Bike speed

lmannion

What would make more difference to the speed of a bike, both acceleration and top speed.

Thin tyres with liitle grip, ie slicks, or slightly wider tyres with more grip (nobbles) but lighter?
I currently use continental travel contacts in 1.75's that are quite smooth and are about 650g's, but am looking at the twister supersonics in 1.9's but are half the weight but with more grip.

Most of my riding is done on roads and canal paths so mud does'nt cause a problem.

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Cheers.

The Spiderman

Low rolling resistance,affects speed,weight affects agility and acceleration.
Of the 2 a tyre I believe a tyre with low rolloing resistance will have a more noticeable effect for road riding.
For your riding,slicks or semi slicks would be ideal.

BlackSpur

For road riding the I think Travel Contacts will be faster than the Twisters - they will have much lower rolling resistance thanks to the slick centre. I would imagine that the Twisters would be very susceptible to punctures too, weighing only 370g! I have found the Travel Contacts, on the other hand, to have excellent tesistance to punctures.

supersonic

Above certain speeds, air resitance is the big player. A longer, lower stance, and tight fitting clothing has a noticable effect.

Tyre pressure too - thinner tyres allow more pressure, and also reduce air resistance.

indysmith

supersonic wrote:

thinner tyres allow more pressure, and also reduce air resistance.

...And friction on the ground, I'd imagine.

lmannion

Thanks for the replies lads, thats answered my question. Looks like I'll stick with the continentals

Cheers.