If you’re a detail geek, check it out. I tried to find a link to the online Lava version, no go. It’s in the latest edition with the Punisher aero helmet wearing marine on the front.
Just when I’m about to eliminate all of the periodicals coming to the house, I stumble across this informative and well written piece by one of our own.
Basic idea…the fastest rolling tire (on a ‘real world’ course) might be one with a little less pressure in it.
I’ve always run the tire pressures at the max, rock solid. Never even considered letting any air out unless we had wet roads.
I don’t tweak my routine much anymore. But, after reading the ‘why’ behind letting a little pressure out of my tires, I think I’m going to give it a try for a couple of weeks, starting today. Of course, the article does warn you that it might take a little trial & error to find the optimum pressure. That’s a little vague for me since there are so many variables that go into any one performance on any given day. And, if I start flatting more, then I’ll bail on the trial. Anyways, it was a perspective that I had never seen. After reading it, I was reminded that I need to keep in mind that there is always something out there that I’m taking for granted, to keep reading stuff from the guru’s and mooch as much info as possible (in tri and in life!)
Nice article Jordan, gonna try it out for the remaining buildup left for a July oly and a Fall 1/2.
Because of the roads in the area, I’ve settled on about 100-105 being the ideal range. One flat in about 2500 miles riding, and that was simply due to some glass on the road. Has definitely been a bit friendlier to ride on, but still allows plenty of “coastability” when needed.
You’re running about 100-105 psi, got it. What psi did you previously use? What is the Max psi on the tires?
I know that many ride with lower psi to smooth out the ride. That doesn’t matter much to me. I always thought Max psi was optimum, to prevent flats and lowest rolling resistance ( thus faster ). However, his article drives home the point that the optimum pressure is lower (how much? I don’t know, yet), not for comfort, but for speed. That’s what I’m looking for… Any little ‘Ah-Ha’ moment that might make the bike go a little faster in the physics world, while I work on the engine in the physiology world!
I was going to say “You’re new here” but you are not. If you use the search function this has been discussed many many times over. Check out anything written by AFM and poke around on here a bit. Basically the sweet spot for an average person is around 115ish. Good luck.
Max is 120…used to run it at the 115 mark. Rides are definitely faster since the switch, particularly on rougher roads. No change in terms of flatting.
Definitely play around with it…depending on your weight, you may find that what you currently run may be your fastest set up. Being as light as I am (153 lb.), I went a little lower than I presumed would be optimal and found it faster. Going below 100 was slower.
You need to consider the size of your tire and wheel type.
For example, the non-carbon clincher Zipp wheels were optimized for 21mm tires. In order to have more contact with the road, you want a little less pressure so the tire absorbs tiny yet numerous pavement foreign objects. The more time with the tire in contact on the road, without lateral friction, the more power you spend on the ground going forward instead of up. However, you can also achieve this with Zipps new Firecrest Carbon Clinchers with a 23mm tire. The 23 will allow you to have more air pressure while maintaining more ground contact and FOD absorbtion.
At least this is what I learned in Zipp 101 yesterday…I’m a sucker for marketing
I’ve always run the tire pressures at the max, rock solid. Never even considered letting any air out unless we had wet roads.
You are not alone. Many triathletes seem to be obsessed with high psi!
I am not too much into the numbers and the rolling resistance and all that. I started rolling with lower pressure years ago - mostly for comfort. The roads in our parts can be in rough shape, and anything that takes a bit of an edge off the bumps and the buzz from bad pavement is a blessing. If it’s faster, well that’s just a bonus! I’ll take that to.
FWIW I run 23mm Vittoria EVO CX clinchers and ride with about 105 psi in them. Average about 1 on-the-road flat per year.
What I thought was interesting was that that Jordan wrote that, “the slowest feeling tire will usually be the fastest.” (paraphrase)
I’m familiar with the ST dogma that, in real world conditions, lower psi typically has less rolling resistance, but I could never square that with how much faster high PSI “felt.” I was at least glad to read that my personal observation was not unusual.
If you’re a detail geek, check it out. I tried to find a link to the online Lava version, no go. It’s in the latest edition with the Punisher aero helmet wearing marine on the front.
Just when I’m about to eliminate all of the periodicals coming to the house, I stumble across this informative and well written piece by one of our own.
Basic idea…the fastest rolling tire (on a ‘real world’ course) might be one with a little less pressure in it.
I’ve always run the tire pressures at the max, rock solid. Never even considered letting any air out unless we had wet roads.
I don’t tweak my routine much anymore. But, after reading the ‘why’ behind letting a little pressure out of my tires, I think I’m going to give it a try for a couple of weeks, starting today. Of course, the article does warn you that it might take a little trial & error to find the optimum pressure. That’s a little vague for me since there are so many variables that go into any one performance on any given day. And, if I start flatting more, then I’ll bail on the trial. Anyways, it was a perspective that I had never seen. After reading it, I was reminded that I need to keep in mind that there is always something out there that I’m taking for granted, to keep reading stuff from the guru’s and mooch as much info as possible (in tri and in life!)
Nice article Jordan, gonna try it out for the remaining buildup left for a July oly and a Fall 1/2.
yepper, very familiar with the search function, but, like usual, I made it harder than it needed to be (hey, kinda like the topic!)
did a search for ‘vertical compliance’ and got zip. never occurred to be that it might be posted under optimum psi’s or something like that.
so, no, not a newbie mistake. just a dufus mistake.
FWIW, just got back from doing 2x 20’s.
usually run 120 psi. dropped it down to 95 for the workout. All things were similar except that I’m tired right now and actually in a ‘unscheduled’ recovery week cuz my legs are feeling it. Results, subjectively, might go like others have said…felt slower, but wasn’t. Not faster, but was fighting the wind a good bit. Hit target watts and had a smooth workout.
Will stick with it, as I mentioned earlier, at least through my July 10th OLY in Chattanooga. Then I’ll decide if I’ll continue with it thru the training for the Oct. Rev 3 in S. Carolina.
