Should I consider a road bike that only fits up to 25mm tires, or is that too limiting?

A road bike with 25mm max tire clearance is generally worth avoiding unless you're buying an older used bike or a rim-brake model at a significant discount. That clearance was standard a decade ago, but the cycling world has moved on — 28mm is now the baseline for modern road bikes, and for good reason.\n\nThe problem with 25mm max clearance is that it boxes you in. You can't upgrade to wider tires later if you want more comfort on rough roads, and you'll feel every crack and chip in the pavement. On real-world roads that aren't perfectly smooth, wider tires at lower pressures are actually faster because they absorb vibrations rather than bouncing you around.\n\nThere's also a practical fit issue — you need 3-4mm of space between the tire and frame for mud clearance and wheel flex, so a bike rated for 25mm really means you're stuck with that exact size. More clearance is always better since you can run narrower tires on a wide-clearance frame, but you can't squeeze wider tires into a tight one.