Is there a big difference between 25c and 23c tyres?

janwal

I've had my second hand Giant SCR1 a couple of months now and love riding it. It has Kenda 25c tyres on that came with the bike.I like the look of the Michelin Krylion Carbon in yellow from CRC but the yellow only come in 23c, they do grey in 25c.What if any will be the main difference I wiil find going down to the smaller size.I ride for leisure. and am looking for a good all round tyre. I have ridden MTB until now all be it mainly on road and track on semi slicks. like the ride of the SCR1 and it has suprised me how supple and 'jar ' free the ride is, not a bone shaking ride at all. I assume this is down to the carbon fork and seat post.Or is this also down to a wide 25c tyre?Will a 23c make a harsher ride?

dbmnk

it'll be a tiny bit harsher, but you could always put less pressure innit to get the same feel of a 25. Maybe 10 psi less.

uphillbothways

The Kendas that Giant fit tend to be significantly oversized - my 26mm Kontenders (on an SCR3) are comparable to 28mm tyres from some other brands. Personally, I find there to be a big difference in comfort with bigger tyres, mainly because you can run them at far lower pressures and still get acceptable rolling resistance and handling. You get a bigger contact patch which means better grip, especially in the wet. If you're not racing, bigger tyres are the obvious choice - for a tiny aerodynamic penalty you get better handling, lower rolling resistance and better comfort. Fit the biggest tyres you possibly can, the downside is trivial but the upsides are significant.

giant_man

What struck me in 25 Krylions were how 'fat' the tyre appeared compared to other makes, whereas the 23s were kinda normal sized if you see what I mean. Also depends on the clearance of your particular frame as well.

Of course, 23s won't give quite a comfier ride as the 25s but still very good tyres.

Lillywhite

giant mancp wrote:

What struck me in 25 Krylions were how 'fat' the tyre appeared compared to other makes, whereas the 23s were kinda normal sized if you see what I mean. Also depends on the clearance of your particular frame as well.

Of course, 23s won't give quite a comfier ride as the 25s but still very good tyres.

The manufacturer's stated size relates to the depth and not the width that's why different makes of tyres given the same size don't look the same.

giant_man

sure ......

Chip \'oyler

You'll notice a big difference if you ride cobbles!

onlyonearrow

uphillbothways wrote:

The Kendas that Giant fit tend to be significantly oversized - my 26mm Kontenders (on an SCR3) are comparable to 28mm tyres from some other brands.

+1 on this. I've just changed the 25mm Kenda kriterium on my Giant FCR to 25mm Vittoria Rubino Pros. I was just able to get enough clearance with Crud Raceguards when using the Kendas - there's now lots of room with the Vittorias.

I haven't riden them enough to compare the ride quality, but the minimum recommended pressure on the Vittorias is higher than I was running the Kendas - so I'm sure that will be a factor also.

Wamas

dbmnk wrote:

it'll be a tiny bit harsher, but you could always put less pressure innit to get the same feel of a 25. Maybe 10 psi less.

Personnaly I wouldn't try this, the advantage of a bigger tyre is you can run lower pressures, with most tyres if you run anything less than about 100psi on 23s you run the risk of pinch punctures.

I run 25s (Maxxis Detonators) in winter and for commuting, and 23s for events etc. The 25s are not that much slower than the 23s. You say your ride for leisure, so I would go for the 25s as they are just that little bit more comfortable, and more pinch-puncture resistant, especially given the state of our roads just now.

rake

25 rear 23 front seems a good mix.

ex-pat scot

Generally I run 23s on road bikes.

There's a fair amount of variability between manufacturers on actual width (as opposed to nominal / advertised width). For example, it would be easy for a manufacturer to badge a 20mm tyre as 23 mm, then sell it as a superlight premium tyre, when it's just plain narrow.

There's not a lot of difference between 23 and 25mm tyres to be honest. Unless you are in the business of crashing through a lot of potholes then I'd stick with whatever you've got.

Lillywhite

ex-pat scot wrote:

Generally I run 23s on road bikes.

There's a fair amount of variability between manufacturers on actual width (as opposed to nominal / advertised width). .

See my earlier reply. The size relates to the height not width.

fishyweb

I remember reading on a respected web site that many tyre manufacturers deliberately make their tyres a shade smaller than the stated size. This is so that they weigh a bit less, and can then be marketed as being much lighter than competitor's "similarly sized" tyres. Such cycnics!