BAL

Wanting to try out the 23 mm wide C2 rims, I just purchased the HED Ardennes SL wheels. I usually ride the Michelin Pro Race 3's at 23 mm but decided to try the 25 mm version of the Pro Race 3 on the new HED wheels. The actual measured width of the tire on the HED rim is 27 mm. Does anyone have any experience using the 25 mm tires on the 23 mm rims?

I am wondering if I should go back to the 23 mm tire on the 23 mm rim?

Also, wondering about the standard tubes labeled for 18 to 23 mm. Are they OK for the 25 mm tires?

All comments appreciated. I should get my first ride in tomorrow on this combination.

By the way I am using these wheels and tires for general fitness riding at about 18 mph over a couple of hours. My usual wheel set had been some Mavic Kysrium ES's with 23 mm tires.

Lonewolf48

I have the Ardennes and have mounted 25 mm tires. They work great and because they are wider can be run at lower tire pressures, thus making for a smoother ride. I also have used the standard tube in these tire w/o problems. Hope this helps.

Looigi

Usually, it's best to change one variable at a time. Try the C2 rims with 23 tires, then the C2 with the 25 tires. Doing both at one you don't know what is responsible for what.

Anyway, IMO, the C2 rim makes a 23 tire perform more like a 25 by opening up the bead and increasing the tire's radius a bit. You can run lower pressure, and HED claims a bit lower rolling resistance. However, because the sidewalls are not pinched in as much and are more vertical the cornering is improved. If the wider C2 rim is good for 23 tires, it seems to me it would benefit 25 tires in the same ways.

carpediemracing 

I use the HED rims with 23c Michelins. I've decided to run them with higher pressure (i.e. normal pressure but in the low range). So 100-105 psi instead of 85-90 psi. I didn't like cornering as much at the lower pressure. May be in my head, the experts all say to use lower pressures.

At the lower pressures it felt more comfortable, I will give it that.

I ran the identical tires on regular rims at 105-110 psi. Much more harsh. When I say "identical" I'm talking the same pair of tires. I took them off the other wheels to use them on the HEDs.

I'd try 25c tires for the winter but don't see the need at this point for them, not now. I accidentally bought 28c tires, they're still sitting unmounted in the basement.

Davet

I have 2 bike using wheels with 23MM rims. On both bikes I run standard 700x25 tires, which on the wider rims measure an actual 27.6MM. I like the ride characteristics and the way the bike handles; more sure-footed and very stable on fast corners.

WhyFi

I don't have any experience with wider rims (I do have parts on the way (Velocity A23)), but I thought that one of the main reasons to move to a 23mm wide rim was the smoother, less bulbous tire/rim transition when using 23mm tires? They (HED, at least) cite better aero characteristics and less sidewall 'flop' (as they call it) while cornering with the combination. Moving to a bigger tire after moving to a wider rim seems like it would be counter-productive, if that's the case.

Davet

Even when using a wider tire, example a 25MM tire, the bulbousness (is that a word?) is far less than a tire mounted on a conventional rim. The difference in the feel and handling characteristics when using the wider rims is very real and very noticeable.

Here's a pic of my HED Bastogne wheel with a Vittoria Open Corsa 700X25, when mounted measure an actual 28MM. You can see the profile of the tire/rim intersection is very smooth and the tire is not very bulbous at all.

You can read a 'report' I wrote when I first got the wheels 2 years ago here: https://forums.serotta.com/showthread...ht=rode+report