hi lads.

Been looking at upgrading my wheels mainly because they are 19mm inner width.

I’ve never had no problems with this width tbh I even had 2.6 nobby nics running tubeless for a while until I started reading about Rim widths lol.

Ive currently got a magic Mary 2.35 on front and a 2.3 conti king on the back both tubeless.  Would there be much benefit in moving up to 25mm wide rims?

Cheers

It certainly changes the profile of them, I went from 23mm to 30mm, I have to admit it’s all upside and no down so far.

I have 25mm E1900s on my Bird HT with 2.3/2.4 Minion/Ardent tyres. On my full suss Anthem I have recently binned the cheese like 21mm Giant carbon ones for Hope XCs, in 19.5mm. They are setup with 2.25 Nobby Nic/Hans Dampf and feel better than the carbon ones from the point of view of flex and pickup. I cannot notice the thinner rim profile compared to the HT, though admittedly lower volume tyres.  When I researched it I reckoned tyres up to 2.3 would be good on the Hope XCs and I seem to be finding that to be the case so far.

Cheers lads.

Go straight to 30mm if you’re buying new anyway.

^^^ why ?

25mm WTB’s with Mavic Quest Pro of 2.4”, seems to be a sweetspot for me. Especially now I’ve got them tubless.

Whether you will notice a difference will depend largely on your type of riding and style.

30mm seems to be the sweet spot, esp for 2.4-2.5s and you can also get away with 2.6s (but 35mm reckoned to be better for 2.6s)

Mine are 28mm and 2.4s are fine but I suspect 2.6s would be too rounded.

If you’re just swapping the rim over it’s a case of finding a rim with the same ERD and number of spike holes and reusing the same spokes.

Imo XM481s are the best bet unless you need beefier or carbon

^^^ why ?

I’ve found 30mm offers just a bit better ride feel with a 2.3 – 2.4in tyre, a little more surefooted.

And then it’s noticeably better with 2.5-2.6in tyres, which are only gonna get more popular.

Good to know, thanks

I would go straight to 30mm tbh, too. Although, if you’re fine with 25mm you may find a good price on an older set of Flow EX’s- great rims still.

I went 19mm to 24mm and the difference was minimal. Now on 35mm and it’s a huge difference. Agree I’d just go to 30mm.

Which way is it different mate?

Probably squares the tyres off a bit – so with a 2.5/2.6 the edge knobs should bite better.

Just building some XM481s in to Hope Pro 4’s at the moment but only just in the lacing process. Got a 2.35 MM going in the front for winter then back to 2.5” dhf when the trails dry out I’m spring.

Thinking I may pick up a dhr2 in 2.4 / dual compound / exo flavour to go on the rear.

Which way is it different mate?

Yes it squares the tyre off, but it also makes the contact patch wider. It seems to differ from model to model, but some tyres come up HUGE on the 35mm rims.

Here’s a photo of a 2.25 Nobby Nic and 2.25 Rocket Ron on them.

Both are much much wider than on the 24mm rim, and the Ron is just hilarious.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/rim-widths-comparison-test-mountain-bike.html

Tech Talk: Are your bike tires too wide for your rims? Here’s how to get it right

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday–Wider-Rims-Are-Better-and-Why-Tubeless-Tires-Burp-.html

Go straight to 30mm if you’re buying new anyway.

Agree.

Pretty much PO’s tyres and move from 19 mm to 25 mm: did exactly that (with one bike). Yes – improved the whole bike and added fun factor.

Other bike: 2,6 inch rubber on 35 mm inner rim. A blast.

Looking back: should have bought 30 mm rims for the first mentioned bike. Pretty sure this would have been even better.

25 mm inner rims: maybe perfect match for 2.2 inch rubber? And 2.3 or 2.35 will work fine of them as well – but when you buy new…

But your original question: yes the “feel” of the bike changes from 19 mm to 25 mm. In an very positive way.