Seeking Advice on Tire Size

Tires generally should not be smaller than approximately the width of the rim. The force from pressure which tends to lift the tyre off the rim increases in proportion to the clinching force as the tyre width is reduced with respect to rim width.

Road rims are usualy around 20mm wide and 19mm is about the smallest possible tyre size. 25-26mm (1"😉 is therefore the minimum tyre width for your rims.

Misha1809 said:

I own a bicycle that has one inch rims...both front and back. Am looking to put lower profile tires (currently have 700 x 32 or 28 x 1 5/8) on it. What is the smallest size tire I can put on it? Any advice would be great to have. I am only riding on pavement during dry days so am looking for thin road tires.

FWIW. With the presumption that your rims are 622-22 (where the bead-to-bead distance is 22 millimeters ... yes, that means you need to be marginally more precise in describing your rims beyond saying they are "one inch rims"), you could theoretically use a 700x23 tire, but on a rim that wide 'I' would be inclined toward a 700x28 as the smallest tire size that I would mount on rims which are that wide.

First off, did you measure the rim BETWEEN the flanges?, in other words between the area where the bead touches the rim.

If you did, then I would not go smaller then a 26, and staying with a 28 is not going to be a noticeable width difference in fact some companies rate sizes at 26 that are actually closer to a 28 and others vice a versa.

If your looking for a faster rolling tire, thus the need to get narrower tires on your bike, then make sure you get smoothest treaded tires you can find. Continental makes a fairly tough but light tire called the Ultra Gatorskin in a 700x28 or a 26 as an example. Or if you want better flat protection and about a 100 gram heavier tire won't bother you then the Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite; or for even more flat resistance the All Condition Armadillo Tire, but that weighs about 200 grams more then the Conti; both of those tires come in 28's or 26's.

Of course there are other brands out there that make 28 wide tires so just look around if the ones I suggested don't fit your bill.