Newbe wants advice on tyres

[fred_dillon]

Hi, I have just bought a Claud Butler Criterium, about 10-12 years old (according to owner) very good nick, except the tyres are worn.
fitted are Hutchinson HP20 Profil U (700 x 20c), the rims are marked Mavic 1ere Monte/oem 192 NE.

I read everywhere that 20c tyres are for the super light and fast, neither of which apply to me.

I have ridden bike for over 1 hour, and commuted 45minutes on it a couple of times, and it seems ok.

Questions, am I ok to stay with 20c tyres, and if not will 23c tyres fit my rims.
thanks in advance

 

[RedBike]

I've don't know anything about the rims in question. 1st mountain?

There is a chance, given the age of the bike, that they're glued on tubular tyres not your 'normal' clinchers. But either way, 23s should be fine.

 

[John the Monkey]

If the tyres are 20c, they'll be clinchers.

To the op - the key to whether you can fit a wider tyre is the width of the rim. Sheldon Brown's site has a good chart here. I'd be surprised if 23s didn't fit, but you can check there to be sure.

 

[fred_dillon]

clinchers

what does clinchers mean?

 

[RedBike]

what does clinchers mean?

Read about halfway down this page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelset

Tubulars basically have the tube 'sewn' into them so the valve/tube are part of the tyre. Clinchers take seperate inner tubes.

 

[Nick1979]

I've don't know anything about the rims in question. 1st mountain?

No "1ere monte" means "OEM" in French (literally you can translate to something like "original mount").