how much does a thinner tire really do for you?

[KnottedYet]

I think I have 38's or 35's on my commutermobile. Tried out a Jamis Aurora with 28's.

Wheeeeeeeeeee!

A whole lot faster, and not so narrow that I felt insecure.

[Kalidurga]

There was an article recently that pointed out that your money is better spent on aerodynamic helmets than it is on skinnier tires/wheels. It also said that
it is more aerodynamic to have your water bottle cage on the seat upright tube
instead of the angled tubes.
Lastly, and least useful was that gloves create a lot of aero resistance.

FOr the purposes of this situation, that article is RONG. (I know, that's wrong ;-))

That article was in a recent issue of Bicycling magazine. They were specifically talking about time trialing, though, so the guys who did the study were into minutiae way beyond the question in this thread. Interesting stuff, though: Revenge of the Nerds.

I've been thinking of getting another set of tires for my 'cross bike. It came with 32's that have just a bit of tread, but I'm thinking about maybe getting something a bit knobbier for when I know I'll be riding in sand, gravel or mud. Or, I could go the other way and get slightly thinner and smoother tires to go faster on pavement... Hrmmm... How long is it till Christmas?

[RedRansV2]

Ellen,

820 miles in 3.5 months, with an average speed of 13-14 mph, on a 7 speed Townie??!! You rock, woman!

With that kind of commitment and ability, you deserve and would truly appreciate, a more performance oriented bike. You've recieved some good advice about tires from people who have more experience than I do. What I do know about is trying to find a bike I won't outgrow when my choices are limited by hand and wrist pain.

After you've completed your metric, and are looking around for a new bike, take a look at www.ransbikes.com. Their Crank Forward series, the first 5 bikes in the pictures, is designed to provide more performace while still taking pressure off the hands and wrists. As you can see from the pictures, Rans, is primarily as recumbent bike manufacturer. They've been in business a long time and have an outstanding reputation. (I ride their Velocity 2.) Like all recumbent companies, they have a tiny distribution network compared to companies like Trek and Cannondale so I don't know if there's a dealer in your area. I've ridden the Fusion and it was FUN, but I was intrigued by the bents and got one of those instead. But I'm thinking that I need to add either a Fusion or Cruz because...I don't know, they're just different. At 5'2", I'm too short for the Zenetik or the Dynamik. There's a good discussion Board for Crank Forwards over at www.bentrideronline.com. Go to Message Board>Specialty Discussions.

I'd recently read that Rans was offering a "Satisfaction Guaranteed" deal whereby you could try any Crank Forward for 30 days and recieve a 90% refund if you returned it in good condition. So I called Rans on Thursday and recieved a call back on Friday verifying that that was accurate info. Hmmm

Oh BTW, all the hype about how well they climb is aimed at the bent crowd, those of us happily riding around on 35 lb bikes. This is not some magic climbing machine. It climbs a heckuva lot better than a Townie, but it's not like standing on the pedals of a sub 20 lb road bike. Oh yeah, all these bikes use standard bike components, like you'd find on any diamond frame.

Anyway, Veronica's right; try everything at your LBS, because you never know what you'll wind up with. Have fun on your metric, Ellen and let us know how it went!

[RoadRaven]

Yup. I'm gonna join the voices of the others here, saying: They make a difference

The bigger the tyre, the heavier it is - therefore the more weight you have to push/drag along with you.

The wider or knobblier the tyre, the more friction you have to fight, the more drag resistence on the road you have to work against.

Yes, tyre width and slickness definately will make a difference to your speed.


NB: I think the articles around spending money on aero bars and bike helmets are written with the assumption that you are beginnning with a road bike - not a mountain bike or a hybrid/comfort bike. Therefore those articles would see aero bars and helmets and wheels as the next step, because they will be assuming the bike already has slicks on it.

[Saxa82]

I ride a mtn bike that I "souped up" for the road, meaning I put smooth tires on it. Instantly gave me 2 mph advantage. I definitely recommend putting smooth tires on the bike, since that's the easiest way to gain speed with your type of bike. With a hybrid (or mtn bike) you're already upright, so you lose a lot of aerodynamics with the position. Being upright is the biggest detriment to higher avg speed, but if you are more comfortable being upright, then that's more important to you than going faster. If going faster was your top concern, then you'd have a light road bike. So it's all a matter of preference. I, for one, prefer the comfort of a mountain bike, mine is light and has loads of gears for the crazy hills we have here. The best way for me to increase speed was to put the slicks on.