What is the widest tyre you can add on a 23mm rim and why?

[Ajax Bay]

In the 1980s my road bike, or racing bike as they were called then, came with 32mm tyres. It really is back to the future with road tyre widths.

Seems most unlikely. Weren't they 11/4"?

 

[Sharky]

This thread reminded me of a pair of wheels I had built for me by the late Sid Bloor in Prescot. He had a pair of 28 spoke campag large flange hubs and some 18mm Fiamme sprint rims. He built them up and I think they cost me about £6 in 1968. This was almost a weeks wage then. Very light and looked nice, but just not enough spokes and they kept breaking. They didn't last more than a couple of seasons.

What happened to Fiamme?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Seems most unlikely. Weren't they 11/4"?

and what is 1 1/4 “ in metric?

 

[fossyant]

and what is 1 1/4 “ in metric?

31.75mm

 

[ColinJ]

In the 1980s my road bike, or racing bike as they were called then, came with 32mm tyres. It really is back to the future with road tyre widths.

I went into a bike shop in Manchester in 1989 to buy a 'getting back into cycling' bike. I was shocked by how narrow the tyres on many of the bikes were (19C and 21C). I asked why and was told that this was "to reduce air resistance"...!

I made sure that I had 23C tyres on my bike and years later switched to 25C.

On my bikes that will take bigger tyres, I will be switching to bigger as their current tyres wear out.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

31.75mm

Exactly and given tolerances you can call it 32mm.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Minging sense of humour! My point, perhaps too subtle for you, was that your late 80s tyre would've been labelled D x 11/4"

 

[boydj]

Well, I always pump it to the maximum so it rolls well

As others have said, max pressure does not help. My 28mm are comfortable at 80 psi, so a 37mm tyre should be very comfortable at the (much lower) correct pressure - check the numbers.

 

[fossyant]

Exactly and given tolerances you can call it 32mm.

Or 30mm or 35mm

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Minging sense of humour! My point, perhaps too subtle for you, was that your late 80s tyre would've been labelled D x 11/4"

Wasn‘t about how it was labelled, the point was what the width was, which was 32mm for all intents and purposes.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Or 30mm or 35mm

Well if you will buy Continental …

 

[cougie uk]

I went into a bike shop in Manchester in 1989 to buy a 'getting back into cycling' bike. I was shocked by how narrow the tyres on many of the bikes were (19C and 21C). I asked why and was told that this was "to reduce air resistance"...!

I made sure that I had 23C tyres on my bike and years later switched to 25C.

On my bikes that will take bigger tyres, I will be switching to bigger as their current tyres wear out.

I started cycling in the 80s and yes narrower was better...

Then everyone began riding 23mm for better grip and that went to 25mm.

Now I'm on discs - bigger tyre width is possible. I'm on 32mm slicks and they're great for the crappy roads round here.

I'd not consider a road bike now unless it has clearance for wider tyres.

 

[freiston]

It seems to me that often, when people talk about road bikes, they're actually talking about a specific type of road bike and are excluding a hell of a lot of bikes that are predominantly ridden on the roads (even if you take bikes specifically designed for off-road use out of the equation). There's plenty of road bikes with tyres 32mm or wider - especially in Holland 😉.
Gravel bikes - meh - "road bikes" built to handle cycle-paths, tracks and trails 😉
(Seriously - I have nothing against gravel bikes per se and would probably have one if I had the money and space)

 

[DCBassman]

Gravel bikes - meh - "road bikes" built to handle cycle-paths, tracks and trails 😉

Agreed, nothing but a hybrid with drop bars!

 

[CXRAndy]

My Tripster can take upto 45mm with 700c wheels and 50mm in 650b wheel.

Currently I have 76mm deep aero wheels with 30mm wide tyres. They fit ever so nicely merging the tyre to bead. Wheels has 28mm inside width measurement.

I had some new wheels made for my ebike shopper. 35mm inside width