UKH

Simple as the title really. I currently have 25 mm Hutchinson equinox tyres on my commuter bike (BTwin triban 540). The frame is pretty crude and the ride not great.

Should I buy 28 mm tyres? Would these be enough to make the bike a bit more suitable for occasional touring duties? I think these would be the biggest I could fit under the mudguards.

Thanks,

G

Yes if you think they'll fit. Also, buy decent quality tyres with a high tpi, meaning supple sidewalls for a smoother ride.

Just watch out of the 25s and 28s from other brands, my vittoria 25s and conti 25s were very different. The vittorias were almost bang on 25 but the contis bulged quite a lot leading to them rubbing on the fork.

28 on my commuter, and 25 on the others (I know...).  The 28's are better and more comfortable for battering through the potholes and manhole cover edges.  They are more comfortable the flatter they are, but beware the false sense of security that comfort brings as they are more prone to pinch flats when softer.  80psi fine, below 60 psi is a bit too squishy

I have a bog standard aluminium bike and I tour happily on 25s.  Going from 23 to 25 was a step change in reducing the number of punctures - I get about 1 a year now, instead of a handfull.  I don't feel the desire to go to 28s - it's going to add more weight and more rotational inertia for a slightly better ride.

Consider also poncy latex tubes... $$$ but work.

Quality of tyre makes a lot of difference too. My cheap 28s on my commute bike (ultra sports - came with it, but not worn out yet) feel worse than the 25s on my race bike (gp5000) . But these feel better than the 23s on my old race bike (gp4000).

I'll replace the ultras with grand prix gt I think when I do replace them...

hasn't the effect of rotational inertia of heavier tyres been overstated? what about the lower rolling resistance of larger tyres. I reckon the smoother ride is well worth any marginal speed difference.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/conti-gp4000s-ii-23-25-28

Rolling resistance at the same pressure.

I roll my 23s at about 100, 25s at about 85 and 28s lower still. Not much in it at all then, sometimes higher sometimes lower rolling resistance with the different sizes.

We tend to want similar sag rather than the same pressure. So you put less pressure on larger tyres to give similar sag.