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Sure, 23mm may not be hot now, but are they dead-dead?

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Sure, 23mm may not be hot now, but are they dead-dead?

Old 09-20-20, 08:51 PM
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Plainsman
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Sure, 23mm may not be hot now, but are they dead-dead?

I’m bike shopping. I love my current bike. It only has one drawback in my opinion - super narrow chainstays that will only accommodate 23mm rubber (inflates out to about 25). If not for that I would put R8000 on it and be on my way. I plan to keep it regardless, but is shopping for 23mm tires quickly going to become like finding Bigfoot? I had HED trispokes back in the day optimized for 19mm tires, and by the time I sold them I was running 22s because narrower was so hard to find. Wondering how long I’ll be able to keep rubber on this bike if I hold on to it (and still be able to buy mainstream tires like Contis and the like). Anyone predicting the future?
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Old 09-20-20, 08:55 PM
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Well, at least two of will be shopping for 23s.
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Old 09-20-20, 09:36 PM
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As it is said, "God may have created the world in 7 days, but he didn't have to worry about backward compatibility." 23s will be around. I run them on all my single bikes. There a lot of 23mm outside rims in use, and as a percentage, not a heckuva lot of wider ones.
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Old 09-20-20, 09:39 PM
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Nah - 23s aren't completely dead.

As long as there are older frames that don't fit 25s out on the road, 23s will hang around. I've seen some awfully nice TI frames out there without clearance for wider tires, along with their riders - often smaller ex-racer women - not complaining.
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Old 09-21-20, 12:35 AM
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There's no indication of 23 being discontinued. The top shelf tires are available as 23s (except Specialized Turbo Cottons in 24s). If you buy one of the Canyon aero or triathlon bikes, they come with 23mm in front and 25mm in rear, and I run that combo myself and I rather like it. On relatively modern wheels 23s aren't so narrow, anyway, and unless you're heavier rider you can really use comfortable enough pressures on 23s.

I expect that they will not be discontinued, because when it comes to racing disciplines where you don't get to hang in someone's draft such as TT and triathlon, at least the front tire being a 23mm gives a slight aero advantage which is basically free. I'm not seeing that being thrown away.
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Old 09-21-20, 01:20 AM
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Why even try and predict the future?
Just ride it, and if tyre availability does become a problem deal with it then.
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Old 09-21-20, 10:47 AM
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Oh damn i didnt even know this was a thing. I thought 23mm was standard road bike tire. I know i see 25 all the time, but I always believed 23 was the go to for optimal balance of speed and road handling. Arent 25's much slower/heavier?
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Old 09-21-20, 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted by oleg232000
Oh damn i didnt even know this was a thing. I thought 23mm was standard road bike tire. I know i see 25 all the time, but I always believed 23 was the go to for optimal balance of speed and road handling. Arent 25's much slower/heavier?
We are both way way behind. Apparently 28mm is the new 23mm.

I hope 23mm stays around. My old Madone won’t fit a 25mm with the wider fancy carbon wheel I bought.
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Old 09-21-20, 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by biker128pedal
We are both way way behind. Apparently 28mm is the new 23mm.

I hope 23mm stays around. My old Madone won’t fit a 25mm with the wider fancy carbon wheel I bought.
Ha, my litespeed wont fit more than 23mm
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Old 09-21-20, 11:16 AM
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As a shop - 23's are like toxic waste. I don't stock any except for super cheap tires because they just don't move. Anyone actually riding them tends to be on the cheaper side (maybe that's why they're riding an older bike as well ) so they'll just buy what they need online anyway. If pressed I can easily source 23's in just about any major tire. This will not always be the case.
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Old 09-21-20, 11:41 AM
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Selection may be reduced, but as long as there are people buying them there will be 23mm tires made.
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Old 09-21-20, 12:39 PM
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Will 23C be around for a long time? Yes
Would I purchase a new bike that is limited to 23C tires? No.. no matter how good the price
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Old 09-21-20, 12:49 PM
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23mm tires better not be dead anytime soon -- my 2011 Ridley Noah can't run most 25s. That is, if they actually measure 25mm I can run them, but many brands are usually closer to 26mm and wider at pressure. 25mm Continental GP 5000s seem to be OK (25.6 on my caliper at 7 bar), but I sometimes get a bit of rub on the seat stays when climbing out of the saddle.
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Old 09-21-20, 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Psimet2001
As a shop - 23's are like toxic waste. I don't stock any except for super cheap tires because they just don't move. Anyone actually riding them tends to be on the cheaper side (maybe that's why they're riding an older bike as well ) so they'll just buy what they need online anyway. If pressed I can easily source 23's in just about any major tire. This will not always be the case.
How about 25s? That's the max for my 2015 Propel.
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Old 09-21-20, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Plainsman
I’m bike shopping. I love my current bike. It only has one drawback in my opinion - super narrow chainstays that will only accommodate 23mm rubber (inflates out to about 25). If not for that I would put R8000 on it and be on my way. I plan to keep it regardless, but is shopping for 23mm tires quickly going to become like finding Bigfoot? I had HED trispokes back in the day optimized for 19mm tires, and by the time I sold them I was running 22s because narrower was so hard to find. Wondering how long I’ll be able to keep rubber on this bike if I hold on to it (and still be able to buy mainstream tires like Contis and the like). Anyone predicting the future?
There are a lot of bikes like this out there. 23's should be available on line for years. Maybe, worry about replacing it when you actually find it hard to buy tires for it.

I suppose one idea would be to try to sell it before it becomes "impossible" to buy tires for it.
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Old 09-21-20, 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Trsnrtr
How about 25s? That's the max for my 2015 Propel.
25's are today's 23's. That said just as many people come in and ask for 28's or larger.

It all goes in cycles.
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Old 09-21-20, 01:17 PM
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Still plenty of 23s as of this writing. Michelin Power, Schwalbe Pro One, Conti GP5000, etc.

Mail order will probably be the way to go unless your in a hot vintage market.
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Old 09-21-20, 01:24 PM
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If you think 23s are hard to find, imagine wanting 21s.

These are on closeout, so get em while you can

Ad copy says 21", so might wanna confirm

https://www.eriksbikeshop.com/specia...re-pr3e10148/p
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Old 09-21-20, 01:44 PM
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I doubt you'll be unable to get 23s, but you may likely be unable to get the 23s you want.

Personally, I just wish road bike manufacturers would stop making them tight to exactly what's currently popular, with no overhead. They've gone from tight clearance for 23s to tight clearance for 25s to tight clearance for 28s (with a few exceptions). Why not design in a little overhead?
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Old 09-22-20, 01:43 AM
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Are your potholes getting smaller and further apart?
No.

23 will be the new 20.
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Old 09-22-20, 01:52 AM
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Originally Posted by znomit
Are your potholes getting smaller and further apart?
No.
Yes. Road maintenance doing their job, imagine.
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Old 09-22-20, 08:08 AM
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But I want 19s!
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Old 09-22-20, 09:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Bah Humbug
I doubt you'll be unable to get 23s, but you may likely be unable to get the 23s you want.

Personally, I just wish road bike manufacturers would stop making them tight to exactly what's currently popular, with no overhead. They've gone from tight clearance for 23s to tight clearance for 25s to tight clearance for 28s (with a few exceptions). Why not design in a little overhead?
Most manufacturers do make road bikes with room to expand. There's an entire category of "endurance" or "adventure" bikes that are designed with this in mind. Something like a Cannondale Synapse or Specialized Roubaix will easily fit 32mm tires, but is sold with smaller sizes. The Trek Domane can fit up to 38mm tires, but most models are sold with 28mm installed.

The fastest road bikes will always be designed around minimal gaps though, to maintain the most aerodynamic design. The challenge for manufacturers is to design bikes to what they think is a reasonable max tire size, which seems to be getting larger every few years. The current Cannondale SystemSix can run 28mm tires and the SuperSix Evo is advertised to fit 30mm and I've heard of people running 32mm on them.

At some point, the line between "endurance" or "adventure road" and CX bikes starts to blur, although I suppose most CX bikes now fit tires way larger than the UCI legal 33mm.
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Old 09-22-20, 09:23 AM
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Originally Posted by LesterOfPuppets
If you think 23s are hard to find, imagine wanting 21s.

These are on closeout, so get em while you can

Ad copy says 21", so might wanna confirm

https://www.eriksbikeshop.com/specia...re-pr3e10148/p
There's only one left there, so finish them off?
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Old 09-22-20, 09:42 AM
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Originally Posted by oleg232000
Ha, my litespeed wont fit more than 23mm
Yeah I switched to a disc fork and got up to a 25 up front on my 2003 Airborne Ti, swapped the rear rim brake to current gen 105 and managed to get a 28 out back, but that was a lot of work for 2mm up front and 5mm out back. The ride is nicer, but was it worth the effort? 🤷‍♀️

Originally Posted by msu2001la
Most manufacturers do make road bikes with room to expand. There's an entire category of "endurance" or "adventure" bikes that are designed with this in mind. Something like a Cannondale Synapse or Specialized Roubaix will easily fit 32mm tires, but is sold with smaller sizes. The Trek Domane can fit up to 38mm tires, but most models are sold with 28mm installed.

The fastest road bikes will always be designed around minimal gaps though, to maintain the most aerodynamic design. The challenge for manufacturers is to design bikes to what they think is a reasonable max tire size, which seems to be getting larger every few years. The current Cannondale SystemSix can run 28mm tires and the SuperSix Evo is advertised to fit 30mm and I've heard of people running 32mm on them.

At some point, the line between "endurance" or "adventure road" and CX bikes starts to blur, although I suppose most CX bikes now fit tires way larger than the UCI legal 33mm.
(I was already thinking about width, so apologies on the thread highjack) So are the UCI rules the limiting factor? Is there any reason Specialized couldn't design a Tarmac to be aero with 32mm or 38mm tires provided the rims were designed to ideally accommodate them? Where is the tipping point between rolling resistance, weight, aero (in many cases bike has to be designed around a width), ride quality, etc.?

Last edited by SCTinkering; 09-22-20 at 09:48 AM. Reason: added multi-quote on wider tires
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