Paris-Roubaix sportive tyre

Brocade

Folks,
Am doing this sportive... Should I use a clincher or tubulars (zipp 404) ? Any tyre recommendations if clincher ?
Thanks in advance

Butterd2

I have no experience on tubs but recently did some riding in Flanders on the pave using 25mm Conti GP 4 Seasons as I wanted something a bit tougher than the GP4000's I normally use and I have to say given the beating they took I was impressed.

thiscocks

clincher unless you have a team car behind you with spare wheels... Also I would go for 28s over the cobbles. Sounds fun, how long is it?

Brocade

161km I believe, so significantly shorter. Only 31km of cobbles. Thanks for your advice.

Anonymous

I'd definitely not use Zipps on that Sportive, fine if you are racing and get the wheels for free but otherwise...

I'd go for some high spoke count clinchers with 25 or 28mm tyres.

Brocade

Thanks

thebongolian

I'm planning to run 28mm GP 4 seasons. Think girth is the mos important consideration as pinch-flats are the main worry. Also they should do most to absorb some of the harshness and grip beter as the contact patch will be larger.

I say this never having ridden any sections of PR pavé but feels right from exprience of he shitty roads of Surrey and London in the wet.

maddog 2

I run 28mm GP4Seasons on the commuter. Burly.

Monty Dog

I wouldn't run the Zipps - there are some big gaps between the stones in places and it's feasible that you could get a narrow wheel trapped and quite easily go over on the rim. Fit the fattest tyres you can fit to your strongest wheels and run them at a moderate pressure i.e. 5-6 bar. BTW most people seem to worry about the impact on their bikes which generally come out fine, its the hammering on your arms and wrists that will hurt far more!

thiscocks

thebongolian wrote:

IAlso they should do most to absorb some of the harshness and grip beter as the contact patch will be larger.

Contact patch is same size, but different shape. The grip has little to do with tyre size. They are more comfortable due to generally having more tyre deflection compared with thinner tyres.

thebongolian

thiscocks wrote:

thebongolian wrote:

IAlso they should do most to absorb some of the harshness and grip beter as the contact patch will be larger.

Contact patch is same size, but different shape. The grip has little to do with tyre size. They are more comfortable due to generally having more tyre deflection compared with thinner tyres.

That's only true if you run them at the same pressure, but you can safely run a larger tyre at fewer PSI increasing contact area and hence grip. Agree on comfort (where fewer PSI also helps allow greater deflection)

captain_oakley

Vittoria 'Pave's' (clinchers) - run on at 90/95 psi

Leave the Zipps at home.



'another coffee or are we off..'

triolly

I did the sportive ride last year on the 25mm Hutchison tubeless gyres and they held up very well, no punctures. I could run them at 85-90 psi without the fear of pinch flats.

Many bikes won't take 28mm gyres so check first especially if it is wet.

It's true what they say about the pain in the arms. Go for double layer gel hard tape at least.

Kléber

As big as you can get with as low pressure as you can.

Obviously not too low as "snakebite" punctures are very common here. Think about latex tubes as they are softer and don't suffer as much from the bite when you hit an object square on, although they will puncture too.

One suggestion is to use inner tubes with removable valve cores. In the days before the ride, open up the valve core and pour or pipe some latex sealant into the tube. MTB riders use this, it's available in bike shops. You only need a little as road tyres are much smaller than MTB ones, so take what they say for MTB tyres and divide by four. This way many punctures will get fixed automatically but it's not a universal fix, you can still suffer mishaps.

bobgfish

I've swapped frorm 23mm Conti 4000's to GP 4 Seasons 25mm. So much more comfortable and a lot more forgiving on the cobbles. I can't detect that they are any slower either and I have more confidence on them in fast corners. I was going to swap back to 4000's but after using the GP4's for a few weeks I'm starting to reconsider.

c0ugars

i wouldnt want to risk Zipp 404's on this sportive, i would use my winter wheels since they are bound to take a beating.

john_wr

I've ridden L'Eroica on Specialized Roubaix 23/25. Nice big air pocket, so give some comfort, but may not fit into a frame with close clearances. Never had a puncture in two rides of the above on loose gravel. Recommended inflation is 8 to 8.5 bars and because of air pocket size I wouldn't disagree with it. I have ridden some sections of P-R pave and would use them if I was riding again, but the smooth tread may not be the best thing if the pave sections are slippery or muddy. I would put comfort and reliability way in front of speed for this type of event.

John.