Tire advice needed

[Grits]

I don't race, but I ride with some racers and tri-people, and I know they would not want to give up speed when coming off the line. Two sets of wheels might be the answer. I wouldn't want to change tires for different events, although I guess you would get really good at it!

And +1 for Indysteels advice on PSI. At your weight, you probably don't need 110 PSI. In fact, riding a lower PSI would make your ride more comfortable.

[indysteel]

I'd add that there are lot of good tires on the market. I've long run Vittoria Rubino Pros on mine and have had good luck. Our roads in Indiana are similar to yours, although I'll admit that I'd rather walk my bike than ride on gravel on 23cc tires. I hate when I encounter fresh chip and seal.

[ny biker]

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/...-faster_209888

25s or 28s have lower rolling resistance than 23s. You will not sacrifice speed. The wider tires do increase drag, but for the riding you're doing with the wheels that came on your bike, that shouldn't matter.

+1 on dropping the tire pressure, too.

As for which tires to get, I've been happy with the Bontragers that came on my bike, but I don't know offhand which model they are. I've had other Bonti's in the past that were more prone to flats.

I've also been happy with Continental Gatorskins. My main concern is avoiding flat tires. I had some Vittorias a few years ago that rode like butter, but I had too many flats with them and the sidewall started to peel off after only one season of riding.

[bskaje]

Thanks, all of you! The links were great, and led me to even more information out there (much of which I didn't understand, but alas...) I think from what I'm reading, at my weight and performance level, it probably doesn't matter much whether I go with 25s or 28s. I'm leaning toward 28s then just for comfort, if I can find a good tire I like in that size - from what I'm reading, it appears the high-quality road tires don't often come in 28. If my performance really gets up there I may switch back to 23s or 25s for racing. One of the things I came across suggested that 28s would perform better than 23s at the same tire pressure, but obviously you wouldn't pump 28s up to where 23s would be...would it hold then that I would want my 28s at their max since I'm riding my 23s higher than need be for my weight, or would I want the 28s less inflated also? Clearly I have a lot to learn!

[marni]

In spite of some bontis going flat, I ride on Bontrager race lites with kevlar and have ridden across the country several times on the same pair of tires. Of course I religiously check the for cuts, embedded stuff, thorns etc. after every ride, come what may.

marni