Are Wider Road Bike Rims Better

A wider tire and a wider rim together can provide better handling.

Are wider road bike rims better.

While the burgeoning dirt gravel and adventure riding segments have certainly directed newfound attention to road tire and rim widths the wider is better movement started well before heading. Moreover wider rims are better on descents. The wider tire provides a wider contact patch than on a narrower tire. Most are the result of the increased air volume due to the wider base.

There s better handling and more lateral stiffness. A typical 23 mm tire tube on a 19 mm rim holds about 720 000 cubic mm of air. You can find out more about josh s business building kick butt wheels at xlr8 wheels. While the area of the tire patch for both tires is the same as long as your weight and the tire pressure is the same that area spreads further across the width and less along the length of a wider tire.

The limitation now is. What width tyres should i choose. Wider rims are faster and they save you power that is they re more efficient particularly on rough roads. The width of the rim can impact the width of the tyre.

A 25mm tyre fitted to a wide rim can actually measure 27mm across and it s a trick that some manufacturer have recently employed with their latest endurance bikes. That depends on the width of your current tyres and if your frame and rim will accept wider tyres.