the difference, but it doesn't really do anything for me (more a downgrade than anything); still prefer 23s, which have never given cause for concern when cornering etc.