hardtdavid
Member
As you may have been reading lately, wider tires can be as fast as the skinnies, and more comfortable. On some bikes, they also make the difference between skittish and solid-footed handling. The randonneuring and brevit-riding crowd is taking notice of this, as well as the porteur and comfort-bikers. Most non-elite-racers can benefit from the notion, too.
I think it can make a difference on the Cruzbikes. I recently upgraded to Schwalbe Marathon Supremes, mostly for their "grippy-ness," but they have nice fast rolling resistance rating, too. They come in two Sofrider sizes: 559-42 and 559-50---wider than the 559-40's it comes with, and much wider than the 1.25's some people adopt "to go faster."
As an experiment, I decided to put a 559-42 on the front, and a 559-50 on the rear. I used Frank Berto's "tire drop" chart to optimize the pressure for my weight. First, the comfort and handling of my Sofrider V1 is the best its ever been.
Yet, though these tires are wider than most would consider for speed, I am riding every bit as fast---faster, actually---as the other riders my age (and even some younger), who are riding gorgeous, carbon fiber diamond frames half the weight of the Sofrider, on pencil-width tires. They're all surprised that what looks like such a clunker can pull hills, and do stints at the front of the drafting line. (I haven't told them that I'm not even breathing hard.)
Regarding the tire size difference---I thought I'd see if a larger tire in back would change the head angle steeper enough to change the handling in a positive way. The nominal difference is 8mm, but the actual widths measure 40mm and 46mm, 6mm difference. If my trig knowledge serves me correctly, that changes the head angle by around 0.5 degrees steeper. If there is an effect on the handling, it's subtle, and hard to find since I changed the tires and pressure at the same time. It's enough to say that I love the road-feel and handling---and speed(!)---with these tires, at their optimized pressure.
Just for future reference ('cause I may yet afford a Silvio), what's the widest 700C that the Silvio can handle?
I think it can make a difference on the Cruzbikes. I recently upgraded to Schwalbe Marathon Supremes, mostly for their "grippy-ness," but they have nice fast rolling resistance rating, too. They come in two Sofrider sizes: 559-42 and 559-50---wider than the 559-40's it comes with, and much wider than the 1.25's some people adopt "to go faster."
As an experiment, I decided to put a 559-42 on the front, and a 559-50 on the rear. I used Frank Berto's "tire drop" chart to optimize the pressure for my weight. First, the comfort and handling of my Sofrider V1 is the best its ever been.
Yet, though these tires are wider than most would consider for speed, I am riding every bit as fast---faster, actually---as the other riders my age (and even some younger), who are riding gorgeous, carbon fiber diamond frames half the weight of the Sofrider, on pencil-width tires. They're all surprised that what looks like such a clunker can pull hills, and do stints at the front of the drafting line. (I haven't told them that I'm not even breathing hard.)
Regarding the tire size difference---I thought I'd see if a larger tire in back would change the head angle steeper enough to change the handling in a positive way. The nominal difference is 8mm, but the actual widths measure 40mm and 46mm, 6mm difference. If my trig knowledge serves me correctly, that changes the head angle by around 0.5 degrees steeper. If there is an effect on the handling, it's subtle, and hard to find since I changed the tires and pressure at the same time. It's enough to say that I love the road-feel and handling---and speed(!)---with these tires, at their optimized pressure.
Just for future reference ('cause I may yet afford a Silvio), what's the widest 700C that the Silvio can handle?
