Best low rolling resistance tire? (Page 2)

Man I hope you're kidding with a statement like that.  Lets go over some pointy objects, me with Gators, and you use your Vitts.  I'd put $100 & say you'll get a flat before I do. 

This estimate is low.  Those Crr measurements are based on very smooth rollers.  Road conditions lead to much higher effective Crrs.  The difference, if memory serves, could be more like 35W instead of 25.  If you can put out 235W for an Olympic the difference in finishing time just due to tires could be more like 3 1/2 minutes.  And Gatorskins are worse than that, as you noted.

That is a lot of time to give up for not much outlay, considering what other aero stuff can cost.  You can find the EVO Corsa CXs on sale on occasion for a pretty good price, and they are near the top of the list.  One of the best bang/buck purchases around for free speed.

Probably because I got to the pointy objects at least a minute before you did on your slow tires.

I honestly don't understand the huge concern with flats; I ride on some terrible roads and have no tires that are very flat resistant.  I average 1-2 flats a year riding on Vittoria Evos (either tubular or open depending on the season), Michelin PR3's and Conty Ultrasports. 

Further, much of my riding is with others and I can think of one ride last year that we had to stop for a flat and two rides the year before.  IME, the concern athletes have with flatting does not correlate with the actual chance of flatting (unless you are riding somewhere that has a crazy hazard like those goathead thorns).

Shane

Over the last few years I've lived in two places where my experiences with flats were widely different. In one, I averaged around 5000km/flat. In the other, around 1000km/flat.

Ive been riding for over ten years and I've only had one flat. It was a pinch flat after I ran over a monster of a pothole.

I have gotten quite a few flats training but never in a race. If I do flat I'll use pit stop to fix it. 2 minutes and I'm back on the road. Another thing I don't understand is the fear of tubulars. They're easy to fix and you get far fewer flats to begin with.

I agree that there will be regional differences based on a number of factors, but to hear some people talk about flats, you would think that they are flatting every ride.

Shane

How is this exactly?

As to the fear, I would suggest that it isn't so much fear as choosing clinchers for practical reasons:

1)  Unknown - since most train on clinchers, athletes are familiar and comfortable with how to deal with flats
2)  Convienence - no need to mess with gluing tires or changing brake pads (usually)
3)  Performance - the best clinchers and the best tubulars are pretty much equal in terms of performance
4)  Cost - it is much cheaper to replace a tube than a tubular

Shane

I can believe the 1-2 flats/yr with the more durable Ultrasports, but on Evo's or PRs you gotta be riding MUCH better roads than the typical chip-n-seal (plus road hazards!) many of us ride in Midwest USA. 

Come ride here - worst roads in Canada

Lots of chipseal, potholes, no paved shoulder, lots or debris on the road at all times of year (including many of broken bottles).

Shane

Even on the low end estimate you used, 30 seconds in a sprint is a lot of time.  Just sayin....  I think that is easily podium vs not podium from 2nd to 5th in the last sprint I did.

Side not, I crashed pretty bad but I didn't flat with that combo in my last sprint   If you really want to lose some time you can lay down bloody on the side of the road for a few minutes.

Seriously though, in a sprint towards the front....1 minute is a lot of places.  Race execution, transitions, your gear can all mean the difference between top 40 or top 10 pretty easily just by having 2-3 minutes shaved off anyway you can.  If you gave me a minute head start on my next 3 mile run in a sprint I'd be more than happy to take it though

Just did my 40 mile loop today with the new Corsa EVOs and HED wheels.  Very nice combo.  Roads are concrete, asphalt, crappy asphalt, and trashed/pothole covered asphalt.  Love the sounds of the HED wheels.  Tires did great.  Nice and smooth.     


Edit:  No flat either


Edited by 3Aims 2011-01-08 2:54 PM

1. Your not going to pinch flat a tubular. 2. I don't think it's easier to change a zipp clincher than a tubular. They make the it extremely hard to get the tire off the rim.

As to point 1; if you pump up your tires it is extremely unlikely that you will pinch flat. 

Point 2 has nothing to do with few flats but I agree that good clinchers can be a pain to mount the first time.

Shane

This user's post has been ignored.

Help, please. No sacasm here at all ... can you guys boil this down for me? I understand that the Bike Tech guy with the rollers and you guys have done a LOT of homework on this ... and I trust you .... so can somebody make this easy for me.... I think I read that

Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX clinchers with Michelin latex tubes
http://www.rei.com/product/799833?preferredSku=7998330018&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-7998330018&mr:trackingCode=ED37B807-5529-DF11-BAA3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

or

Specialized S-Works Mondo S-Works Open Tubular ( a clincher ... which Spesh describes as "Open tubular design (clincher with Mondo tubular construction)" with Michelin latex tubes
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=57650

will almost certainly make me a little faster than my GP4000S with butyl? Are these links the right tires that we're talking about?

I'm not worried about flatting ... well actually I worry about it, but am in the school that believes "what will flat you on a fast tire will probably flat you on a slow tire, too." And I don't mind spending a little extra $$ for race-specific tires.

Right? No sarcasm intended ... either above is a good option ... yes?

Yes, both are good; with the Mondo being a little bit better.  Either of those tires and a latex tube will be faster than your GP4000S.  The Mondo will save about 3.5W per tire and figure another 2W per tube (latex to butyl) and you are looking at 11W saved.  This would be just over 1s/km saved at race speed.

Shane

Thanks.

The latex tube thing, is it for weight?
It seems like they loose more air overnight than a butyl tube (thinking HIM/IM bike check in).

I looked some up on flea bay and they are 60g, there's quite a few butyl light weight tubes that are 70g.

Not closed to the idea, just wondering what the driver is.

EDIT:
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-components/2011-Challenge...

I guess I should have googled first.


Edited by alex jb 2011-01-08 9:40 PM

Nope; the few grams you save are totally meaningless.  It is because of lowered rolling resistance that they are faster; you are generally looking at just over 2W per tube saved which is worth about .5s/km.

Shane

LOVE to ride Nova Scotia some day.  Looks like beautiful country.  With my bad luck your roads would soon be clean as a whistle 'cause all the road hazards would be stuck in MY tires

FWIW- I've settled on Vittoria Rubino Pro Slicks for balance of durability & performance.  In some informal roll-out testing I've done (asphalt using same bike & wheels) they roll as well as PR's but wear much better.  I still love ride of the OC Evo's, but too $$$ for everyday use.

Agree with Shane, but also agree with Alex  -- you must pump them up race morning.  Your flat kit should have a butyl tube, however... faster to change (less likely to pinch) and holds CO2 much better than latex.  Any time saved by going back to latex will be lost (and then some) by longer change time and under-inflated tires (by the end of your race, depending on where you flat).

Now who can tell me how many watts I may be saving by running a disc cover vs my stock DT Swiss 465 rim?

Ok, who's going to recommend me a race tire for about $50, the stock rubino's that came on my r500's (now on my Strikes as a temp measure) seem heavy and stiff, guessing a $15 tire like that is not going to be so hot.
I looked at the study and didn't even see them.