pyf wrote:
Chris,
Thanks a lot for sharing !
Don't know if you could do that but it would be awsome if you could make a graph with the curves of both the Pro Race 3 700x23 and Corsa CX 23 700x23 on the same wheel at the different angles. You would really be the first company to show this information on same wheel and I think even though it's only two tires that's exactly what everybody wants to see here !!!
Hopefully you can make this information available (and even add it on your website to show how important tire choice is), thanks in advance !!! ;-)
The information is certainly interesting but it can be misleading as well. You have to take into account that there are more things that contribute to tire selection than aerodynamic performance. Let me try to explain...
We chose the two tires you listed above because they are both good all around tires. For example, they have similar rolling resistances (fairly low actually), they both corner well, they are both pretty lightweight etc etc etc.
If we were to test additional tires then those tires may have rolling resistance values that counter any aero benefit you may gain, OR perhaps the tires lack grip in corners or in wet conditions. If a tire doesn't corner well and the rider on the bike knows that, they will be hesitant going into corners. In a race like a crit where you can have dozens of corners, holding back on every corner will cost you far more time than a 50gram aero benefit.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we don't want people to get overly hung up on having the "the most aero tire". As I said above... the tire may be super aero but if it isn't worth riding, who cares?
All in all, the vittoria was up to 50 grams slower. You can basically just move the curves we have put together up 50 grams to give yourself a pretty good idea of where the vittoria tires would be.
I hope that makes sense. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling