Speeding up my comuter

spaniamania

Hi
Currently riding a Kona Jake to and from work.
The ride is mixed terrain.
I jump off kerbs, ride paths and do some roads which have craters in.
I like the size of the tyres but still need to jump off kerbs without buckling the wheels.
I want to speed up my ride without restricting how and where I ride.
Is it worth upgrading the Mavic CxP22 wheels?
What tyres might be worth using?
(Currently using Nokian Ravagozzi 700 x 35)
Will I notice the difference?

dbmnk

no

DonDaddyD

I'll bite, why do you feel it necessary to jump off kerbs?

If said kerb jumping is preceded by riding on pavements without a bicycle designated path then that, generally, is something most of us here do not advocate,.

lost_in_thought

I have no idea about the specific tyres and wheels that you posted, but if you can jump off kerbs without buckling the wheels now, changing the tyres won't make any difference.

Although, I echo DDD's question about why you have to jump off kerbs in the first place...?

gbsahne001

or ride on the path / pavement

kelsen

On the rare occasions where I have had to navigate kerbs, I have never felt that my wheels couldn't handle it. After all, we're talking about small hops onto or off them at low speeds. If you're jumping on or off the pavement like an idiot, then perhaps you deserve to have your wheels buckled.

roger_merriman

swap the nobblies for a same sized touring type type such as the marathons should give a bit of speed.

more speed will be had from sticking to the roads and fitting road race tires.

In fairness some of the shared paths etc, do forget about dropped kerbs etc. but thats not the impression the OP is giving I'll grant.

spaniamania

Ok thanks.
Guess its time to find a new route and a new bike.
No, Im not trying to mow down pedestrians, rather the oppiosite.
Around these parts all our cycle routes are shares with pedestrians.
Blue circle with bike and pedestrian in sign.
Which I understand arent really shared at all.
If there is a pedestrian on the path we are expected not to be on the cycle route.
Though maybe I do like to jump off the path with a bit of zest.

Eau Rouge

I'd stick to the roads and fit 28mm road tyres (or even 25mm road tyres)

Wrath Rob

I'm running a road bike with 23mm tyres and I've had no issues when I've had to hop off of a shared path and back onto the road. The only problem I've had was hitting a large pot-hole at around 28mph when drafting a taxi. Yes I learned my lesson about drafting and trusting Westminster Council to maintain roads, but I was also fortunate that the only damage was a deflated rear, no off.

mudcovered

roger merriman wrote:

swap the nobblies for a same sized touring type type such as the marathons should give a bit of speed.

Are you sure about that? I'd imagine swapping a lightweight CX tyre for a marathon might actually make things worse given the extra weight.

Mike

spaniamania

I got to agree the tyre in question is heavier than I have got and would increase the weight of the rotating mass.
Starting to think it might be time to change the bike and fit 28s.
Does anyone know of a 35mm tyre thats light slick and fast?

Eau Rouge

spaniamania wrote:

I got to agree the tyre in question is heavier than I have got and would increase the weight of the rotating mass.
Starting to think it might be time to change the bike and fit 28s.
Does anyone know of a 35mm tyre thats light slick and fast?

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, and heaven forbid I'd advise against the n+1 rule, but why would you need to change the bike to fit 28's? On the road 28's are still on the wide side, but you might need new wheels to fit 25's, depending on what your current wheels will take.

soy_sauce

mudcovered wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

swap the nobblies for a same sized touring type type such as the marathons should give a bit of speed.

Are you sure about that? I'd imagine swapping a lightweight CX tyre for a marathon might actually make things worse given the extra weight.

Mike

i changed from my lightweight CX tyre(Fast Track Control) to my heavy semi-slicks (land-cruiser) and it reduced my commute time from 15mins to 12mins which was 20% faster.

spaniamania

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, and heaven forbid I'd advise against the n+1 rule, but why would you need to change the bike to fit 28's? On the road 28's are still on the wide side, but you might need new wheels to fit 25's, depending on what your current wheels will take.

The bike im riding takes 35s.
Sure I could get a 28 on the wheel, perhaps even a 25.
The thinner the tyre the more chance of a buckled wheel.
If I go for a thinner tyre I will have to be more careful in my riding.
This would suggest stick to the roads and get a TT machine

spaniamania

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, and heaven forbid I'd advise against the n+1 rule, but why would you need to change the bike to fit 28's? On the road 28's are still on the wide side, but you might need new wheels to fit 25's, depending on what your current wheels will take.

The bike im riding takes 35s.
Sure I could get a 28 on the wheel, perhaps even a 25.
The thinner the tyre the more chance of a buckled wheel.
If I go for a thinner tyre I will have to be more careful in my riding.
This would suggest stick to the roads and get a TT machine

roger_merriman

mudcovered wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

swap the nobblies for a same sized touring type type such as the marathons should give a bit of speed.

Are you sure about that? I'd imagine swapping a lightweight CX tyre for a marathon might actually make things worse given the extra weight.

Mike

weights not all it's cracked up to be, and nobs verse light tread is noticable. Even the pluses in 38mm form roll well.