On 5/11/2011 2:22 PM, Travis wrote:
I've just been given a decent flat bar hybrid/comfort bike for
commuting and it has 700/38 tyres on it.

For my roadie I use skinnier 700/23 tyres and I've got a whole
cupboard full of spare tubes and tyres in that size.

The rims on the hybrid so seem a little wider than those on the
roadie, a couple of mm I'd say, but they're basically the same size.

The fitted 700/38s are a bit crap looking (the rubber looks a little
brittle) and the tube inside was in bad condition because someone had
inflated it and ridden around on it while it was not evenly bedded
down, so it was scrunched up on itself and had a few holes I had to
patch.

Are there likely to be any issues with me running 700/23s on this bike
or should I buy new and wider tyres and tubes?

The bike will be used for a daily commute, approx 200-250km a week
carrying 95kg me, maybe 10-15kg of panniers over the back wheel and
the bike itself.

As it is for commuting and I consider the roadie to be my "fast" bike,
my main priorities here are just that it will be reliable. Not too
many flats and broken spokes. Ride comfort is not a big deal to me,
the bike has suspension front and seat, if 100psi thin roadie tyres
will work without damage that's what I'd prefer.

Travis

When I had a road bike it had 27x ? and these tyres become unavailable
I had to use a wider tyre and I did notice the difference in the effort
used.

For me the narrow tyre would be best.

If as you say the 23's are available why not give them a go?