Heavy Vs light tyres

AssOs · May 2007

Will I really notice a difference going from heavy tyres to lighter ones?

At the moment I got Conti ultra sport kevlar
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/details.a ... NTTYRF0230

Will changing them for say something like GP 4000 http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/details.a ... NTTYRF0320 make a noticable difference on a 30 mile ride?

simmers · May 2007

Yes, although more in the feel than going any faster. They'll feel more supple and comfortable, yet run at a higher pressure.

Fab Foodie · May 2007

You'll notice that the bike feels a tad livlier on the lighter tyres when accelerating or hill climbing...at a staedy rate on the flat you'll notice nothing due to weight...BUT, a lighterv tyre may be more supple and so will roll better especially over imperfect road surfaces and be a tad more comfortable. Lighter tyres may p*ncture more, but IMO are generally nicer to ride.

The pessimists of this world are rarely disappointed....
Fab's TCR1

Unknown · May 2007

I am always amazed when I change to more supple tyres. I went from cheap 37c on my hybrid to Conti tyres of the same size. It honestly felt like I had lost 5 lbs off the bike - faster accelerating, sharper steering.

Before then, I thought you only notice the difference on race bikes.

caracolito · May 2007

Well, I changed from my illustrious Armadilos to Gator Skins. Not a huge change in weight, but I did notice a change in rolling and overall speed. Mostly uphill.

The weight of the tyre is (obviously) at the outside of the wheel making it very influential due to the acceleration both forward and back all the time. 100 grams saved on the pedals are similar to 200 grams saved on the frame. So I would guess that 100 grams saved on the tyre are at least as much

A'z

<hr noshade size="1">

Going uphill fast, is easy; all you need are legs and lungs. Going downhill fast is hard... you need... balls.
Only one way to swim 100m free style - you start as hard as you can, then slowly accelerate.

JWSurrey · May 2007

Better still, go for the new GP4000 S tyres.
Only available in 23c black though.

I'm currently running GP4000 25c with reflective sidewalls - great tyres. I prefer them to the Ultrasports I have on the station hack, but that could have a lot to do with the different frame/wheels.
The GP4000s feel grippier in the wet - bizarre considering the lack of noticable tread pattern.
I think the GP4000s have the Vectran breaker belts - not sure if the Ultrasports do - which could potentially mean they're actually better protected from punctures!

hubgearfreak · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JWSurrey

bizarre considering the lack of noticable tread pattern.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

not odd at all

i'm quoting sheldon here

Tread for on-road use

Bicycle tires for on-road use have no need of any sort of tread features; in fact, the best road tires are perfectly smooth, with no tread at all!

Unfortunately, most people assume that a smooth tire will be slippery, so this type of tire is difficult to sell to unsophisticated cyclists. Most tire makers cater to this by putting a very fine pattern on their tires, mainly for cosmetic and marketing reasons. If you examine a section of asphalt or concrete, you'll see that the texture of the road itself is much "knobbier" than the tread features of a good quality road tire. Since the tire is flexible, even a slick tire deforms as it comes into contact with the pavement, acquiring the shape of the pavement texture, only while incontact with the road.

People ask, "But don't slick tires get slippery on wet roads, or worse yet, wet metal features such as expansion joints, paint stripes, or railroad tracks?" The answer is, yes, they do. So do tires with tread. All tires are slippery in these conditions. Tread features make no improvement in this.

Jacomus-rides-Gen · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">By JWSurrey
Better still, go for the new GP4000 S tyres.
Only available in 23c black though.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I second that. I've just bought a pair to replace my "cursed" Michelin Pro2 Race and I LOVE them. The difference is stunning.

_________________________
Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."

Unknown · May 2007

Can`t , unfortunately, find the thread, but there was a link to table of tyre rolling resistances which surprisingly showed that a tyre like an Armadillo was of similar rolling resistance to a much lighter tyre, although the former was very pressure dependent (Alfablue knows the link??)

JamesB MTB

dombo6 · May 2007

TRy the Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps. Usually on special at Parker International. Very supple, fast and grippy road tyre, 700 x 23 and with a max pressure of 170psi which is a great talking point if nothing else.
Great for fast club rides, commuting, I even took them down a forest trail for a laugh - well, we didn't have mountain bikes when we were kids in the 70's and hacking through the woods never did the "racing bikes" any harm [;)]

portuguese mike · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by caracolito

Well, I changed from my illustrious Armadilos to Gator Skins. Not a huge change in weight, but I did notice a change in rolling and overall speed. Mostly uphill.

The weight of the tyre is (obviously) at the outside of the wheel making it very influential due to the acceleration both forward and back all the time. 100 grams saved on the pedals are similar to 200 grams saved on the frame. So I would guess that 100 grams saved on the tyre are at least as much

A'z

<hr noshade size="1">

Going uphill fast, is easy; all you need are legs and lungs. Going downhill fast is hard... you need... balls.
Only one way to swim 100m free style - you start as hard as you can, then slowly accelerate.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I've believe that its actually a factor of 4 on the rim of a wheel so changing from say conti ultra gator skins @ 300g each to GP400 @ 200g each will save an efeective 800g (over both wheels)!! chuck in their supersonic tubes (30g lighter than standard ones) and you save another 240g!! Even the static weight saving is over half a pound, its got to be one of the cheapest, effective upgrades going.

pm

TRcp · May 2007

Also, for a given tyre construction and compound, a 25c will roll a bit better than a 23c. The extra weight of the larger tye section is only felt during acceleration, which is only an issue for bunch racing according to Mr Hallett.

domtyler · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by TR
Also, for a given tyre construction and compound, a 25c will roll a bit better than a 23c. The extra weight of the larger tye section is only felt during acceleration, which is only an issue for bunch racing according to Mr Hallett.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Yeah, none of us wants to get dropped in Le Tour de Commute! [:D]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Porridge not Petrol
________
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AssOs · May 2007

Thanks for the advise.

I decided to buy conti GP3000 which got a good write up a couple of years ago and now at a bargain price of œ11.99 if you don't mind them in black/yellow.

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=Y1041

Wind and Hills are a No-No in my book.
Wind and Hills both together is just taking the Pi$$!!!!

andrew_s · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by portuguese mike

I've believe that its actually a factor of 4 on the rim of a wheel so changing from say conti ultra gator skins @ 300g each to GP400 @ 200g each will save an efeective 800g (over both wheels)!! chuck in their supersonic tubes (30g lighter than standard ones) and you save another 240g!! Even the static weight saving is over half a pound, its got to be one of the cheapest, effective upgrades going.

pm
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It takes twice as much energy to accelerate the mass of the tyre up to speed as it would if the same mass were on the frame.

You can either think of it as adding the energy to accelerate a non-spinning tyre to that required to spin a stationary tyre so that the speed of the rim matches the road speed, or you can average the kinetic energy of the tyre around the tyre - at the bottom it's not moving (zero KE) and at the top it's moving twice as fast (KE is 4 times).

JWSurrey · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by AssOs

....I decided to buy conti GP3000 which got a good write up a couple of years ago....<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Cool - The 3000s had a very good reputation, and people moaned when they were replaced with the 4000s. You will probably find the puncture protection isn't quite as good as the 4000's Vectran breaker bead.
Just picked a 4mm sliver of glass out of my tread! I remember steaming over the mess covering the whole of my side of the road - Fortunately the "armoured" canvas didn't give-way.

GP4000 S - Yeah - got to touch a pair [:I] on the Tour of Wessex stand, Saturday - They feel markedly more tacky, which should translate in to even better grip.

Heavy Vs light tyres

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