Narrow Tyres - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-22-2005, 07:48 PM

I thought slight underinflation helps improve traction; this is most
commonly used in the context of mountain bike tires and off-road usage,
where lower inflation increases the size of the contact patch.

Get the air pressure too low, though, and you won't be able to corner
on a road bike tire.

01-22-2005, 07:48 PM

I thought slight underinflation helps improve traction; this is most
commonly used in the context of mountain bike tires and off-road usage,
where lower inflation increases the size of the contact patch.

Get the air pressure too low, though, and you won't be able to corner
on a road bike tire.

01-22-2005, 07:48 PM

I thought slight underinflation helps improve traction; this is most
commonly used in the context of mountain bike tires and off-road usage,
where lower inflation increases the size of the contact patch.

Get the air pressure too low, though, and you won't be able to corner
on a road bike tire.

01-22-2005, 08:00 PM

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 11:15:58 +0000, Rob Wood wrote:

> I have been using 23mm wide tyres on my road bike winter & summer.

You didn't mention your weather conditions; if it's icy or not, true
winter conditions do not favour such a skinny tire. Do try a set of 28's
@ 80 psi or so, you'll be rewarded with a fatter contact patch and a much
more comfy ride. I doubt your speed will suffer much.

01-22-2005, 08:00 PM

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 11:15:58 +0000, Rob Wood wrote:

> I have been using 23mm wide tyres on my road bike winter & summer.

You didn't mention your weather conditions; if it's icy or not, true
winter conditions do not favour such a skinny tire. Do try a set of 28's
@ 80 psi or so, you'll be rewarded with a fatter contact patch and a much
more comfy ride. I doubt your speed will suffer much.

01-22-2005, 08:00 PM

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 11:15:58 +0000, Rob Wood wrote:

> I have been using 23mm wide tyres on my road bike winter & summer.

You didn't mention your weather conditions; if it's icy or not, true
winter conditions do not favour such a skinny tire. Do try a set of 28's
@ 80 psi or so, you'll be rewarded with a fatter contact patch and a much
more comfy ride. I doubt your speed will suffer much.

01-22-2005, 11:01 PM

"Arthur Harris" wrote
> "mark" wrote:
>
> > IME keeping the tires
> > fully inflated helps them maintain traction.
>
> How do you reckon that?
>
> Art

My experience is that fully inflated tires on a car or bicycle will grip
better on pavement. As another poster pointed out, decreasing tire pressure
will aid traction on soft/loose surfaces by increasing the contact patch of
the tire, albeit at some increased risk of pinch flats.

My guess is that a softer tire will deform and slide around irregularities
on hard pavement, causing it to lose traction more quickly on pavement.
On/in dirt or sand, the tire will sink in and mold the surface that it is
on, so the softer tire with a larger contact patch will grip better.

My experience with cars and bicycles in snow is that a narrower tire with a
knobby tread works best, and metal studs are excellent for hardpacked snow
and ice. I haven't looked for or found any correlation between tire pressure
and traction on snow and ice.

I'm not an engineer, the aforementioned is just a guess based on my own
observations.
--
mark

01-22-2005, 11:01 PM

"Arthur Harris" wrote
> "mark" wrote:
>
> > IME keeping the tires
> > fully inflated helps them maintain traction.
>
> How do you reckon that?
>
> Art

My experience is that fully inflated tires on a car or bicycle will grip
better on pavement. As another poster pointed out, decreasing tire pressure
will aid traction on soft/loose surfaces by increasing the contact patch of
the tire, albeit at some increased risk of pinch flats.

My guess is that a softer tire will deform and slide around irregularities
on hard pavement, causing it to lose traction more quickly on pavement.
On/in dirt or sand, the tire will sink in and mold the surface that it is
on, so the softer tire with a larger contact patch will grip better.

My experience with cars and bicycles in snow is that a narrower tire with a
knobby tread works best, and metal studs are excellent for hardpacked snow
and ice. I haven't looked for or found any correlation between tire pressure
and traction on snow and ice.

I'm not an engineer, the aforementioned is just a guess based on my own
observations.
--
mark

01-22-2005, 11:01 PM

"Arthur Harris" wrote
> "mark" wrote:
>
> > IME keeping the tires
> > fully inflated helps them maintain traction.
>
> How do you reckon that?
>
> Art

My experience is that fully inflated tires on a car or bicycle will grip
better on pavement. As another poster pointed out, decreasing tire pressure
will aid traction on soft/loose surfaces by increasing the contact patch of
the tire, albeit at some increased risk of pinch flats.

My guess is that a softer tire will deform and slide around irregularities
on hard pavement, causing it to lose traction more quickly on pavement.
On/in dirt or sand, the tire will sink in and mold the surface that it is
on, so the softer tire with a larger contact patch will grip better.

My experience with cars and bicycles in snow is that a narrower tire with a
knobby tread works best, and metal studs are excellent for hardpacked snow
and ice. I haven't looked for or found any correlation between tire pressure
and traction on snow and ice.

I'm not an engineer, the aforementioned is just a guess based on my own
observations.
--
mark

01-23-2005, 04:55 AM

"mark" wrote:

> "Art Harris" wrote
>> "mark" wrote:
>>
>> > IME keeping the tires
>> > fully inflated helps them maintain traction.
>>
>> How do you reckon that?
>
> My experience is that fully inflated tires on a car or bicycle will grip
> better on pavement. As another poster pointed out, decreasing tire
> pressure
> will aid traction on soft/loose surfaces by increasing the contact patch
> of
> the tire, albeit at some increased risk of pinch flats.

An increased contact patch will increase traction on pavement. I'm not
saying to drop pressure from 110 psi to 50 psi, but 85-90 psi in a 25mm road
tire is a good idea in wet conditions. I certainly wouldn't inflate to the
maximum pressure in the rain.

Art Harris