Tyre widths

[riderbloke]

I bought a second-hand touring bike recently, fitted with 28-622 Michelin World Tour tyres, which were just the width I wanted. When I replaced the rear one with a 28-622 Continental Top Tour 2000, I found that this was appreciably narrower than the Michelin. Is this what one would expect? Given that I prefer wider tyres for the greater cushioning, would I be well advised to move my new tyre to the front and put a wider Conti on the back?

[PW]

Quite a few manufacturers make their tyres narrower than the numbers state, Panaracer for one. 28C Paselas measure 26mm. Personally I buy tyres in (at least) pairs from the same batch.

[Editor]

Except for Michellin, most continental tyres are udersized: for 28-622 I buy 32-622 if Continental or Schwalbe. These are just 1mm wider and deeper than the 28 Michellin!