Tyre advice please

handful

I have a bike best described as a flat bar road bike, a Moda Chord which I am more than happy with. I am currently running the stock 28mm Kenda Kwik Roller tyres and have worn the rear out quite a bit on a turbo. I was thinking of upgrading them anyway after reading a review on the Kendas which described them as ok for winter use and puncture protection but slow and draggy in the summer. I know I would sacrifice some comfort but was wondering what sort of speed increase I could expect if I swapped them for say 25mm Conti GP4000S or maybe gatorskins?

My theory is that I could save both the Kendas for turbo use only and use the faster tyres on the road with maybe a bit of a speed boost to make it easier to keep up with a roadie mate who runs 23mm gatorskins when we go out.

If I was likely to see 2-3 mph gain on my average speed (currently around 17mph) I would be happy to fork out the £60 but if the difference would be negligible I'll just wear out the current tyres as I am currently doing. Any advice or opinions welcome.

ugo.santalucia

handful wrote:

I have a bike best described as a flat bar road bike, a Moda Chord which I am more than happy with. I am currently running the stock 28mm Kenda Kwik Roller tyres and have worn the rear out quite a bit on a turbo. I was thinking of upgrading them anyway after reading a review on the Kendas which described them as ok for winter use and puncture protection but slow and draggy in the summer. I know I would sacrifice some comfort but was wondering what sort of speed increase I could expect if I swapped them for say 25mm Conti GP4000S or maybe gatorskins?

My theory is that I could save both the Kendas for turbo use only and use the faster tyres on the road with maybe a bit of a speed boost to make it easier to keep up with a roadie mate who runs 23mm gatorskins when we go out.

If I was likely to see 2-3 mph gain on my average speed (currently around 17mph) I would be happy to fork out the £60 but if the difference would be negligible I'll just wear out the current tyres as I am currently doing. Any advice or opinions welcome.

2-3 mph is a bit optimistic, considering they're both road tyres... I would be over the moon with a 0.5 mph difference... for the remanining 2.5 you are probably looking at an extra 70-80 Watts output in your quads. No tyre can help you that much at that speed.

Conti 4000 are excellent and the Gatorskins are fast enough and offer very good puncture and sidewall resistance.

fosst

If I could get 2 mph faster average for £60 I would be a bit more than just happy!!
On the other hand, flogging a pair of Kendas around would make me pretty unhappy and I would pay the £60 to get rid of them. Contis are not my current tyres but they worked well for me in the past (went to Michelin Pro3 race. I prefer the feel/grip although there was nothing measureable between the brands). You could fit 25 rear and 23 front to maintain a bit of comfort. Once you ride on them, ok you might not get 2-3 mph, you will feel it was money well spent.

handful

:oops: Yeh, I guess it was a bit ambitious thinking about it......probably why I posted in the beginners forum!! If I'm able to pull an extra half a mile on my mate over a 20 mile ride (or 1 mile on a 40 miler) it would probably be him puffing his cheeks out rather than me and I should be more than happy with that!! Thanks guys.

rolf_f

ugo.santalucia wrote:

2-3 mph is a bit optimistic, considering they're both road tyres... I would be over the moon with a 0.5 mph difference...

Yep - infact, any measurable difference that might not be down to air temperature, wind direction and strength, how many pasties you ate in the last 24 hours etc would be worth throwing a party for!

For 2mph I think swapping from a heavy MTB to a lightweight carbon road bike is more likely to do the trick!

handful

I'm sure you are right but makes me wonder why so many are obsessed with trimming a few grammes off every component! Especially when people talk about reduced rotaional weight in the wheels making such a difference!

ugo.santalucia

handful wrote:

I'm sure you are right but makes me wonder why so many are obsessed with trimming a few grammes off every component! Especially when people talk about reduced rotaional weight in the wheels making such a difference!

It makes some difference, not a 3 mph difference... at 17 mph on the flat you need an extra 70 Watts (give or take) output to get to 20 mph... there is no wheel, tyre, frame or combination of those which can gift you with an advantage worth 70 Watts.
Of course if you start at 17 mph with a MTB with knobbly tyres and move to a road bike, the poor power transmission/conversion of the former is probably worth 70 watts.
People who think they can get such advantage by flogging 1 K + in a set of Zipps will probably get disappointed