Originally Posted by Thomas15

Just chatting nothing technical to add.

I just started doing club/group rides, I have 6 or 7 rides in which are the first group rides (outside of two organized mass rides) since the mid 1990s. My current bike is nothing special, actually one of the few non-carbon frames in the groups I ride with. Although nothing special, it is a huge improvement over what I had in the mid 1980s to 1990s. 9 speed, AL frame, 700 x 23 tires.

Anyway, on a recent group ride we were on a rest stop and the conversation turned to wheels and tire size. 32s seem to be the normal. One of the riders made the comment that implied that only newbs or holdovers from 80s ride with 23 or 25s. I of course have 23s and I sensed this person realized this only after making the statement. No bother to me, I'm not going to throw a bunch of dollars at my bike to make others happy. I have a 700 x 28 tire that was given to me, it fits but is tight. Anyway, although I consider myself a newb and thus fitting the mold of only newbs using skinny high pressure tires, I'm not having any problems keeping up with my fellow riders. This is in a hilly area, not big hills, maybe 1600 feet of ascent over 22 miles but not flat by any means. Maybe this says more about them than me, I don't know.