Thanks for the replies to my last post - still plugging away here in corporate land (haven’t thrown it all in to train full time yet!) but qualified for IM Australia in a half I did last weekend so all good.
This isn’t a clinchers v. tubulars question, but I often hear people talking about their tyres having more “zipp” or “punch” and feeling “better” on the road than other tyres they have ridden.
Can anyone put a finer point on this? What makes a tyre “zippy”? What do you use?
I once did the research for an extensive article on tires (tyres) but never completed the article becasue it became so darn cumbersome.
In a nutshell I recall (and may be totally wrong here so I hope someone else chimes in) that a tire’s ability to deform is a significant factor in its rolling resistance. An engineer from Michelin (who actually do make tires, one of very few actual tire manufacturers in the bike industry) talked to me about things like “hysteresis” as being a factor in a tire accumulating heat and creating rolling resistance. It was complex but fascinating.
I found out that flexible tires tended to offer less resistance and therefore, presumably, less rolling resistance. Also, the age old question of tire pressure was addressed and the answer I got was the reason why I never run my tires any greater than 115 psi at the most.
I’m not exactly sure what goes into making a tire “fast”, but I do perceive a difference in better tires. My favorites are Michelin, Continental, Vredestein, Hutchinson for clinchers and for tubulars TUFO and Continental with TUFO the overwhelming winner.
A few “assumptions” I have arrived at from personal experience here in the store:
Narrow may be bad. Anything narrower than 20mm is suspect. 19mm tubulars are my limit. 18mm tires are out of the question, even though there aerodynamics are good.
You need to air your tires to the correct pressure every time you ride.
Take a tip from the late Michael R. Rabe and always use talc when installing inner tubes in clinchers. It imporves ride quality and tube life.
Expensive tires do often times seem to be better within reason. $50 clincher tires seem to ride very, very nice but super exotic $50+ “hand made” or “open tubulars” are fragile, don;t mount very securely and are generally moody in that they loose a tremendous amount of air in a short time. I avoid them for myself and my customers.
So-called “flat resistant” tires such as Continental Gatorskins do seem to reduce the incidence of punctures but ride like a solid rubber tire. You trade durability for ride quality or vice-versa.
Be picky and precise when mounting your tires and get them on correctly before inflation.
-Tubulars ARE always better than clinchers for weight, performance, durability, comfort, traction, rolling resistance and speed of flat repair in race conditions.
Contrary to misinformation gluing tubulars is not a hassle. With instruction it is simple and straightforward.
while we’re on the subject, how are tufos for flat resistance (specifically the jet special)? i’ve had great luck with conti sprinters but am considering a change. i’m very curious as to why many of you are so dead set on tufos?
also, i’m doing my first im this summer (imlp). should i be concerned with putting on new tires a few weeks before the race? the tires on my race wheels are only a couple of seasons old, have only race mileage on them, and still look great. should i heed to the adage “better safe than sorry” or direct the cash elsewhere?