horatio 

How wide should my rim be?

TenGrainBread 

I would say anything from 13 to 23mm internal width should work fine. The wider the rim the wider the actual tire width will be.

horatio 

Thanks! Itching to try some.

RobbieTunes

I'm running some on Velomax Circuit rims, and they're fine. I'm going to guess the inner width of those is about 18-19.

Not all 28's are created equal, and that's a lot of tire to be pushing around if it's a drudgeon. There is a chart with relative rolling resistances, out there somewhere. Not a bad idea to check it out first.

Says a man who couldn't fit 28 GP4000SII's and settled for Challenges LG's because they fit. Even I can tell the difference in them.

rccardr 

Just be aware that not all 28's are created equal, in terms of plush vs. resistance.

A Conti 4000Sii mounts up at about 30mm on a Mavic Pro/Elite rim and at 90 psi is dreamy. Same with the Panaracer Gravel King (the file tread ones). These are fast tires. So is the Vittoria Rubino Pro III if you can find them, although they mount up at just under 27mm.

Other 28's I've tried have been heavy and slow.

Classtime 

Put them on your current rims (whatever they are). I put mine on open pros and .... no sense getting special rims for 28s.
I have also raced cyclocross with 35s on open pros with probably 40 psi (higher than necessary but I’d rather not punch flat).

horatio 

I’m looking at the Continental Ultra Sport II. I’ve been pleased with these in 23mm.

Lemond1985

From my experience, the Conti GP4000II's in 28 mm were around 30 mm on all of my rims, but Panaracer Gravel Kings when mounted on the same Mavic Ksyrium rims measure around 26 mm. See the 28 mm Gravel Kings below.



YMMV on some of the newer wide rims, but I found that the Gravel Kings run about 2 mm UNDER 28 mm, and the GP4000's run about 2 mm OVER 28 mm.

Andy_K 

I haven't used Ultra Sports, but I'd be willing to bet that GP4000s are worth the difference in price. You can get them pretty cheap now that the 5000s are out.

phtomita

Have the GP4000SII 28mm on H+Son Archetype (17mm internal) and like that - using for commuting on my Centurion ProTour 15.
I tried to have it on Nishiki Tri-A and it will rub he side bar on seat stay where you attach the rear caliper, so max on my Tri-a is a 25mm.

canklecat

Worst mismatch I've tried is Continental Speed Rides (700x42 nominal, actually closer to 700x38) on 622x14 rims on my Univega hybrid. It's worked fine for months, although I was concerned at first that it would be too squirmy on fast turns.

I may eventually replace those rims with 622x19 or so, which I used to use on that bike before the rims were borked when a car hit me. But the skinny replacements are working fine for now.

My main concern, besides handling, is stress on the unsupported sidewalls. So I'll inspect them periodically.

verktyg 

I recently tried a set of 700c x 26 Gravel Kings. Mounted them on Mavic Reflex SUP rims which are very similar to Open Pros. I'm running them at 90 psi. They originally inflated to 24mm but have "ballooned" out to 25mm after about 50 miles so your 2mm comment is close.



They have an amazing ride! They coast, accelerate and climb like heavy sewups! The sidewalls are pretty stiff due to the heavy rubber protective layer which changes the feel when cornering.

I bought them to try out because several places that I ride in the evening or at night have separations in the asphalt pavement up to 1" wide in the direction of travel. That tears up Continental side walls, even Gatorskins.

I've never had a problem with 700c x 25 Panaracer Paselas on those pavements until recently when I got a small cut right at the tread-sidewall in one of them. I changed it but I'll probably boot the tire and keep it as a spare.

Mounted these Specialized 700c x 41 Nimbus tires back in 1992 on Super Champion Mod 58 rims that are 23mm wide with a 16mm inner width. Rode them a lot in the dirt back in the 90's but not much since then. The sidewalls are getting a little dried out but the tires are still hanging in there.



verktyg

rustystrings61 

I’ve been running Panaracer Pasela blackwall wire bead 28s for a couple of years on Mavic MA2 and MA3 rims. They’re pretty close to a true 28mm. The MA2 is about 20mm wide externally. They are soooo much easier to remove and replace on Mavic rims than Continentals were.

John E

A narrow rim is probably fine for something like a 700Cx28 Conti 3000 or 4000, since these tires run more like 25-26mm (1 inch). In contrast, Specialized Armadillos run large for their callout size.

ryansu

OP you realize that 28s are just a gateway drug to 32s and then you'll try to cram 35s in there and start scheming to convert to 650b for the 42s. Once you go Phat you never go back. YMMV

canklecat

^^This^^

Good fat tires are remarkably pleasant to ride without giving up much.

One reason I chatter too much about Continental Speed Rides is because they're such a great value in all around tires, smooth rolling and faster than I'd expected from fattish tires with diamond/file tread and lower pressure. My average speed with those tires on my 30 lb Univega Via Carisma is around 14 mph. That's not much slower than my Ironman or carbon fiber Trek 5900 with skinny high pressure tires -- I average 16 mph on the same routes with those bikes/tires, and the ride isn't nearly as comfortable.

Most of the outbound routes from my home to any direction I want to ride are chewed to pieces at the moment. A couple of weeks ago the city tore up the blacktop, leaving dangerously irregular striated concrete with ledges up to 2" high across the entire road. With the road bikes it's a chore to ride any direction to get past that mile or so of bombed out pavement. I need to add another 5 miles or so to my trip just to get around the blasted roads.

But the fatter Speed Rides handle those roads easily and don't give up much in speed. I suspect most of the difference isn't the tires but the road bikes being more aerodynamic. I use albatross bars at saddle height on the Univega, a bit more upright than riding the hoods on my road bikes.

ThermionicScott 

+1. I haven't ridden my skinny tire bikes in years now. It's all 38-42mm in 26"/650B wheels these days.

cannonride15

Haven't tried the 4000, but the 32mm Ultra Sport II I'm running on the front of my ST400 Canny is great! Measures true 32mm on Super Champion 19mm internal rim width. Nice supple tire run about 50psi, can't imagine running any front tire at 90psi anymore, of course I'm done with 23s and 25s!

Slightspeed

I've got Pasela 28s on narrow vintage rims, Mavic MA40s and modern wider CR18s. I can't tell the difference in comfort, speed or ride quality. I think they look kind of chunky on the wider rim, and prefer the look on the narrower vintage rims, but that's just personal preference. I've also used Gatorskin 28s on narrow vintage rims, and they worked fine.

Pasela 28s on wider CR18s. These measure 26.6mm.

Pasela 28 on vintage silver finish Mavic MA40s. These measure 26.5mm.

Pasela 28s on dark anodize MA40s. These measure 26.4mm.

Gatorskin 28s on no name narrow vintage rims. These measure 27mm.