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New vs. Old Tires for race day?
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I have my A race for the season coming up this weekend, and in my taper free-time, I was sitting around wondering if a new pair of tires would be faster than an older pair of the same type.

On my race wheels I have a pair of tires with maybe ~700 miles on them. I also have a brand new pair of the same tires sitting in the garage. What does the science say? Would a new pair of tires have a lower Crr? Would the slightly heavier weight of a new set make the difference? Maybe increased puncture prevention is all that matters?

What are your thoughts? Switch to new rubber or stick with what’s there?
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Re: New vs. Old Tires for race day? [SwimByteRun] [ In reply to ]
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I wouldn't make any unnecessary equipment changes in the last week. The chance of something new being faulty or making an error with installation is small but could ruin race day. If I was going to do something like this I'd do it before my last long ride so that any problem was going to show up in plenty of time to go plan B with no stress. Quite often you see posts here that are exactly that - new thing installed, problem, race this weekend, what do I do? It probably wouldn't be you but why take the chance?

700 miles isn't a lot for tires is it? What I would do is wash the current tires down with soapy water then give them a finger tip inspection. If there is anything embedded in the tire or something that looks worrying then maybe change it today. But if they look fine then I would leave them alone.
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Re: New vs. Old Tires for race day? [OddSlug] [ In reply to ]
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Oh I definitely would give them a few test rides this week to make sure everything is in check, I’m really more curious if there is any potential savings going with new rubber vs. old.

700mi isn’t a lot, and I’d say I usually get 2500-3000 out of a tire. But, if it would be 1% faster I’d definitely put on new tires and keep the used ones for when my training wheels need a new set.
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Re: New vs. Old Tires for race day? [SwimByteRun] [ In reply to ]
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New tires for A races. Change a few days before the races, so you can do the last training ride with them (to verify they are installed properly).

Rotate the 700miles tires into training tires if you have separate training wheels. Otherwise put them back on after the race and save the almost-new tires for your next B race.
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Re: New vs. Old Tires for race day? [SwimByteRun] [ In reply to ]
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SwimByteRun wrote:
I have my A race for the season coming up this weekend, and in my taper free-time, I was sitting around wondering if a new pair of tires would be faster than an older pair of the same type.

On my race wheels I have a pair of tires with maybe ~700 miles on them. I also have a brand new pair of the same tires sitting in the garage. What does the science say? Would a new pair of tires have a lower Crr? Would the slightly heavier weight of a new set make the difference? Maybe increased puncture prevention is all that matters?

What are your thoughts? Switch to new rubber or stick with what’s there?

Science says that while they may roll a little better, they have a bunch in the aero department. Perfect reason to change tires - new tires are more aero.


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Re: New vs. Old Tires for race day? [Thomas Gerlach] [ In reply to ]
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Thomas Gerlach wrote:
SwimByteRun wrote:
I have my A race for the season coming up this weekend, and in my taper free-time, I was sitting around wondering if a new pair of tires would be faster than an older pair of the same type.

On my race wheels I have a pair of tires with maybe ~700 miles on them. I also have a brand new pair of the same tires sitting in the garage. What does the science say? Would a new pair of tires have a lower Crr? Would the slightly heavier weight of a new set make the difference? Maybe increased puncture prevention is all that matters?

What are your thoughts? Switch to new rubber or stick with what’s there?

Science says that while they may roll a little better, they have a bunch in the aero department. Perfect reason to change tires - new tires are more aero.

New Contis are more aero, does evidence suggest this apply to other tires, like the open tubulars by spec/Vittoria?
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Re: New vs. Old Tires for race day? [Karl.n] [ In reply to ]
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Karl.n wrote:
Thomas Gerlach wrote:
SwimByteRun wrote:
I have my A race for the season coming up this weekend, and in my taper free-time, I was sitting around wondering if a new pair of tires would be faster than an older pair of the same type.

On my race wheels I have a pair of tires with maybe ~700 miles on them. I also have a brand new pair of the same tires sitting in the garage. What does the science say? Would a new pair of tires have a lower Crr? Would the slightly heavier weight of a new set make the difference? Maybe increased puncture prevention is all that matters?

What are your thoughts? Switch to new rubber or stick with what’s there?


Science says that while they may roll a little better, they have a bunch in the aero department. Perfect reason to change tires - new tires are more aero.


New Contis are more aero, does evidence suggest this apply to other tires, like the open tubulars by spec/Vittoria?

Almost certainly. The tire becomes less and less of a good air foil as it get worn, it also tends to widen out as well .


Save: $50 on Speed Hound Recovery Boots | $20 on Air Relax| $100 on Normatec| 15% on Most Absorbable Magnesium

Blogs: Best CHEAP Zwift / Bike Trainer Desk | Theragun G3 vs $140 Bivi Percussive Massager | Normatec Pulse 2.0 vs Normatec Pulse | Speed Hound vs Normatec | Air Relax vs Normatec | Q1 2018 Blood Test Results | | Why HED JET+ Is The BEST value wheelset
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