Wider tyres roll faster ?

forward_loop

Wider tires roll faster than narrower ones: Riders have argued for years that narrower tires – especially on the road – roll faster and are more efficient than wider ones when in fact, the opposite is true. According to Wheel Energy, the key to reducing rolling resistance is minimizing the energy lost to casing deformation, not minimizing how much tread is in contact with the ground. All other factors being equal, wider casings exhibit less 'bulge' as a percentage of their cross-section and also have a shorter section of deflected sidewall.

as per the news article.

Should we all be moving up to 25's ?? having read the article one may ask why anyone uses 23's

Running 23's for most things am I in the minortiy ?

Slimbods

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/b ... yths-29245

Interesting stuff, but I'd like to see the raw data. I wonder why tyre pressures aren't mentioned?

Zachariah

This is why HED and other wheel makers made wider-rimmed wheels.

emx

the article is nothing more than a promotional case study written by Specialized's PR people. If you're convinced, why stop at 25s...?? Why not go out and race on 28s and 32s and watch the licence points roll in.....

adjusting pressure will make much more real world difference than changing width...

SteveR_100Milers

emx wrote:

the article is nothing more than a promotional case study written by Specialized's PR people. If you're convinced, why stop at 25s...?? Why not go out and race on 28s and 32s and watch the licence points roll in.....

adjusting pressure will make much more real world difference than changing width...

I'd agree - It's easier to get a 23mm tyre to 140 psi than a 25mm etc etc. I'll carry on with 23mm tyres and I'm 90Kg.

dennisn

I think it would great to verify that wider tires are "better" than narrow ones. I can't help but think of all the know it alls, who constantly tell everyone which tires are best, being proven wrong. I really hope it's true. If only to satisfy my jaded sense of humor.

Anonymous

Wiggle are to blame.

owenlars

I think you'll find that for any given pressure a wider tyre has less rolling resistance than a narrower tyre. (i.e. a 25mm tyre at 50 psi has greater roilling resistance than a 32mm at 50psi). That is slightly different to rolls faster as other factors like air resistance need to be taken into account. Also a higher pressure reduces rolling resistance and narrow tyres are capabale of being run at much higher pressures than wide tyres.

kieranb

indeed, recently commutimg on my MTB with 2.1 inch knobblies I noticed I was much faster than on my road bike with 23mm tyres.

sfichele

What I'd like to know is the difference between rolling resistance when the wheel is at an angle to the road. Did the testers only test wheels that where perpendicular and driven by a smooth motor? The pictures suggest that!

When you ride, you wobble from side to side slightly with each pedal stroke, will a wide tyre still roll better in this case than a thinner tyre?

seanoconn

I've just fitted some fat motorbike tyres to my road bike. Its too heavy to ride uphill or on the flat anymore but its pretty damn fast downhill.

sfichele

Yeh - bring on the TDF !

owenlars

kieranb wrote:

indeed, recently commutimg on my MTB with 2.1 inch knobblies I noticed I was much faster than on my road bike with 23mm tyres.

Wiggle are to blame!

ozzzyosborn206

wider tyres may have less rolling resistance? but they are heavier and require wider rims which are also heavier, its all swings and round abouts so i'll stick with 23s you will never be able to tell the difference anyway

Monty Dog

So, how many of you have tried a 25mm race tyre over a similar 23mm? I was on a club ride last year, a clubmate riding a Specialized SL3 with Di2 and Zipp wheels was dismayed to find he couldn't roll much quicker downhills against me riding 32mm file-tread cross tubs inflated to 6 bar - Continental's own research shows that any tyre pressure over 110psi is pointless - they just go bang with a louder 'pop' - the factor here is the road surface, which doesn't get any smoother regardless of how hard you pump your tyres! Higher pressures are only needed on the track. As well as giving a hasher ride and less grip, higher pressure tyres puncture more easily too.

dennisn

I switched a few years back from a high pressure 23 to a 25 (Tufo tubular clinchers both) and it sure felt smoother(ride wish) and faster. Then again the 25's were one of their premium tires and the 23's were more of a trainer.

simon_e

http://smtp.schwalbetires.com/tech_info ... resistance

(also reproduced in the tech data PDF on schwalbe.co.uk)

28mm tyres certainly don't require wider rims, though I haven't tried 32mm on my road bike. The weight difference between 23mm and 25mm tyres of the same model is about 15-20g (<1 oz). If the weight difference bothers you then have one less bite of that sandwich :roll:

I tried some Specialized All Condition 26x1.0" on my winter bike (rigid MTB) but having gone back to the 1.5" City Jets it's now comfier and I don't appear to be going any slower despite them being twice the weight of the Specialized.

kieranb

well at some point the increase in weight and drag will counter act the better rolling resistance else why stop at 32mm tyres etc? As the weight increase seems small going from 23 to 25mm I would hazard a guess that the improvement in rolling resistance is of a similar magnitude?