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tyre width

slatsslats Posts: 11
This is a quick question about tyre width. I currently use 700 x 20 as I always thought that 'the thinner the faster'. However I entered an event in the Scottish Highlands today (Nairn Challenge) and there were a lot of quick people on some pretty expensive bikes using far wider tyres. Amittely the road surface was a bit gravelly but it was certainly suitable for road bikes. My question is, does tyre width make that much difference to speed due to rolling resistance? And in general, do people change tyres depending on conditions or just stick with the same set regardless?

Comments

  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    Maybe you should try to shed your body width intead of... or ... as well as ... tyre width!!
  • learnerlearner Posts: 100
    Slats, I remember reading an article in a cycling mag, which was a debate on your question. the basic outcome as i remember was that the rolling resistance was negligable (is that how it's spelt) between tyres from 20-23 wide.

    The only thing I do myself is drop approx 15-20psi on wet days to increase the footprint of the tyre a tad. This will obviously increase drag but, to be honest I can't tell the difference, it does make the bike less skittish though.

    Also I use armidilos in winter and i have a pair of bontrager's for the good weather. My riding is nowhere near good enough to warrant mega expensive racing tyres.

    Good luck and may all your bends be open.

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