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New tires YAY

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
23,067
11,302
In the cleavage of the Tetons
I guess you haven’t been following the latest in roadie tech stuff. Wider tires at lower pressures are generally much faster than skinny tires and high pressures. Most contemporary road bikes, even race bikes, accept at least 30’s, if not 32’s.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,559
AK
I guess you haven’t been following the latest in roadie tech stuff. Wider tires at lower pressures are generally much faster than skinny tires and high pressures. Most contemporary road bikes, even race bikes, accept at least 30’s, if not 32’s.
I think you are exaggerating a bit there. AFAIK, they found that there wasn't a hit to a wider tire at lower pressure and that rolling resistance can be lower, but being "much faster" seems a little far fetched. We are probably talking about fractions of a watt (roadie cult®).
 

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
23,067
11,302
In the cleavage of the Tetons
YeH, I might have drunk some cool aid there. But sample of one, I generally am a lot faster on my cushy gravel tires than the 30mm on my road bike. Especially downhill. That is WAY fucking faster due to traction confidence. Went 64 this spring, no way would I do that with the skinny tires.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,559
AK
YeH, I might have drunk some cool aid there. But sample of one, I generally am a lot faster on my cushy gravel tires than the 30mm on my road bike. Especially downhill. That is WAY fucking faster due to traction confidence. Went 64 this spring, no way would I do that with the skinny tires.
When I'm doing my chasse-the-gravelers-on-my-fatbike-thing, the rolling resistance on pavement is massive, but drops to something insignificant once I hit gravel, not big chunky gravel, just what one would call a packed dirt road. The wind resistance never changes, but the rolling resistance difference is crazy.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,241
20,021
Sleazattle
I think you are exaggerating a bit there. AFAIK, they found that there wasn't a hit to a wider tire at lower pressure and that rolling resistance can be lower, but being "much faster" seems a little far fetched. We are probably talking about fractions of a watt (roadie cult®).
It depends a lot on the road surface. I used to ride some rough chip-seal roads where on a flat windless section you would destroy your self to maintain 18mph. Low pressure made a huge difference there. On perfectly smooth new asphalt low pressure would slow you down.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,559
AK
It depends a lot on the road surface. I used to ride some rough chip-seal roads where on a flat windless section you would destroy your self to maintain 18mph. Low pressure made a huge difference there. On perfectly smooth new asphalt low pressure would slow you down.
Yeah, I remember from the gravel cult races that the gravel racers would be lowering their skinny gravel tires to ridiculously low PSI (for a road-sized tire), but half of the front-runners would get flats during the race in the process.