Will my new tire fit my rim?



tdurkin12

New Member
Apr 1, 2012
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Right now i have a motobecane fantom cx with 700 x 32 size tires. I want to put new tires on the bike that are smooth tread road tires size 700 x 23. Will these tires fit my rim or will I have to by new rims as well?
 
FWIW. You have to measure the bead-to-bead dimension of your rim ... or, if the decal indicates that the size is larger than 622-17 then you'll probably want to opt for 700x25 or 700x28 tires.

IMO, an arbitrary difference of at least 6mm seems to be "good" ... less of a difference and the tire will probably sit too low as it squats in the well between the rim's clinching beads.
 
also how does the bead to bead measuring work, how would i know from that measurement whether the tire will fit or not?
 
also, how will i no from the bead to bead measurement whether the tire will fit the rim or not?
 
Check out what Sheldon Brown (R.I.P.) had to say on this topic: http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html My suspicion is that your wheel's rim is most likely not safely compatible with 700x23 tires, though if the interior rim width is 15mm (no more, no less), then Sheldon's table suggests it may be OK. I suggest you look at Gran Bois or Roly-Poly's in 700 x 28 or 700 x 30. If you are insistent on thinner tires Vittoria makes a very nice 700x25 Open Corsa. I myself would not go narrower than 700x25 with your rims. JMO/YMMV. ~OG
 
I Lol'd at that chart. I remember t' days when I were a lad and nearly everyone rode 700x19 or 700x20s on t' race bikes (with 19mm rims) t' chase sheep throu' c'untry lanes... A quick measure of the campag lambda v that I used to use shows an inside width of almost 15mm - according to that chart it ain't safe with a 19mm tire. Likewise HED recommend 23mm tires on their C2 rims that are 23mm wide and if Tony Martin can smash his way to Tour TT victories on 23mm tires and a fair few potholes at 34mph then I don't think that tires matching the width of the rim is anything to worry about. Zipp and the alloy 101 rim (22mm - could be 21) recommend their 21mm tire...
 
I wouldnt go any less than 25mm. Id opt for a 28 to be on the safe side if that is what your bike has on it currently. with the rim possibly being slightly wider bead-to-bead, you could suffer pinch flats more frequently on a narrower tire.
 
If the OP got the same spec bike as this one:



... then the Alexrims R500, with it's internal width of 14mm will easily take a 700x19, 23 or 25 tire.
 
I have the same rims as mentioned in the thread and have been thinking about putting smooth tires either 28 or 30's vs. the 32 that are on there now.

Is there a significant difference between the different sizes, say starting from 25 upwards to 30?

Which size would you use for on road riding/commuting and weekend touring of up to 50 miles?

thanks in advance for your input.