Tyre width

[finch]

25s on my summer bike , but ! They’re on wide rims and come up quite fat 27.5mm to be precise. Also they’re tubeless so less than 80psi. They’re quite comfortable really. The n construction winter bike has 30mm tyres with tubes and they’re definitely a little more compliant. And I currently have a project that’s not quite finished that has luvvvvly 28s which for me is the sweet spot

[joy of essex]

Going back to the discussion on Imperial tyre sizes, it's also worth pointing out that we rarely had any idea what the pressure of our  tyres was. Track pumps were mostly to be found in shops or on Tracks; hence their name.
Measurement was by feel and I do doubt if the pumps we used could  inflate the tyres to anything near the max recommend pressure.

[quixoticgeek]

Were we wrong in the 1980s to assume 18mm tyres would be faster than wider ones? 

Yes.

J

[Blodwyn Pig]

Grunhilda has 38mm (1.5) Marathon Greenguards front and rear (26” and 20”) , and Olive has, at present a 32mm green guard on the rear and an earlier incarnation of marathon in 28mm on the front. Trying to use up my old tyres, but when you want to, they don’t seem to wear out!  About to refit last summers 35mm Marathon supremes fr and rr to Olive, for the upcoming wee Belgium tour. Those 28mm fronts do seem very harsh tho.

[perpetual dan]

30-something on my bike (I think I've had from 34 to 38 depending on tyre choice). Because:
It's what the rims were designed for.
I like to get off the tarmac.
I recall feeling decidedly low on comfort and control on 25s once I'd added any weight to the bike and got myself anywhere hilly.
Comfort beats aero for me and the riding I do. I'm not doing this to win or to improve my character.

Sent from my SM-S911B using Tapatalk

[rogerzilla]

I believe the tyre construction (suppleness) is more important than width.  I tend, unfashionably, towards the narrower end of the range because you can guarantee lighter weight and reduced air resistance, even if RR may be higher than an equivalent tyre of additional width.  Also, narrower tyres are mathematically* less prone to punctures from penetrating objects, all other things being equal. My experience bears this out - I barely ever suffer a visitation.

*they sweep less road width and are less likely to hit a thorn or shard of glass than a wider or lower-pressure tyre