big chainring 

My experience is with the classic clincher rims of the 70's...Weinmann and the like that were used with 27 x 1 1/4" tires.

I acquired a pair of wheels with really narrow rims... 700c x 19mm outside width, 13mm inside width rims. Whats my options for tires with these wheels. Guessing maybe 25mm tires max?

Asking about size not brands.

79pmooney

You can probably go a lot bigger. You do not say what the rims are and details make a difference, I've run tires as big as 38c on Open Pro rims and 35c on Velocity Aero rims. Don't know without pulling some tires what the rim widths are but neither is wide.

I've heard of people rolling very wide tires out of narrow rims on hard corners, especially with low pressures. I've run the tires above at 60-70 psi and felt quite safe on corners. And dropped the pressures to as low as I felt comfortable doing with tubes and rocky "gravel". (25 psi?) No issues on turns but it wasn't grippy pavement.

I don't think twice about running 32c on those rims on pavement and doing anything. (But I do not know what rim you are using or what the rim hook looks like. Details matter.

P!N20

I've run 28's on Deep-V's (14mm internal) without any problems.

big chainring 

The rims are Mavic Module E-2.

Soody

Tire combination charts are incredibly conservative. You will be fine running 28s or 32s. 35-42 would even work but they will squirm if you load the bike and lean it hard in corners.

Soody

Also tire sizing has changed due to the adoption of wider rims (which make tires run wider than they would otherwise). Schwalbes and contis i've had recently have run 1-2 sizes under on older (narrower) rims.
The discrepancy in tire size means that the difference from '25'- '28' - '32' can be semantics.
You can overthink it on paper.

steelbikeguy

I ran into this issue earlier this year with some Continental Grand Prix 5000 in 25mm size. I mounted them on some Mavic MA-2 rims, and they measured 22.5mm wide....




I was not happy about this, because I had some Continental Grand Prix Classic tires in 25mm, also mounted on Mavic MA-2 rims, and they measured 26.1mm.




My eventual understanding is that sometime between when I purchased these two sets of tires, Continental decided to base tire measurements on the wider rims that are popular nowadays. That makes a certain amount of sense, but shouldn't they make an effort to communicate this to their dealers and their customers? I couldn't get any sort of info from the mail-order place that sold the tires, and while Continental has a customer support page on their web site, they never replied to my question about how they measure tire width.

There's something to be said for stopping in at your local bike shop, discussing the situation with them, and working with them to find a tire width that is what you need/want.

Steve in Peoria
(that bike of mine is now running 25mm Veloflex tires now)

dddd

Tire's measured width depends on the pressure and on whether the tires have had a day (and some riding) to settle on close to their final size.
Yes, tire widths have been adjusted to the reality of today's wider rims, but only a little like 1mm.

I've run 45c tires in many mtb races using (i13mm) Mavic MA40 rims, no problems at all other than that the tires were tight-fitting, though I ran firm pressures to prevent pinch-flatting in those days (before tubeless tires would have been used).

When using fatter tires on narrower rims, be sure to not under-size your tubes relative to tire width.
Narrow tubes inflate firm and round inside of larger tires and will somewhat pin themselves to the inside of the tire well before expanding into the rim cavity.
The tube may rupture adjacent to the valve's rubber reinforcement as excess tension tries to pull the thick pad of rubber down into the rim cavity.
I've seen the tell-tale stretch marks to either side of the valve reinforcement pad on hundreds of tubes that I've removed from wider tires on narrow rims.

canklecat

I may be a bit picky but found some 700x25 tires a bit squirmy on narrow rims for fast rides that include tricky sweeping turns on rippled pavement. Otherwise, good 700x25 tires are quite comfy on my 622x13 or so rims. I've been satisfied with Continental GP Classics (never measured the width, but the raised center tread can scrape the rear brake bridge on my Centurion Ironman Suntour GPX brakes until the center rib is worn down a bit), and Conti Ultra Sport II.

If you want narrower tires, 700x23 was still considered rather wide by 1980s-'90s standards for typical 622x13 rims. I'm a fan of Soma Supple Vitesse SL, but plan to try the thicker tread version next. The SL -- super light? -- tires are remarkably durable for lightweight folders with nearly paper thin skinwalls. Soma advertises these as "open tubulars" and they aren't exaggerating much. With latex tubes these are fantastic lightweight and fast rolling tires, usually costing less than anything comparable from Conti, Vittoria, Schwalbe, etc.

I plan to try some Soma Supple Vitesse in 700x28, just to see whether they'll fit any of my older road bikes. Even my 2010 era Diamondback Podium 5 frame was intended for 700x25 at most.

I also ran Conti Speed Rides, nominally 700x42 but measured closer to 700x38, on my Univega hybrid for a few years. But when I replaced the original wheels with 622x19 rims with 622x14, the Speed Rides felt too squirmy on turns and rippled or rough pavement, and at least once when remounting the tire after a tube change, the wire bead popped off the rim, bursting the tube. From an end view, the tire looked inadequately supported, with too much of a lightbulb shape. That never happened with 622x19 rims. So for now I'm running 700x32 tires, maximum, on those 622x14 rims.

BradH

Most of my road rims are around 19mm on the outside. I run 23 or 25mm tires on them. Wider is certainly possible but the bikes I have those rims on won't clear anything bigger anyway. When you get to 28+ on narrower rims removing the wheel from the bike can be difficult with air in the tire, even with the brakes opened up.

52telecaster

I routinely run 35s on m13 rims. No issues.

mhespenheide 

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, plenty of us ran 26x2"+ mountain bike tires on rims that were only 13-15mm wide (internal, of course). The early Bontrager rims were famously just rolled-down MA-2 rims. You can go plenty wide.

big chainring 

"If you want narrower tires, 700x23 was still considered rather wide by 1980s-'90s standards for typical 622x13 rims. I'm a fan of Soma Supple Vitesse SL, but plan to try the thicker tread version next. The SL -- super light? -- tires are remarkably durable for lightweight folders with nearly paper thin skinwalls. Soma advertises these as "open tubulars" and they aren't exaggerating much. With latex tubes these are fantastic lightweight and fast rolling tires, usually costing less than anything comparable from Conti, Vittoria, Schwalbe, etc."

Thank you for that bit of info. I think I'm leaning toward the Soma 23's. I picked up a Claud Butler frame recently. Thinking the narrow tires will go well with the 70's geometry. And hopefully recreate the tubular feel that I enjoyed back in the day.

clubman 

Michelin Hi-lite Super Comps in 18 or 20 mm were my early 90's tire for group rides. At 230 lbs, I dialed my bike in at 125/100 psi with Open4CDs

Not one pinch or flat in about 4 years.

steelbikeguy

be sure to let us know how that works out!

You mentioned recreating the tubular feel... and that brings to mind the sound of my first set of tubulars. This was a set of silks that were on a used Sekine that I bought. Not sure what brand of silks, but they were a revelation to a kid used to crappy 70 psi clinchers! They did "sing"... i.e. make a sound as they rolled. Even though I love the Veloflex Masters (renamed the Corsa EVO), I don't recall hearing them sing. Maybe I should be using proper latex tubes instead of the light Michelin tubes? Either way... the experience of riding a decent bike with really good tires was eye-opening!

Steve in Peoria