Tyre speed

aldric
aldric Posts: 161
edited April 2011 in Road beginners
I have some Schwalbe Marathan Plus' 28mm on my CX bike which used to be used for commuting, however I no longer do that and have recently started going out on the road for fun :lol:

Are the Schwalbe tyres significantly slower than the 23mm typical road bike tyres? What measurable speed difference would you expect?

Cheers.

Comments

  • Berk Bonebonce
    Berk Bonebonce Posts: 1,245
    The 28 will have reduced rolling resistance than narrower tyres, and they will offer greater comfort. More rubber in contact with the road surface will also mean more assured handling and less chance of coming off.

    Narrower tyres are lighter, and the reduced contact area with the road means less friction to hold you back, as it were.

    Swings and roundabouts.
  • Mystique
    Mystique Posts: 342
    Surely the 28's will have a higher rolling resistance than the 23's??
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    Berk Bonebonce wrote:
    The 28 will have reduced rolling resistance than narrower tyres, and they will offer greater comfort. More rubber in contact with the road surface will also mean more assured handling and less chance of coming off.

    Narrower tyres are lighter, and the reduced contact area with the road means less friction to hold you back, as it were.

    Swings and roundabouts.

    Correct, except for the fact he's running marathon plusses... Only solid rubber tyres roll worse than M+!!!!!!!!

    The skinnier tyres have less road surface friction, but have greater proportional deflection so have slightly higher rolling resistance.
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  • aldric
    aldric Posts: 161
    edited March 2011
    I take it from that then that my tyres although great for getting no punctures and worked well when I was commuting are dreadfully slow for normal road use?

    Would I notice the difference in speed if I bought some decent 23 road tyres?
  • Butterd2
    Butterd2 Posts: 937
    Yes they will be noticeably slower than some decent 23/25mm's put some 4000s on and you will feel the difference especially accelerating or on climbs. P resistance is still pretty good.
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  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    Forget the width, that's a red herring. For an otherwise identical tyre, 23c will roll imperceptibly slower than 28c. The major difference in rolling resistance will come from the structure of the tyre itself. Lighter, more flexible tyres will roll significantly faster than a Marathon Plus, which is one of the slowest-rolling road tyres you can get (but brilliant in its own way).
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  • Berk Bonebonce
    Berk Bonebonce Posts: 1,245
    If you are using 28s at the moment, best see what width tyres your rim will take. Look for markings on the rim or look on manufacturer's website.
  • colsoop
    colsoop Posts: 217
    The schwalbes are on the lardy side, 600grammes plus each aren't they ?

    If you swap down to some tyres in the 250 gram range you will feel a difference in accelerating and general riding.
  • Barteos
    Barteos Posts: 657
    As you have plenty of clearance, get some 700x35mm Schwalbe Kojaks.
    At the right pressure (60-75PSI) you'll be probably as fast as with most of 23mm's but much more comfortable and safer.
  • Buckled_Rims
    Buckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
    I have 25mm marathons on my CX bike at he moment. I've had 23mm Lugano tyres on for a few sportives last year and to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference. In fact I'll probably go up to 28mm tyres on my CX bike as the state of the pot-holed roads around my way means it'll be much better.

    On my CAAD9 I might up them from 23mm Zaffino to 25mm whatever's available.

    If the roads are smooth, go 23mm. But I suspect the roads around here on Tyneside (grit, patched, pot-holed, craply repaired....etc) makes even the very best racing tyre fairly useless and inefficient.

    Notice that some teams in the Paris-Roubaix race will be using 27mm tyres for toughness rather then speed.
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  • aldric
    aldric Posts: 161
    Buckled_Rims wrote:
    I have 25mm marathons on my CX bike at he moment. I've had 23mm Lugano tyres on for a few sportives last year and to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference. In fact I'll probably go up to 28mm tyres on my CX bike as the state of the pot-holed roads around my way means it'll be much better.

    On my CAAD9 I might up them from 23mm Zaffino to 25mm whatever's available.

    If the roads are smooth, go 23mm. But I suspect the roads around here on Tyneside (grit, patched, pot-holed, craply repaired....etc) makes even the very best racing tyre fairly useless and inefficient.

    Notice that some teams in the Paris-Roubaix race will be using 27mm tyres for toughness rather then speed.

    Thanks for this and all the other posts :)
  • redrobbo
    redrobbo Posts: 727
    Have gone to 28s from 23s on my audax type bike. Don't know they are any slower, but by heck they are more comfortable and I can laugh at (some) potholes.

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