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forum
Tyre width
Just bought these: Vredestein Fortezza Senso Xtreme Weather and manged to click the 700 x 28s instead of the 23s by mistake - do I keep the 28s and use until the spring or return them and get new 23s? I've only ever ridden on 23s.
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18 comments
interesting comments - I can feel a wheel upgrade coming on...
Optimal tyre width for vast majority of non-competing riders = what the pros use + 3-5mm. A typical amateur is slower, heavier and less aero so it's completely illogical to assume that the optimal tyre width should be the same as what the pro cyclist use. It's pretty obvious that most of roadies are brainwashed by marketers and journos and use what they are told without even testing it themselves. Almost all rolling and air resistance tyre tests are pretty useless to determine the optimal tyre width for given conditions. Tyre rolling on the real road will have much greater resistance than on smooth steel drums in a laboratory. Something like cobbles or rumble strips can require 1/2 of extra power to maintain the same speed. Wind tunnel tests again don't represent typical speeds achieved by most of riders. We don't normally ride at +25mph, do we? Rolling resistance (on typical road surfaces) tends to be underestimated while air drag quite the opposite. It's not that difficult to spend a few days riding the same tyres in different widths in order to find out that 28mm or wider (run at appropriately lower pressure are at least as fast o r faster.... Put you glorified £ 200-400 computers into good use people and try things for yourself instead of forming opinions on assumptions and selected pieces of incomplete, irrelevant and misleading marketing BS.
Indepth look at the subject here:
http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/road_tyres/GP4000sII/WideRaceTyr...
Interestingly GP4000 28mm has the lowest rolling resistance of all tyres in the test.
But have a look at the Schwalbe numbers, the 23mm One has a lower rolling resistance than either the 25 or 28. So don't just assume wider is better.
The other point that must be stated, the aerodynamic differences are greater than the rolling resistance differences. If you are looking for marginal gains you have to consider the rim and the tyre together.
Precisely. It's not as simple as 'wider is better'.
Of course I'm glad the OP is happy with his 28's, I just take issue with some of the assertions on here..
Conti GP 4000s 23 are reckoned to be 24.7mm wide anyway (the 25s are 25.7, I believe), so I just run Conti 23 and have done with it.
I'm unconvinced,
I ran 25mm Open Corsas all of last year, then went to 23mm this year ( they were a hell of a lot cheaper and instock when I needed them) I've not even noticed any difference.
Marketing bollocks.
They will feel really comfy compared to 23mm.
Actually it's been shown recently that wider is better. All the pro teams have moved from ~23mm to ~25mm tyres and will probably go wider than that in coming years. As Tour magazine and others have shown, a wider tyre provides lower rolling resistance that far outweighs it's aerodynamic effects. This also has the nice side effect of being able to run lower pressures, improving handling and comfort. Overall I'd say that your mistake was quite a good one!
The trouble with that theory (though correct) is how many modern bikes will take a 28mm tyre>
I bought a Dolan Dual Carbon for winter which is advertised as taking 25mm tyres and is fitted out with mudguard eyes. Thats all very well but with 25mm GP4000's they rub the mudguard and are unuseable. So I am back on 23mm.
Once the guards come off I will go back to 25's but I wonder how many bikes built with short reach brakes will take 28mm at all?
Thanks - 28s went on fine and actually they look quite nice -
Thanks - 28s went on fine and actually they look quite nice -
In terms of 'wider is better', and 'rolling resistance far outweighs aerodynamic effects' - I'm not convinced it's that simple or even holds true.
Presumably there's a sweet spot where weight, aerodynamics (interaction with rim), rolling resistance, comfort and speed are ideal for your type of riding.
Many pro's may have moved to 25's, but that's probably not before getting the latest wide rims to match the profile of the tyre and optimise the aerodynamics.. and doing this isn't a realistic option for many consumers, financially.
Besides, personal preference and manufacturer compatibility are likely to be the overriding factors..
I've been on 23's this winter and not had any issues so far..
Keep 28mm. You're not going to be slower (eve though it may feel that way). No need to use 23mm unless you do TT.
thanks for the responses - will keep them if they fit
Does your frame and fork accept 28mm tyres? They won't on many road bikes, so you might want to check before making any decision about keeping them. If they do fit, I say give them a go, you might just like them
how much clearance do you have? I have fitted a 25 to the back of my bike in place of a 23 and whilst it fits there is very little clearance on the mudguard.
28mm will feel so nice in comparison. Slightly slower, but it's winter no records need to be set only staying upright