Fast tyres or better bearings?
wesk
Posts: 131
So I'm after a new set of tyres. Thinking want grippy, but fast and free rolling as I only have one bike. Something like (if I believe the reviews) Knobby Nics
But then I got to thinking over a glasss of vino.......
Back in the day (circa '97) I was quite a handy xc whippet. I used (for training purposes) do the local road clubs hilly, 10ml and 25ml time trials on the mountain bike (at that time the hack, a 95 Orange Clockwork). One Tuesday evening I thought, right lets have a crack at this and beat a few of the better roadies and stuck a set of slicks on and a pair of Onza L-bend bar ends to get that low tuck position. Hit the big ring and off I went like a leg shaving, lycra wearing baby oiled society reject. Honestly, I can't remember the overall result, but I only beat my younger brother by about 15 seconds over 8.5 hilly miles, which considering he was on a mtb with riser bars and a set of 2.2 hyper knobbly something or the other tyres made me feel rubbish.
So we set off for home and free wheeled down a long hill to home. Then I realised something, me in a tuck, him in an upright, look at the scenary position, me on the the slicks, him on the knobblieshe steadily pulled away from me with no peddling action at all. He had Hope hubs, I had shimano LX. ....
So, the slicks and the tucked more aerodynamic position was making up less than a better set of bearings (the hubs work the same, it is the only differance) differance to the speed, but I never pulled those hubs apart to find out what was so good about them. There was nothing at all worng with the servicing of my hubs, no brake drag, and we weighed in within 4kg of each other including the bike - nothing other than the design liimitations of the equipment we were on.
I guess my question is this, having been out of mountain biking for 10 years, and now wanting to squeeze a little more spped out of my now flabby physique, are there hubs that are a good and as fast as the hopes were then, is it totaly level (I don't believe it for a second) playing field or can I have f-off massive tyres and still fast rolling by spending a huge amount on better bearings?
Essay over, vino drunk!
Thoughts please......
But then I got to thinking over a glasss of vino.......
Back in the day (circa '97) I was quite a handy xc whippet. I used (for training purposes) do the local road clubs hilly, 10ml and 25ml time trials on the mountain bike (at that time the hack, a 95 Orange Clockwork). One Tuesday evening I thought, right lets have a crack at this and beat a few of the better roadies and stuck a set of slicks on and a pair of Onza L-bend bar ends to get that low tuck position. Hit the big ring and off I went like a leg shaving, lycra wearing baby oiled society reject. Honestly, I can't remember the overall result, but I only beat my younger brother by about 15 seconds over 8.5 hilly miles, which considering he was on a mtb with riser bars and a set of 2.2 hyper knobbly something or the other tyres made me feel rubbish.
So we set off for home and free wheeled down a long hill to home. Then I realised something, me in a tuck, him in an upright, look at the scenary position, me on the the slicks, him on the knobblieshe steadily pulled away from me with no peddling action at all. He had Hope hubs, I had shimano LX. ....
So, the slicks and the tucked more aerodynamic position was making up less than a better set of bearings (the hubs work the same, it is the only differance) differance to the speed, but I never pulled those hubs apart to find out what was so good about them. There was nothing at all worng with the servicing of my hubs, no brake drag, and we weighed in within 4kg of each other including the bike - nothing other than the design liimitations of the equipment we were on.
I guess my question is this, having been out of mountain biking for 10 years, and now wanting to squeeze a little more spped out of my now flabby physique, are there hubs that are a good and as fast as the hopes were then, is it totaly level (I don't believe it for a second) playing field or can I have f-off massive tyres and still fast rolling by spending a huge amount on better bearings?
Essay over, vino drunk!
Thoughts please......
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Comments
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wesk wrote:can I have f-off massive tyres and still fast rolling by spending a huge amount on better bearings?
No. As long as they're working right, the amount of bearing drag in any hub is basically irrelevant to your road speed, the drag is tiny. If you're a top end racer or similiar that sort of loss starts to look more important but you won't see any difference in speed between any 2 halfdecent sets in good condition and adjusted right.Uncompromising extremist0 -
If anything cup and cone hubs have less drag than cartridge bearings.0
