The right tyre width - Which tyres fit the rims of my road bike?

In recent years, many cyclists will have noticed that road bike tyres are getting wider. Whereas a width of 23 mm was still the standard some ten years ago, it had already increased to 25 mm five years ago. And this trend continues. It is a result of the introduction of disc brakes, which means that ever wider tyres can be used. Before, a tyre that was too wide would not have fit through the caliper of the rim brake. Today you could say that a tyre width of 28 mm has become the standard. But as a cyclist you cannot simply decide to use wider tyres; the tyre width must be compatible with the rims of your bike wheels. It is recommendable, therefore, to know your rim width before buying a new set of tyres. In this blog we will tell you more about this, and we will present an overview of the major tyre manufacturers and their tyre and rim width combinations.

As we have mentioned above, 28 mm is becoming the standard size in road bike tyres. That said, many road bike wheels now also include the option of mounting 32 mm and even wider tyres. Tyre width is a subject not only road cyclists are concerned with; we must also take gravel bikers into account. Gravel tyres are usually much wider than road bike tyres and are available in widths including 35 mm, 40 mm and even 47 mm.

For such wider tyres to sit properly on the rims, these need to be wider as well. The tyres will fit better on wider rims and get a nicer curvature. This allows you to cycle with less pressure in the tyres without increasing rolling resistance. In practice, this means you feel the vibrations of the road less and, therefore, cycle more comfortably.

So, a wider tyre should go with a wider rim. This also means that a wider rim can only go with a wider tyre. As a result, many new wheels require tyres with a minimal width of 25 mm, 28 mm or 30 mm.

Several years ago, the European tyre and wheel manufacturers' association (ETRTO) established a standard on the question of which tyre widths can go with which rim widths. But ever since, there have been many new developments, so much so that the tyre manufacturers themselves now recommend different tyre widths for a given rim width. This makes things more complicated again, and so the ETRTO standard is not necessarily the one to follow blindly. 

To offer some assistance we include the table below, which indicates for a large number of tyre manufacturers which tyre widths they recommend for several inner rim widths. The inner rim width is the width on the inside of the rim, where the tyre will be. It is indicated in the specifications of a wheel and usually also on the rim. The following tyre manufacturers are included in the chart:

S = Schwalbe
C = Continental
Ch = Challenge
V = Vittoria
M = Maxxis
Mi = Michelin
P = Pirelli

NOTE: The numbers on the horizontal axis of the table refer to the inner rim width; the numbers on the vertical axis refer to the tyre width.

Have you found the right tyre width? Good! There is one last important thing to keep in mind, then: Before buying new tyres, make sure they will fit your frame properly!

Fitting new bike tyres

Fitting a road bike tyre to a wider rim can require some more effort than when you’re working with a narrower rim. This is because the tyre has to stretch further to fit on a wider rim. To avoid sore thumbs and blisters on your hands you’ll be happy to know there are tools you can use. These include tyre levers that you can put on the rim to prevent the tyre popping out again where you have already secured it in the rim. One particularly handy type of tyre lever is this tyre tool that you can use to get the tyre over the rim.

If you need some extra help to mount your new tyres, simply watch one of many YouTube videos on the subject!