weight of tyres and speed

cberry

After suffering 8 flats in 3 months, and running late/missing more than a few meetings as a result of said flats, I decided on the 'go nuclear' option and purchased armadillos earlier this week. My commute is 14 miles on a road bike, and being new to the sport I'd have to say I'm very surprised by how much effect the extra weight in the tyres has had.

The result? My commuting time has gone from 55-ish minutes to 65 minutes, and while I used to arrive to work well-exercised but still fresh enough, my legs are now feeling completely shot 2/3's of the way into the ride.

I'm not sure if this is similar to others experience, but having added weight elsewhere to my setup, I was very surprised by how much I'm feeling the extra weight in the tyres. I'm sure there is some sort of engineering reason behind this ('rotational momentum' or something silly) but just wanted to spread the word. I'll probably stick with the armadillos as I can't afford being late for work, but it seems to be a much bigger drawback than I expected. Not sure if others have had a similar experience?

BentMikey

I doubt it's the extra weight, instead it's more likely to be increased rolling resistance.

Belv

I recently went from a 700x23 tyre to a 700x25 Marathon Plus and can't say it's that different. It takes a little more effort to pull away or accelerate, but this is ofset by improved comfort and less rolling resistance. Overall i'd say there was no net loss, but definitely the benefit of... well, i don't want to tempt fate but i will say i bought the marathon PLUS for a reason and 8 in 3 months was about average.

Are there any other differences? Tyre width? Pressure? Maybe it's unrelated and it's the weather conditions or increased traffic in winter that have slowed you down?

alfablue

As bentmikey says, more likely to be rolling resistance, but a 20% difference in ride time seems well beyond the difference a tyre (even a full knobbly) could make. Has anything else changed?

IsledeBlanc

Agree with above, 10 mins is far too much difference to be down to the tyres.

I changed from a good 700x23 race tyre, to Marathon Plus in 700x25. There is a significant weight difference, but only really noticable when accelerating from rest.

Sometimes a heavier tyre can give a better feeling of momentum once you're rolling along.

I'd look at some other factors to explain the slower commute time.

cberry

I thought 10 minute was strange as well. The tyre is a slick, and 700x25 having moved from a 700x26, so I doubt its the rolling resistance. I DID use a borrowed stand up pump to set it up, maybe the tyre gauge was off, I might try filling it up a bit more, though just the pinch-test suggests that its somewhere near 100 psi.

Could it because the wheel is slightly out of true? I noticed this when replacing the tyre. nothing crazy but definitely out of true. Would that add a significant amount of time?

el_presidente

Have you changed your computer settings (possibly inadvertently) to measure total elapsed time, where as previously it was only measuring when you were moving?

richardast

After seething my way through 3 punctures in 2 days with my Continental Ultra Gatorskin (gatorskin my 4sre - and that's a remark, not an invitation) tyres I'm thinking about a less sporty, more protected winter tyre.
Anybody have any experience of Spesh All Condition Armadillo or another recommendation please? Has to be a slick(ish) tyre though.
Cheers

alfablue

richardast wrote:

After seething my way through 3 punctures in 2 days with my Continental Ultra Gatorskin (gatorskin my 4sre - and that's a remark, not an invitation) tyres I'm thinking about a less sporty, more protected winter tyre.
Anybody have any experience of Spesh All Condition Armadillo or another recommendation please? Has to be a slick(ish) tyre though.
Cheers

I use Spesh All Conditions Pro (they are "Flak Jacket" rather than Armadillo), and they are the best tyres I have ever had, 4000 miles with no punctures, I run them at 110psi, great grip and handling too (last tyres were Conti Contact Sports - rubber soft as cheese, cut up and punctured easily, and Hutchinson Top Slick Gold - quite good).

Hairy Jock

richardast wrote:

After seething my way through 3 punctures in 2 days with my Continental Ultra Gatorskin (gatorskin my 4sre - and that's a remark, not an invitation) tyres I'm thinking about a less sporty, more protected winter tyre.
Anybody have any experience of Spesh All Condition Armadillo or another recommendation please? Has to be a slick(ish) tyre though.
Cheers

I having been cycling on [ur=http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/tires/race/ultra_gatorskin/ultra_gatorskin_en.htmll]Conti Gatorskins[/url] for a couple of years without problems, as with any tyre if you keep them pumped up they great...

delcol

i have found with the change in weather ie colder damper its added time to my commute around 2mins 30 to 3 mins,..

could this not be the cause i cover 6 mile each way my best summer time is 17 min 31 sec recently i struggled to hit 20 min sometimes 22 mins,..

the extra weight would effect you pulling off or climbing uphill but once rolling it shouldndt be a problem,..

may be it could be the tyre compund of your new tyres...

i put 2 new tyres on my bike a few weeks ago after suffering 5 puntures in 3 days,. it turned out to a small piece of glass stuck in my tyre i could feel it from the inside (road side repair) it was only when i had to fix the same puncture for the 5 time at home in light i seen the tiny shard in my tyre up on inspection i found a few slits so i replaced them with two new maxiss columbiere,. had these on my bike new lasted 2000 miles 1900 with out a puncture, decent grip in wet to and they roll very well.
cheap to got mine from...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=12536

tardington

I have noticed with the cold (perhaps) I've been getting a bit knackered 2/3rds into my usual commute. Nothing too bad, just feeling a bit shagged on a hill I usually stand up and do my best to blast up.

As for Spesh armadillo's (I've got the nimbus), I think they're great - my five year old ones were so worn I was cycling on the inner kevlar fabric (bits of outer rubber had fallen off completely!), and no punctures, I only changed them when I noticed!

I've had a puncture or two on my flak-jacket only front tyres though...

Not to sure about the weight difference though - I have two full panniers most days with just plain old stuff in.

Belv

richardast wrote:

After seething my way through 3 punctures in 2 days with my Continental Ultra Gatorskin (gatorskin my 4sre - and that's a remark, not an invitation) tyres I'm thinking about a less sporty, more protected winter tyre.
Anybody have any experience of Spesh All Condition Armadillo or another recommendation please? Has to be a slick(ish) tyre though.
Cheers

I'm currently testing the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres (http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/foru ... sc&start=0) and am quite impressed so far.