28mm tyres don't quite fit at the front... :'(

[cyclingnolycra]

I changed my 23mm tyres to 28mm, thinking there should be enough room. Installed fine, when pumped up they were fine with no contact, but very little space left between them and the brake calipers + fork.
When I gave the bike a test ride today it was very subtly brushing against them (I could hear a sound, but wheel still spun fine.) Indicates the frame is flexing enough for it to touch.

Should I admit defeat and get a 25mm tyre at the front instead? Tyre was a wiggle lifeline road tyre.
Bike is Merida Scultura 4000 (2016).

Or are there 28mm tyres that will be a little smaller?
I love the feel of the 28mm tyres vs the 23mm ones... will never go back to 23mm for sure. Way more comfort, can't tell any speed difference.

[Duck!]

The Scultura series is a race frame with tight tolerances. Put 25mm on.

[Kronos]

Yes, with that bike if the tyres are rubbing you need 25s.

[10speedsemiracer]

I changed my 23mm tyres to 28mm, thinking there should be enough room. Installed fine, when pumped up they were fine with no contact, but very little space left between them and the brake calipers + fork.
When I gave the bike a test ride today it was very subtly brushing against them (I could hear a sound, but wheel still spun fine.) Indicates the frame is flexing enough for it to touch.

Should I admit defeat and get a 25mm tyre at the front instead? Tyre was a wiggle lifeline road tyre.
Bike is Merida Scultura 4000 (2016).

Or are there 28mm tyres that will be a little smaller?
I love the feel of the 28mm tyres vs the 23mm ones... will never go back to 23mm for sure. Way more comfort, can't tell any speed difference.

I have some 25mm Vittoria Zaffiro tyres which are brand new but fitted to rims at the moment, ready for a 1980s Peugeot restomod, but 28s would look better on it and would suit the bike better. Would be happy to swap and fit. I personally haven't had any experience of the Lifeline tyres and don't know if they sit big for a 28 or not.

Depends where you're located I s'pose.
I'm in Melb eastern subs.

[Derny Driver]

The Scultura series is a race frame with tight tolerances. Put 25mm on.

Yep, don't run coffee shop punter tyres on a real race bike. Put some proper tyres on that thing.

[madmacca]

I loved the feel of 28s, but have gone back to 25s on the front, as the tolerances were just too tight (I'd get a stone caught between tyre and fork - it would get ejected after a few seconds, but made an awful noise, and cause scratches on the inside of the fork)). I still run 28s on the back with no problems, which is more important from the comfort point of view. Admittedly, I run Conti GP 4000S's which tend to run wider than specified.

You can keep the front 28 as a spare for when your rear wears out (the rear wears faster than the front).

[Mububban]

Rear 28, front 25, still plusher than 23

[BugsBunny]

In my experience, if you have very narrow rims - eg. in my case 15mm INNER rim width, it will squeeze your 28mm tires and run them very tall, and thus hit the crown of the callipers. By comparison if you ran the same 28mm tire on a wider rim, it will lower the height of the tyre. So one workaround (albeit more costly) would be a wider rim.

[Thoglette]

You'll also find that one person's 28 is another's 30 or 25. Different brands of carcass seem to pump up differently.

May even vary across the range: Conti's 622s tend to be wider than described where as their 630s seem to be smaller.
But 25 front and 28 back is going to be much better than 23 all round, all other things being equal. (Found another old 19mm tyre in the shed last weekend. No wonder my teeth are stuffed )

[cyclingnolycra]

I have some 25mm Vittoria Zaffiro tyres which are brand new but fitted to rims at the moment, ready for a 1980s Peugeot restomod, but 28s would look better on it and would suit the bike better. Would be happy to swap and fit. I personally haven't had any experience of the Lifeline tyres and don't know if they sit big for a 28 or not.

Depends where you're located I s'pose.
I'm in Melb eastern subs.

Thanks for the offer, appreciate it. I live in Sydney anyway.
Swapped my front tyre for my wife's rear tyre so she can enjoy the 28mm there.

My understanding is that 28mm tyres are no slower than 23/25's... and I'm not racing anyway. Aren't pros moving to wider tyres?
Don't see a good reason not to use 28mms if you can fit them given the increased comfort.

[10speedsemiracer]

I have some 25mm Vittoria Zaffiro tyres which are brand new but fitted to rims at the moment, ready for a 1980s Peugeot restomod, but 28s would look better on it and would suit the bike better. Would be happy to swap and fit. I personally haven't had any experience of the Lifeline tyres and don't know if they sit big for a 28 or not.

Depends where you're located I s'pose.
I'm in Melb eastern subs.

Thanks for the offer, appreciate it. I live in Sydney anyway.
Swapped my front tyre for my wife's rear tyre so she can enjoy the 28mm there.

My understanding is that 28mm tyres are no slower than 23/25's... and I'm not racing anyway. Aren't pros moving to wider tyres?
Don't see a good reason not to use 28mms if you can fit them given the increased comfort.

No problem, would have been happy to do. I find 28s every bit as fast in most circumstances and faster in some where a 23 would need slowing down due to 19th Century roads. Glad you found an easy option.