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My Swift is equipped with Hope XC wheels that have an internal diameter of 19.5mm. I've happily run 2.1" tyres. Recently I swapped over to some 2" gravel tyres and was surprised to find that the recommended with was significantly wider than the 19.5mm (although they work well enough).
I'm clearly out of date as far a rim width goes.
At some point I'll be building up a proper gravel frame that has clearance for 700x40mm and the DT Swiss gravel wheels I've been looking at have an internal width of 24mm. This seems really big (compared to my Hopes) for a relatively narrow tyre. Will this work or do I need to be looking at something narrower
23-25 is what i shoot for for 37-45 tyres, seems to be the right area
At some point I’ll be building up a proper gravel frame that has clearance for 700x40mm and the DT Swiss gravel wheels I’ve been looking at have an internal width of 24mm. This seems really big (compared to my Hopes) for a relatively narrow tyre. Will this work or do I need to be looking at something narrower
The rims on my fixed gear as 22mm internal and I use 25c tyres (minimum recommended) which give a really good shape to them so I would say a 40c on a 24mm in not even close to the rim being too wide.
I run 24mm internal rims on my 700x43c gravel, to be honest I run them on my 28c road tyres as well!
I know what you mean OP.
I don't understand how the 25mm internal width rim on the back of my MTB is perfect for a 2.4in Michelin tyre, but 25mm internal also seems to be the recommended width for gravel bikes.
I have 44mm Raddlers on 19mm internal rims and they ride well, but I do suspect they'd be better on something a touch wider so they have a less lightbulb-y profile.
I have 44mm Raddlers on Mavic GR531 rims, which are 24mm internal.
Look and ride great.
25mm for my 42mm resolutes, have happily run 47mm though. That said I've got 2.1 mezcals running on 23mm internals too
Run 700x50c Gravelkings on my 25mm internals, tubeless - work well and can run low pressures.
I don’t understand how the 25mm internal width rim on the back of my MTB is perfect for a 2.4in Michelin tyre, but 25mm internal also seems to be the recommended width for gravel bikes.
Not entirely marketing, the industry's understanding of how rim width affects tyre performance has evolved rapidly since the widespread adoption of tubeless.
Wider isn't necessarily always better (See the shortlived 'plus size' MTB experiment') but the 'new normal seems to be settling at around 20mm for road, 24ish for gravel.and 30mm for MTB.