Road Racing Tires - Opinion Request

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 23:10:14 -0400, "Churchill" wrote:



I was on my second set of 700 X 28 and they needed to be replaced. I picked
up my bike today and they had 700 X 28 Continental GatorSkins. I noticed
they were a little wider than my previous 700 X 28s, so I thought I would
ask here on the newsgroup.


Suggestion- maybe repost with a more specific subject line?

Subsequent to my first post, I have gone to three websites, Continental,
Michelin and the one you posted above. I believe I should have gone with
the 23mm or perhaps the 25mm's.


Again I'll ask- what makes you think this? What have you been hearing
or reading to make you think that 23s are the way to go?

There are a lot of equipment things in the bike world that seemed to
be based primarily on either 'that's what everyone else uses' or
'that's what professional racers use.' Sometimes these are great
answers- let others do the user testing and I can benefit from their
experience without spending tons of money. And sometimes they are
horrible answers, as idiotic as looking at a FoxNews call-in 'poll' to
decide what you should think about an issue.

Oh well, it is to late to change now, perhaps next year.


If you can afford it, nothing wrong with having more than one set of
tires. An idea- ask someone on your club ride if they have an old set
of 23s that you could try. Many regular bikers develop a collection of
tires that are near the end of their life but they can't bring
themselves to throw them out. Or ask at the bike shop- people will
come in to get new tires put on and not care about the old ones, and
some of them are in fine shape. They might sell you some used ones for
a few bucks apiece.

Is there a significant difference between these sizes for Sunday club
cyclists ? Would I notice 'significant' less drag and more force ?

Cordially


What do you consider significant? To some people four seconds over a
30 mile time trial is significant. To some people flat tires are the
biggest drag going and a fatter tire can reduce them.

I'm not a racer and not up on all the aerodynamic and rolling
resistance issues. Somewhere there must be tests and solid info on
these kind of questions; again, maybe a more specific subject line
will draw out more technically sophisticated people.

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 21:46:57 -0700, Dan Daniel
wrote:
I'm not a racer and not up on all the aerodynamic and rolling
resistance issues. Somewhere there must be tests and solid info on
these kind of questions

There are tests, although I don't know the addresses to give you a
link, off the top of my head. However, the result is that, for a
given tire construction and a given pressure, and all else being
equal, a _wider_ tire has _less_ rolling resistance than a narrower
tire.

Of course, often all else is NOT equal -- you may look at a 28
that's good for 90 psi and a 23 that's good for 145 psi, and if you
intend to inflate to the rated max, then the 23 will probably have
less RR.

OTOH, if you're looking at a 28 and a 23 in the same brand and model
of tire, both with the same casing and pressure rating, and again
you intend to run at the same pressure regardless of tire, the 28
will have less RR.

RR (at least in slick tires) comes from the casing having to deform
to allow the contact patch. Since, at 100 psi, a tire with 100
pounds on it will have a nominal 1 square inch contact patch, a tire
with inch-wide tread will have an inch of it's sidewall required to
flex, while a tire with a half inch wide tread will require two
inches of it's sidewall to flex.

You can read all day about it with groups.google.com. Realistically,
if you've been happy/comfortable with your existing tires, I'd say
stick with them.
--
Rick Onanian

Rick Onanian wrote:

Dan Daniel wrote:
I'm not a racer and not up on all the aerodynamic and rolling
resistance issues. Somewhere there must be tests and solid info on
these kind of questions

There are tests, although I don't know the addresses to give you a
link, off the top of my head.

http://bike.terrymorse.com/rolres.html

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

"Churchill" wrote in message om...
Hello,

I have a road bike with 700 X 28 tires.

I need new tires, what are u recommending for thin racing type tires. I go
cycling on Sundays with a club about 100 km both flats and hills. I know
there are allot of tire companies out there, so I could use a hand before I
order them or go looking for them.

Fred: 700x28 (or even 25)
Cool: 700x23 (or 21 if you are 140lbs or smaller)

You're welcome.
Ken

Thank you

K. J. Papai wrote:
"Churchill" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I have a road bike with 700 X 28 tires.

I need new tires, what are u recommending for thin racing type
tires. I go cycling on Sundays with a club about 100 km both flats
and hills. I know there are allot of tire companies out there, so I
could use a hand before I order them or go looking for them.

Fred: 700x28 (or even 25)
Cool: 700x23 (or 21 if you are 140lbs or smaller)

Fab???

Bill "have some uninstalled Veloflex Pave *22*s so must be REALLY cool" S.

"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
: On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 22:20:51 -0400, "Churchill" wrote:
:
:
:
: What does the 700 stand for ??
:
:
: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html



On the subject of sizing: Vittoria sew-ups, Corsa EVO-CX, which fit a normal
700c wheel, we see: 21-28". What do these last numbers mean?

David

"LAN Support" wrote in message
...
Stick with the wider tyres. They will be substantially more comfortable on
any sort of bumpy road and very little slower. They will also, on the
average, last longer.

Nick

25s are plenty wide and are much easier to find in performance models.


"Churchill" wrote in message
m...

I was on my second set of 700 X 28 and they needed to be replaced. I
picked
up my bike today and they had 700 X 28 Continental GatorSkins. I
noticed
they were a little wider than my previous 700 X 28s, so I thought I
would
ask here on the newsgroup.

Subsequent to my first post, I have gone to three websites, Continental,
Michelin and the one you posted above. I believe I should have gone
with
the 23mm or perhaps the 25mm's.

Oh well, it is to late to change now, perhaps next year.

Is there a significant difference between these sizes for Sunday club
cyclists ? Would I notice 'significant' less drag and more force ?

Cordially

"Churchill" wrote in message
m

[...]

What would be the difference between 23's and 28's ??

5mm. Avocet make a good slick in a 700x28 (I run their 700x32), see
http://www.avocet.com/tirepages/carbon12_specs.html. Few manufacturers do,
most racers use 23s, maybe 20s or 25s. But you'll find 28s more comfortable
to ride than the narrower ones.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

"K. J. Papai" wrote in message
om
"Churchill" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I have a road bike with 700 X 28 tires.

I need new tires, what are u recommending for thin racing type
tires. I go cycling on Sundays with a club about 100 km both flats
and hills. I know there are allot of tire companies out there, so I
could use a hand before I order them or go looking for them.

Fred: 700x28 (or even 25)
Cool: 700x23 (or 21 if you are 140lbs or smaller)

You're welcome.

For what? You've rolled up a whole heap of assumptions into that one
offensive little package. Thus far the OP hasn't given a single viable
reason why he should go to 23s from his current 28s and neither have you.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 09:20:28 -0700, "David Auker"
wrote:


"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
.. .
: On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 22:20:51 -0400, "Churchill" wrote:
:
:
:
: What does the 700 stand for ??
:
:
: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html



On the subject of sizing: Vittoria sew-ups, Corsa EVO-CX, which fit a normal
700c wheel, we see: 21-28". What do these last numbers mean?

David


Got me.... The only place that I have seen two number used is in
Wilderness Trail Bike's tires- from Sheldon Brown's site-

"The GMS uses a two-number system: the first number is the width of
the casing, and the second number is the width of the tread, both in
millimeters. These measurements are taken on a rim which is 20mm wide
at the bead-capturing point, with a tire inflated to 60psi and
maintained for 24 hours."

Scroll to the bottom....
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

which is probably a better link for the OP's question anyway. Maybe
Vittoria is adopting this system, or has their own variation on it?
Have you gone to the Vittoria site to see if they explain their
numbering system?