tekne

Hi there,

I posted this on the Road forum, but thought to post here as well as some people may know.

I recently went to my local LBS to buy a QR front wheel to replace my bolt on. My original wheel rim size is 622-14 and has a 700c/23 tire. I was given a wider wheel that is sized 622-19 or 700 x 28/36.

They said it would fit fine, but now that I have the 23 tire on it, I'm not so sure.

I'm assuming the 700 x 28/36 means that it fits tire widths from 28mm-36mm, but I'm not sure.

Can someone please tell me if it is ok to use this tire size on this rim - or should I go for a narrower rim if I want to continue to use a 23 or 25mm tire?

Are there any disadvantages in using a tire width that is narrower than what a rim is marked for?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

hairnet

you probably could have just replaced the solid axle in your previous wheel with a hollow one for quick release

but 622x19mm gives you the rim's width, 19mm. Look here https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html, 28-36 is the suggested tire width. It may work to put a narrow tire on a wide rim, reading from Sheldon, but it may be risky.

AEO

you're more likely to pinch flat.

that's about it for running tires that are too narrow for rims.

oldfolksmashers

Wrong.

HED Wheels, who uses 23mm wide rims on their C2 road race wheels has this to say:

"But what makes 23mm better than the ubiquitous 19mm rim? Width. Picture a standard 23mm tire on the C2 rim. Tire and rim width are the same, the sidewalls are fairly straight, and the width of the rim spreads the tread contact patch out. With straighter sidewalls, and more rubber on the road, cornering is an entirely new experience. The sidewalls don’t flop over in a hard corner, and more rubber on the road is, well... better. C2s should be run with lower pressure, since there is more air volume in the wider tire profile. The same tire on a 19mm rim looks more like the profile of a light bulb. The curved sidewalls flop over under hard cornering, there is less rubber on the road, and more air pressure is needed to prevent pinch flats."

A 23mm tire on a 23mm rim is more aerodynamic, less prone to pinch flats, can be run at lower pressures with less chance of roll-off in turns, and provides an overall more comfortable ride.

AEO, tires that are too WIDE for a rim are more prone to pinch flats.

So to conclude, you'll be fine. As long as your tire is wider than your rim, you won't have any problem. (i.e. don't run 19mm tires on a 21mm rim...)

AEO

and sheldon says otherwise.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

hairnet

mmm where are the armchair physicists at?

gospastic

well speaking from experience and not just spitting back out what the internet says, i rode 23s all winter long on horrible chicago streets on 23mm wide rims. worked totally fine. no pinch flats.

AEO

yeah, this is my finding too. just keep the proper pressure and avoid broad siding curbs and pot holes.

desconhecido 

Depends on how wide the rim is. Mavic says the A719 is a 622-19 rim. It's 19mm inside. Outside, best I can tell, it's 24.6 mm. If the rim is 19mm outside width, it's ok. If it's 19mm inside, you might want a larger tire.

OP says the rim he replaced is a 622-14. That is probably a 19mm (plus or minus) wide rim. Mavic says the Open Pro is 622-15.

According to the Sheldon Brown site, ISO/ERTO standard refers to the inside flange width, not the outside width.

prathmann

Agreed, and the advice on pressure, curbs, and potholes is good regardless of the rim width. I'm currently using a 23mm tire on a rim that's at least that wide on the outside and haven't encountered any problems.

hairnet

for one thing, with my Open Pro rim it looks like my 23m tire is almost flush with the rim. Maybe we're confusing interior width with exterior width here?

AEO

Open pro is 13mm inner width and around 19.5mm outer width.

A719 is 18mm inner width and around 24.5mm outer width.

I go by inner width, because that's the one that matters.

most clincher rims that I've measured have 3.3mm of wall/braking surface on each side.

desconhecido 

So, someone might call the Open Pro a 19mm rim and someone else may call the the A719 an 18mm rim. The key thing, I think, is that a 23mm tire on an Open Pro is just a wonderful thing, on an A719, not so much.

AEO

yeah, 18mm inner width rims ask for 28mm wide tires as the minimum from the manufacturers.

Six jours

While seeing hipsters get taken advantage of by the LBS is a never ending source of amusement, try this. (Don't say I never did anything for you.)

Almost all modern track hubs* use 10x1 rear axles and 9x1 front. I've never seen an aftermarket 120mm hollow axle, so you'll need to buy a 130 and file off 10mm, or a 126 and file off 6mm . This is easy to do with hand tools, even for teenaged trend followers. And you can use the $100 you saved by not replacing your wheel to buy nose jewelry and tweed!

*I know some of you kids are using truly *****ty hubs from Suzue, etc, which may have wacky axle threading. Harris, as always, can set you straight if you're not sure what you need.

AEO

or just buy hubs that have hollow axles to start off with and cut them down to size.

novatech hubs already have hallow axles.
it's quite easy to turn one of these hubs into...
(You can also find novatech hubs on a lot of the ebay FG wheel sellers)

this. I think it took around 2mins to saw off the excess bits.