[Closed] 23 id rims to 30 id rims - Is it really worth it?

Do you currently see much tyre squirming?
Do you get much rim dinging on rear wheel?
Are you also considering an insert ie rimpact?

Yes from me
Id say its worth it just for wheel strength and stiffness
If you want to run bigger tyres then its a must
30mm is the sweet spot

Do you currently see much tyre squirming? - Not really
Do you get much rim dinging on rear wheel? - No
Are you also considering an insert ie rimpact? - No, this is more about better feel and grip rather than being a big hitter.

If you want to run bigger tyres then its a must

Gets my vote.  Running the tyres you are I wouldn’t bother but if you want to try wider sizes I think you ideally want the wider rims

Get just a front wheel... and have a play.

i've got various bikes all running a 2.3 to 2.4 tyre, varying from 23 to 30mm id rims, and yes, i'd say it makes a significant difference. Others above have talked about the greater strength/stiffness in a wider rim for one - the wider internal gives more support to the sidewalls too, so less squirm and folding over of the tyre carcass - obviously advantageous if you want to, or do, run lowish pressures. I also recently swapped my widest wheels from a 30mm hooked rim, to a 30mm hookless rim, and this seems to make a good difference again (and i always thought it was BS) - the tyre sidewall seems to sit more upright (if that makes sense) giving the sidewall more support again - i felt comfortable drpping several more PSI out when i was on th hookless set up. Definitely go wider for a bigger tyre too - if you're thinking of a 2.6. By how you answered the questions above, the ability to run lower presuures will be an advantage. But then again, a tyre insert on your current setup will let you do that too, and if you go for one like cushcure, that really support the tyre internally, you'll not see the squirming of simply dropping air...

Gets my vote. Running the tyres you are I wouldn’t bother but if you want to try wider sizes I think you ideally want the wider rims

This.

And also maybe just change the front as Kelvin suggests. 2.3 or 2.4in rear should still be fine on 23mm rim.

Front yes, Rear not unless you had to and/or buying new.

What pressures are you running at the mo?

if the rims are fine now replace them when they are not fine (inevitable with MTB, dings etc) . if you get them with similar ERD you can reuse spokes and hubs, should be pretty cheap.

23mm and 2.35 tyres is still a really good combo though

Like 90% of new stuff on bikes:

Noticed a difference - yes
Groundbreaking like the marketing claims - no

I build my own wheels so the cost was negligible but it's one of those little things that make new bikes better than 10-year-old bikes, but unless you changed all those things at once it's not going to be revolutionary.

Just gone from 21mm to 25mm internal on my Stooge rigid front end, as wanted to run a wider tyre. I put a Maxxis Forecaster on there and with the 21mm rim , made the tyre width 2.1 inch on a 2.35 tyre. Putting the new DT rim on has now made it 2.3 inch. The sidewalls seemed to have too much roll , which , as well as the width issue made me want a wider rim, just wanting to help with my old wrists getting punishment . Rode it yesterday in the glop and had more grip and after a let a little more air out, what I was aiming for of more comfort. It actually rolled up to speed pretty similar too. Might change the rear rim now to give a slightly larger ( although not much space as a Mk1 ) foot print for winter mud and grime.
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If your current rims are needing replacement because theyre worn out/bent/knackered etc, then you may as well buy 30mm rims to replace them, but If your current rims are not worn out then I wouldnt bother.

I'm still riding a nice set of DT Swiss XM 1501 at 25mm internal width. This is on a bike I only use for general XC and light trail riding. Tyres in the 2.25-2.35 (Schwalbe) work perfectly with these rims, plumping up to their exact stated size. I run the front at 22psi and the rear at 25psi for my 72kg (fully kitted out) weight and have no tyre squirming, burping or traction problems. I've even gone as low as 18psi front / 20psi rear with no issues.

However, if I was planning on riding more technical trails / enduro style riding then I'd definitely want rims in the 30-35mm range with 2.5-2.8 inch tyres. When I ride big mountain stuff I find it more economical to rent a bike and having tried the wide rim / big tyre thing over the past couple of seasons I can definitely say it makes a positive difference to have that extra size and rim width, especially on chunky and rocky trails.

The next bike I buy will come with 30mm rims though, just for the futureproofing aspect. The industry seems to have settled on 2.4-2.6 tyres as the sweet spot for trail riding and I don't think things will change anytime soon.

My wheels are fine (only about a year old) but have a 23mm ID. I’m currently running a DHR 2.3 R and Magic Mary 2.35 F.

Do you currently see much tyre squirming? – Not really
Do you get much rim dinging on rear wheel? – No
Are you also considering an insert ie rimpact? – No, this is more about better feel and grip rather than being a big hitter.

Sounds all a bit pick any 2 ....
I'd not go above a 2.35 Schwlabe on 23mm ID. I absolutely wouldn't run a MM 2.35 on a 23mm... (again).
By the time I reduce the pressure the side knobs are squirmy... so they end up over pressured that seems to defeat the objective.

My rear 23mm I did use with a HD 2.35 is all rim dings... hard to imagine it sealed so long. I'm not aggressive so crap so YMMV. I have the same cheap rims in 27mm running a MM 2.35 and 2.5 DHF (which is narrower) and these are fine.. (both wheelsets cost me £100 each)

You can get more grip by lower pressure and that will lead to rim dings...unless you go bigger internal and bigger tyres ... so logically you solve both with wider rims.

Why would you buy whole wheels though?
Why not just replace the rims?
You can but on the absolute dogs danglies for <£150 for both plus some nipples if needed) and CRC had some RF 30 or so at £30ish... (Me being crap and the kid being a wheel wrecker I did the dogs danglies ones)

NO... was my experience after going from 23mm to 30mm. It's a small difference, and 2.5 - 2.6 tyres still squirm too much at lower pressures. The old 2.2 2-3" tyres worked fine. Grip seems more related to tyre compound than an extra 0.3" in tyre size.

If your current rims are needing replacement because theyre worn out/bent/knackered etc, then you may as well buy 30mm rims to replace them, but If your current rims are not worn out then I wouldnt bother.

Sort of that. I don't like the DT Swiss rear hub on my Occam (or alloy nipples) so I'm going to build a new wheelset for it. Might as well go for wider rims too so I'll move from 22.5mm(?) to 27mm at the same time.

In rocky terrain eg Lakes.. the wide front rim is a game changer - the rear less so.... so do the front. In softer ground the advantage is less noticeable I think

30mm is pretty standard nowadays, a lot of tyre manufacturers build their tyres around this size, so it's not all about 'is it squirming' or 'do you get rim impacts', it's more about the tyre profile and are you getting the best from your choice, always good to get as much of that as possible, especially if you're looking at WT style tyres or the 2.6s you're talking about.

I used to run Mavic Crossmax Pro with a 23mm internal rim width.

They were lovely wheels, nice and light and actually pretty strong, used them with 2.3" DHF / DHRII.

For 90% of my riding they were absolutely fine. But on rocky stuff you could feel them squirming. On an uplift day at Fort William I actually put more air in the front as I could really feel the tyre moving around on the rock slabs.

I've got Hunt Trail Wides now, they fatten out the tyres a fair bit and they feel much more supported.

So if you ride a lot of rocky terrain I'd say its worth it particularly on the front.

2.5 – 2.6 tyres still squirm too much at lower pressures

Tyre squirm can be a thing, yes, but I've not had an issue with it since adding Rimpact strips to my front wheels.

Really like the bit of damping the strip provides as it hits stuff too.