Narrow tyres

[bobb]

An actual 25mm wide tyre would be wide for racing...

There's a vid of a guy measuring widths of tyres at Le Tour this year with verniers. They ranged from 28mm to 32mm. The narrowest tyres were marked as 25mm, but with the fairly wide rims they use these days they were measuring 28mm.

Some of them were using rims with an internal width of 25mm. That must have the old skool skinny tyre types losing their shit 

[JefO]

Get mirrors so that you are always aware of what is behind you, without having to keep looking around. That way you can use the nicest bits of the road almost all of the time.

I was a fat tyre boy, and now I ride a fast road bike (and have a neck that is in its 60s) I find mirrors essential!

I watch in amazement as people on road bikes (without mirrors) ride on the crappy road surfaces on the left side of the tarmac, and wonder how much damage they are doing to their spines, and tyres, when there is nothing coming up the road behind them.

Where are your roads?

By that, I take it you mean on which county's roads does using mirrors make this huge difference? In which case, the answer is Hampshire, Kent, London, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, so far this summer.

[D.A.L.E.]

In recent years ive been riding disc equipped road and touring bikes. Tyre widths vary between 32mm on the Fairlight Strael and 45mm on my Croix de fer. I run the 32s at 80psi and thats my default.
Recently i dusted off my trusty 18 year old Longstaff audax, i gave it thorough service including a new pair of 25mm Conti gp 5000s, inflated to 100 psi.
What struck me was how spindly the old bike felt. With road surfaces having deteriorated over the last few decades i felt that 25mm tyres were not really viable. Running 40mm plus tyres on the Croix i dont usually bother about road surfaces just plough on. Now i have to consider carefully the route i take on the Longstaff. Its a pain as i dont usually plan a route, rather, i just head out with a rough time in mind.
Do others now consider narrower tyres to be almost obsolete?

I could write an equivalent post about how I tried large tyres and they felt spongy and slow and weird and I’m not doing that again.

Do others now consider wide tyres functionally obsolete?

I jumped on my road bike, shod with 25mm GP5000s on 19mm inner width rims, for the first time in 3 years recently and was amazed by how fast and direct it felt. I've really missed using 'racing' tyres and I'm looking forward to riding it more.

I don't think they're obsolete, they're still fine for riding round here where the roads are crap, but if you can achieve the same rolling resistance by pairing up decent tyres with the correct rim width with virtually no aerodynamic penalty, why wouldn't you want more cushion for the pushing.

[sojournermike]

I like my 25 to 28s on the road bike. I’m happy with the rim brakes too. The bike is light and direct and alive (ok, that’s probably hyperbole). Big tyres are fine too but they can dull the experience as they make it comfier.

The commentary about different tyres matters at least as much if not more - plus the fact that most of the wide tyre bikes have more mechanical as well as pneumatic trail, longer stays and sit higher due to the bigger tyres. All this makes them feel slower and less responsive/twitchy (a mate swore his Emonda tried to hurt him when he got in it after a few weeks on a gravel bike) depending on your perspective.

[cycleman]

I have always been a touring oriented cyclist and also I have owned and enjoyed at least 3 machines on 23/25 tyres I feel that on the majority of surfaces wider is both faster and more comfortable assuming a good construction, which normally means expensive  . For covering distance lack of vibration is less tiring and makes a slight reduction in ride feel well worth it. Comfort is also more appreciated as one ages(well in my experience anyway 😌).
I also feel mirrors makes drivers better behaved because they are aware that they are watched .I felt safer when riding on my 2 wheeled safer recumbents (rans rocket and thorn lwb ) due to not having to physically look behind and shifting my balance causing wobbles. This is valid on any bicycle. There are some nice bar end mirrors for drop bars I have seen advertised. 

[Lightning Phil]

All this makes them feel slower

But in reality smoother and faster. The narrower tyres just feel faster because of all the vibration feedback they give you. But the vibration is a result of the tyres not running smoothly over the surface, and as a result slowing you down.

[sojournermike]

All this makes them feel slower

But in reality smoother and faster. The narrower tyres just feel faster because of all the vibration feedback they give you. But the vibration is a result of the tyres not running smoothly over the surface, and as a result slowing you down.

I know - but I’m a child:)

[Ian H]

Get mirrors...

I had a mirror once, on the tandem long time ago.  It was pretty much a waste of space.  I'm aware of what's behind.

All this makes them feel slower

But in reality smoother and faster. The narrower tyres just feel faster because of all the vibration feedback they give you. But the vibration is a result of the tyres not running smoothly over the surface, and as a result slowing you down.

I'm slower on 38mm than on 25mm, not by much.  Decent tyres on both.

[drossall]

Pah. I've still got the racing bike I built up as a student in 1979. I ride it in the odd club 10 every now and then, just for fun. It's got 20mm tyres, and I think I was looking at narrower at one time. I've one or two spares and I'll be using them before going really wide, to say 23mm. Not sure there's clearance for much more.

[fruitcake]

Difference in the OP's test is the vintage steel frame shod with some of the best-riding tyres. A well designed frame made with a half-decent tubeset will provide the suspension the bike needs without having to rely on the tyres to do the same. That 'natural suspension' is much more difficult to achieve with disc brakes, which require the frame and fork to be overbuilt in order to resist braking forces from the hubs. Conti GP 5000 are some of the most compliant tyres anyway.

I have some entry level RSX road wheels which felt unpleasantly harsh on an entry level Dawes tourer with a cheap tyre, but perfectly good with Conti Grand Prix 25mm.

[Morat]

I'm far too fat for racing, I use 30mm tyres on my Road and CX (used on the road) bikes I don't plan on changing wider than 30mm on my road bike simply because it has tight fitting mudguards and I love my mudguards. The CX bike will fit massive tyres of course, but they're far too expensive to change on a whim. I'd like something 35mm and tubeless but I haven't done the research just yet at the Schwalbe Ones it has right now are still pretty fantastic. The tandem arrived with 32mm tyres, I'll go wider on that if we ever wear the tyres out.

[andyoxon]

I like my 32mm, as seem a good balance of weight (350g) & comfort; prefer them slightly over 28mm (on other bike), as I often tend to incorporate a few km of track/bridleway in my rides.  Have 25s on a light alu frame bike, which feels nice n sprightly, but find myself trying to use the tyres at the lowest pressure I can get away with.

[canny colin]

I think the big difference is the road surface . Occasionally I come across luverly smooth tarmac . But these tend to be like an oasis in the dessert . Connected by potholed and broken surfaces were I can end up shaking and swerving about like a drunk on a pogo stick  . Ok if you know the route, you can sometimes pick a better road . I use 25 mm tyres on my bike, I use in Spain because the surfaces are generally very good .  But for my meanderings doing the BCQ I will stick to 28 / 32 mm tyres .   

[morbihan]

Ive squeezed 28's on my  road racer (spesh turbo) It should really have 26's on. Its calliper.
 I don't like riding it for more than 3 or 4 hours these days, because its not as comfortable as my endurance bikes. That's a combination of frame geo and tire width. Its generally ridden racing or fast paced and with a harder saddle (sella Italia) too that doesn't equate to comfort.
The other bikes are run with 32 (Spesh roubaix  which I also find pretty harsh) then Rene herse, 44, 48, and 55mm. These are the set ups I like to ride on when not racing. Comfortable geo, loads of tire with the pressure fairly low.  Anything over 6 hours then aero bars too. The endurance bikes have infinity saddles on that Im a great proponent of.

[JefO]

Have 25s on a light alu frame bike, which feels nice n sprightly, but find myself trying to use the tyres at the lowest pressure I can get away with.

Don't we all do that, no matter what size the tyres?

What I mean is, there is no point in having more pressure in the tyres than required for smooth handling, is there?

Continental recommend inflation at 80% of the maximum inflation pressure, on the tyres that I use (but I am a dinosaur that still uses inner tubes, because that works for me), and despite my somewhat portly build, I find that level of inflation is perfect on most of my bikes.

[quixoticgeek]

Don't we all do that, no matter what size the tyres?

What I mean is, there is no point in having more pressure in the tyres than required for smooth handling, is there?

Continental recommend inflation at 80% of the maximum inflation pressure, on the tyres that I use (but I am a dinosaur that still uses inner tubes, because that works for me), and despite my somewhat portly build, I find that level of inflation is perfect on most of my bikes.

I run my GP5k at 5 bar. The upper limit for 32mm. I notice the extra drag by the time they've dropped to 4bar.

J

[IanDG]

Yes. 35 is the narrowest I use now. Have a read of "just Ride" by Grant Petersen

[vorsprung]

Have 25s on a light alu frame bike, which feels nice n sprightly, but find myself trying to use the tyres at the lowest pressure I can get away with.

Don't we all do that, no matter what size the tyres?

No

[drossall]

Agreed. I like the buzz of rolling along rapidly (for me) on tyres inflated to the maximum. And a good bike and saddle will allow that for me.

[vorsprung]

tyre widths in my garage

best bike 30mm
2nd best 30mm
Specialized Roubaix 25mm
On One Inbred 35mm
Galaxy 28mm
Surly Karate Monkey 63mm

I have about a million 25mm Michelin Pro tyres with minimal wear in my tyre mountain

[vorsprung]

Also, Pros are using slightly wider tyres these days

https://www.slowtwitch.com/bike/Products/Things_that_Roll/Tires/Tires_Used_By_Today_s_Cycling_Pros_j8700.html