[Closed] Is there any noticeable difference between 23C and 25C road tyres

Yes.

Yes to erm, what...? Increased rolling resistance? Slower speeds? 🙂

More cornering grip,smoother ride,no apparent increase in resistance on 'normal' roads.A lot of Pro teams now run 25's.
I'm on 25's my winter wheels,race clinchers and once the originals die I'll change my tubs aswell.

I made the switch from gp4000 23s to 4seasons 25s for just that reason. I find the 25s a bit 'floatier' and less pleasant to corner on because of it. You don't feel quite as connected to the road but I don't think they hurt my speed much though.

I'd put that down to the thicker casing rather than the increase in size.Maybe 😉

Yes they will be comfier on rougher roads thats why bigger volume tires get used in the classics.i used to ride 25m GP four seasons in the winter in England and really liked them even did L'Eroica on them.Will probably get some Pave's for next winter.Can't say i noticed a massive reduction in speed either

actually a 25 has a smaller footprint! a 23 has a long thin footprint, 25 small fat footprint.

Oh go on then, I will bite.

Two identical wheels, one with a slightly wider tyre, and you claim the wider tyre has the smaller footprint? You are going to have to explain your reasoning there.

Anyway I seem to recall that 25mm tyres are claimed to have lower rolling resistance on normal tarmac roads, as they deal with all the imperfections in the surface better.

where sefton says:

...a 23 has a long thin footprint, 25 small fat footprint.

i think he means the 25 has a 'short' fat footprint.

the idea is that if the footprint is wider, it doesn't need to be as long to get the same area.

or at least that's my understanding of the idea put forward by the likes of Continental...

ahwiles - Member

because the footprint is wider, [b]it doesn't need to be as long[/b] to get the same area.

And how exactly do you shorten the length of the footprint created by a 700c wheel?

MSP - Member

And how exactly do you shorten the length of the footprint created by a 700c wheel?

Hmmm. Pump it up harder obviously. But, we know from mtbs that fat tyres don't need as much air as skinny tyres... So maybe a 25c with the same air pressure as a 23c will sit "taller" and deform less?

well, the idea is that the contact patch of a wider tyre is a shorter/wider oval than that of a narrower tyre.

or at least that's the idea - there's groovy diagram somewhere out there on the internet showing this idea visually.

can't find it yet...

You shorten the footprint because the wider tyre deforms less for a given load/pressure.

The rolling resistance at the same pressure/load is less on the 25c than the 23c as the main cause of rolling resistance (on the same tyre type and compound) is tyre deformation.

There have been several magazine articles about this recently.

For all us mere mortals, 25c is the way to go (if your frame takes it).

Read [url= http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/03/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/tech-faq-again-bigger-tires-roll-faster_209888 ]this[/url] the other day. I think the summary was that bigger tyres roll faster, but you get much beyond 23 and they then become an aero disadvantage. Can't be bothered reading the article again to check if that's correct though 🙂

Some useful info on the [url=

SCHWALBETIRES.COM "http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/rolling_resistance]Schwalbe"

Tech-Info[/url] page.

Direct comparision, 23 and 25mm Michelin's (kry whatsits) 25's run more comfortably, feel more secure and I reckon roll better. Both C+ and Cyclist mags have done articles about this.

If you fit wider tyres onto narrow rims,without going onto wider rims.. it causes the larger tyre to move around more. I read that it's best to match the width of the rim with the wider tyre to stop this happening as much. I also read that the movement of the likes of a 25c on a narrow rim can be a bit of a drag. I can see the logic behind it but not sure if it's all true. It seems that there's wider rims cropping up to suit this new fangled idea and I want to try one of the wider combo's out.. if it works.

I have GP4000s 23s and 25s on geared and fixed road bikes and have ridden each on both (or both on each maybe).
Anyway - I've not noticed an appreciable difference in speed, but a definite difference in feel.
On the road bike the 23s feel faster, but that may be because they feel harder and you therefore feel every stone on the road. Riding these on rough road coverings can be a bit annoying and they do feel a bit draggy.
The 25s are comfier, but I have noticed on slick tarmac corners they feel like they are rolling on the rim a little bit, especially on the fixed wheel bike.
I'm replacing the 23s on the road bike soon with 25s - it's a shame really as there are lots of discounted 23s about at the moment.

Incidentally, I did an audax last year in West Yorkshire and felt the roads a lot up there on 23s.

Yes, this is what was talked about. The rim being narrower causing the larger tyre to roll about more in corners and possibly causing more rolling resistance due to this squirming. I'll stick with 23's for now.

I figure it's not that bad and it's exacerbated on a fixed wheel bike as you're pedaling through the corners.

For the same pressure a slick on a smooth road surface will have he same contact patch (assuming similar strength sidewalks etc). To support 180lbs a tyre at 90psi needs 2 squares inches on the road. A skinnier tyre will have a longer contact patch and more deformation to achieve this.
Put two tyres, at different pressures, that aren't actually slicks, on a surface that isn't smooth into the equation and it gets complicated.

So in summary ride what you like and don't be surprised if someone else likes something else. Or you like different things on different surfaces, or days...

Edit: And changing the rim can marginally change the effective size of the tyre.

I have GP4000s 23s and 25s on geared and fixed road bikes and have ridden each on both (or both on each maybe).
Anyway - I've not noticed an appreciable difference in speed, but a definite difference in feel.
On the road bike the 23s feel faster, but that may be because they feel harder and you therefore feel every stone on the road. Riding these on rough road coverings can be a bit annoying and they do feel a bit draggy.
The 25s are comfier, but I have noticed on slick tarmac corners they feel like they are rolling on the rim a little bit, especially on the fixed wheel bike.
I'm replacing the 23s on the road bike soon with 25s - it's a shame really as there are lots of discounted 23s about at the moment.

Similar experience here. Went from 23c GP4000S to 25c on Stans Alpha rims. The 25c was about 3mm wider than the 23c, and considerable taller in profile (which for me means no mud guards with the 25c's due to rubbing).
The 25c's feel slower to me, but my bike comp says there's no difference. The 25c's are more comfy and feel more planted downhill, giving a little more confidence.
All things considered, I prefer the 25c's.

I've split the difference and gone from 23s to 24s (Specialized Turbo - just liked the name 😀 ). I've also got slightly wider rims to match. It might be in my head, but it feels faster, more comfortable and grippier in turns compared to my old Ultremos - albeit on different wheels. The 24s come up pretty wide.

Hi All,

I have gone for a 25 rear and 23 front.

I could propose that the front tyre needs to be as thin as possible for good aerodynamics and that this is less important for the rear.

However the reality is I was getting more punctures than I would like and thought a (marginally) fatter tyre would help with less snake-bites.

No punctures yet and the bike does not feel too different to before.

Is this the best solution or a compromise with the worst of both worlds?

I am sure I will find out below!

I put a 23 on the front and a 25 on the rear and after a long ride yesterday I can confirm that there was not noticeable speed difference, i think they both went about the same speed 😯

Just be different I run 24s 😆