How big is too big? How soft is too soft?
The Rider is the best book ever written about Cycling. I don’t mean that figuratively, I literally mean that literally. I say this despite having had my hand in writing our own Book about Cycling. What makes this book great is not just the prose, which is immaculate, but the spirit of the Velominatus that permeates the work. My friend @ErikdR recently sent me a copy in the original Dutch and, to my amazement, the English translation loses very little of the subtext that most translations do. Still, some expressions as they are written in Dutch carry so much meaning that it is impossible to translate into a foreign tongue. This is the essential underlying art, the intangible essence that separates language from communication.
Early in the book, Krabbé rides a short warm-up and upon reaching his turn-around point, climbs off to answer the call of nature. As he remounts, he carefully wipes his tires clean before setting off back towards the start/finish line. I had never noticed that bit of the book before but the Dutch version used a particular turn of phrase that expressed, if not a love, then an unusual degree of care given to an inanimate object.
And I realized, at that moment, that Cyclists today don’t love their tires anymore; clinchers have desensitized us against the miracle of riding on a membrane supported only by air. Tubulars, on the other hand, make you work to appreciate their miracle. You have to huff some glue (technically that counts as a win-win), you have to align the tyre properly, you have to keep the glue off both the braking surface and the sidewall, which seems like a paradox to the uninitiated. Tubulars make you work for it, they help you appreciate that a tire isn’t a bit of disposable kit; it is a commitment towards mutual benefit.
I was raised like every other Merckx-fearing Velominatus: on a strict diet of Rule #5, long hours in the saddle, and 19mm tires pumped to the highest number the sidewall said to pump them to. Which was usually around 10 bar (150 psi). Simple physics: less surface area meant less friction, and everyone knows friction is an asshole.
Until the last few years, I’ve ridden 23mm tires at 8 bar, no questions asked. In the past few years, however, we’ve come to understand that lower pressures and wider tires provide some significant benefits, like being faster and more comfortable, to pick two. I have accepted this transition like a toddler “accepts” his vegetables.
Like Grandpa adjusting to color film in his camera, I have gradually moved towards wider tires at lower pressures. I’ve been experimenting with 25mm, 26mm, and 27mm tires for the last few seasons, pumped up anywhere from 6.5 to 8.5 bar. (On the cobbles in Northern Europe, I ride them at 5 to 5.5 bar, depending on the conditions.) Empirically, the difference in ride quality by tire pressure comes down first to the quality of the tire and its materials, the weight and riding style of the rider, countered by the road conditions.
Mileage may vary based on your weight and tire, but for now I’ve landed on 26mm tires at 7.5 bar. Now I’m just waiting for my order of Gianni’s Digital Lezyne pressure gauge to show up so I can really get down to business.
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@fignons barber
Well if the Veloflex 27c is actually 26mm, then I will watch for it. And FMB for a long awaited Campagnolo Victory Strada set -- 36h.
@frank
Shit, really (punctures)? I'm about to glue a set on this weekend. I'm making the switch from Conte GP4000 tubies.
@the Engine
After rolling through glass or other debris, it was the mark of skill to be able to reach back (while not looking) with your hand against the seat tube and clean the back tire at speed without losing digits (amongst other skill moves). Alas the spacing of my #1's seat tube to tire does not permit this (perhaps to my betterment).
Couple of things - almost finished reading "Gironimo" by Tim Moore - a freebie in the KT15 musette. great read and laugh out loud. "The Rider" is next though @Frank - though I'll probably steer clear of the dutch version.
Getting some new wheels made up - White Industry T11 hubs and HED Belgiums 32/28 - hope I don"t wreck these. I recently put a set of 25mm Vittoria Open Pave' clinchers on my Mavics at 120psi/ 125psi - such a difference to the Gatorskins and Durano-Plus that I have previously run. Will probably get another set of the Pave's for the HED's as a winter setup.
...And my 22 is pretty bloody filthy!
@fignons barber
I've been on the same pair of Veloflex Arenbergs since I set up a pair of tubulars, over a year ago. They measure at 25mm, I ride them around 6.9 bar (100 psi) and I'm a huge slow bastard, 90 kg. More tire pressure than that seems harsh. Also, climbing on wet roads and having the rear wheel slip a bit freaks me out thinking the tires will slip much worse coming back downhill, so I like to not put in too much pressure.
@Dima
So what does this mean? Friction is the wrong term?
@Dima
Yes, but this fiction you have generated does not address rolling resistance, rather it addresses traction, which is the problem old mate is raising above while riding up hills. He's lifting the rear with his mighty thrust (which some might attribute to poor technique rather than any function of physics), reducing the load, leading to slippage. The same can happen under heavy braking, of course, but misunderstanding this as a function of tyre pressure is not helpful either.
@Gianni
Gianni, i am not as fat as you but I bet your Arenbergs would be perfectly happy at 90 if not 85 for more traction in the damp. You should try it out.
@frank
Did you manage to source a set of the latex tubed Ones? I have some 24s on my Shamals, they are a very nice tire. However I am given to understand that Schwalbe are now producing them with butyl tubes, which defeats its own purpose even more than a burned steak.
@RobSandy
If you're riding anywhere that involved corners & wet road (and from memory you're in the UK, so check) then steer very clear of the Gators...you may as well mount solid rubber for all the good they'll do sticking to the road.
If you're shopping Contis, the GP 4 Season is magnitudes better in handling, still more than competent at avoiding punctures & near identical in price. GP 4000s are their slightly softer fairweather cousins for when the sun comes out (no use for you then).
@Steampunk
how fucking big do those HEDs make the tyres look? The visual difference between my old DA C-24s & new Ardennes LT+ with the same 25mm GP4000s mounted is striking.
Also, see my previous comment re: the Gators.