Road bike tyres

[pedrobedro]

only used for takin the dog for a run every nite and he sometimes pulls me if i shout rabbits or cats

Doesn't that confuse him ? I can imagine the dog stopping till he sees whether it's a rabbit or a cat

 

[Tangledfeet]

Yes, I would say spending a bit more on road bike tyres is worthwhile; it frightens me how small the surface area in contact with the road is. At high speed and higher tyre pressures I wouldn't want to compromise.

I got into road riding ten years ago and was regularly doing 70km or so, sometimes the odd metric century, but don't have a road bike now. I used to think that it was nonsense to suggest you could 'feel' the difference between different tyres but then I tried some Veloflex Open Tubulars - they look odd in the packet as they're totally flat, hence 'open' but once fitted and pumped up they were so supple.

I never got into tubeless on any any road bikes I had but I am tubeless for mountain and 'gravel' bikes.

 

[GRW]

Yes, I would say spending a bit more on road bike tyres is worthwhile; it frightens me how small the surface area in contact with the road is. At high speed and higher tyre pressures I wouldn't want to compromise.

I got into road riding ten years ago and was regularly doing 70km or so, sometimes the odd metric century, but don't have a road bike now. I used to think that it was nonsense to suggest you could 'feel' the difference between different tyres but then I tried some Veloflex Open Tubulars - they look odd in the packet as they're totally flat, hence 'open' but once fitted and pumped up they were so supple.

I never got into tubeless on any any road bikes I had but I am tubeless for mountain and 'gravel' bikes.

I have a road bike (though this last year or so I've been only used it occasionally). Tiny volume, 3-digit pressures & our bad road surfaces aren't a great combo! A tubed road tyre goes flat incredibly fast - potentially way way faster than you can stop from any pace - & a front blowout is no fun.
My wheels can't run tubeless, but I do inject sealant (usually for my MTB) into tubes to try & give things (& me!) a better chance.

Tubeless, much greater volume, much lower pressures & sealant makes the MTB a much better proposition. Even if you "burp" a tyre (forcing air past the rim/bead seal) by deflecting the tyre too much on rough terrain, you tend to retain enough air & support to retain control & even continue to ride carefully out of a section to reinflate.

Tbh I don't really enjoy road riding at all - MTB is much more engaging and entertaining, and in much nicer surroundings, with no traffic to squish you.... road cycling for me is just "exercise & less boring than the gym or the pool" (I can't be doing with those).

 

[Maker]

When it gets too wet I'll put my "winter tyres" on, aka 36mm gravel tyres.

So far I'm happy with the 28mm Gatorskins, but I wasn't unhappy with the 23mm UltraSports. Oiling my chain added 2.4mph to my commute today compared to last Monday, it was drier than a dry thing.

 

[DanZac]

Tubeless, much greater volume,

Why does a tubeless tyre have a greater volume?

Surely the tyre volume is the available area within the tyre for the air to expand into, which will be the same if its got a tube in or not, won't it? (Minus the volume taken up by the wall thickness of the tube, which I can't imagine equates to much?)

 

[GRW]

Why does a tubeless tyre have a greater volume?

Surely the tyre volume is the available area within the tyre for the air to expand into, which will be the same if its got a tube in or not, won't it? (Minus the volume taken up by the wall thickness of the tube, which I can't imagine equates to much?)

I was referring to the MTB's tyres having a far greater volume than road cycle tyres, not tubed v tubeless on the same wheel.

 

[brightspark]

Doesn't that confuse him ? I can imagine the dog stopping till he sees whether it's a rabbit or a cat

either way cat rabbit blackbird pigeon if it moves he goes for it he nabbed a wood pigeon in the garden tother night

 

[pedrobedro]

either way cat rabbit blackbird pigeon if it moves he goes for it he nabbed a wood pigeon in the garden tother night

We had a Fox Terrier like that, she once caught a rabbit while still on the flexy lead

 

[Maker]

Don't know about these modern sizes, my bike has 26x 1and 1/4 tyres...

I don't think I've riden 26" tyres since I was twelve years old.

 

[minimutly]

I don't think I've riden 26" tyres since I was twelve years old.

Same as the modern stuff, wheels go around...

 

[Tangledfeet]

Why does a tubeless tyre have a greater volume?

One related advantage of tubeless is that the tyres are run at a lower pressure, enhancing traction, grip and comfort as there's larger surface area contact with whatever surface you're on. If I recall, perhaps some 15yrs ago or more, Schwalbe did some science into this and concluded that efficiency in terms of rolling resistance wasn't compromised.

 

[GRW]

One related advantage of tubeless is that the tyres are run at a lower pressure, enhancing traction, grip and comfort as there's larger surface area contact with whatever surface you're on. If I recall, perhaps some 15yrs ago or more, Schwalbe did some science into this and concluded that efficiency in terms of rolling resistance wasn't compromised.

I'd question the conclusion there is no increase in drag with lower pressures.
For sure you can get away with lower pressures tubeless (as no getting pinch flats, though dinging rims is likely if you overdo it, as the volume in road tyres is so little), but there's going to ge a bit more drag from a larger contact patch (though it's marginal - which will still be enough for the Strava-obsessed to bang in the max psi).
I run my road cycle on less than max psi, but then I'd rather have fractionally more drag than turn my wrists into rubble on the poor road surfaces.

 

[brightspark]

the tire i bought for mine was very thin and hard . no drag at all. brilliant . downside is hit any slight bump and you might as well use solid tires realy hurts on the backside

 

[jsf55]

Robert Millar wrote many years ago that his best option for winter bike tyres was a 28mm tubed with a 21mm tubeless inside clincher rims for training the extra weight helped with the training too ! There again he wen't right of at a tangent