Globalti
Legendary Member
I'm relatively new to this road-riding lark having mountain biked for 22 years, so I'm still learning about kit and bike setup. I know that narrow MTB tyres are faster especially when they have a central ridge or continuous tread and I was curious to know what effect narrower road tyres would give me. So yesterday I replaced my usual Specialized Pro tyres, which are 26mm wide when inflated on my rims, with some Vittoria Rubino Pro slicks, which are more like 24mm wide. Only a 2mm difference but the bike felt faster and in proof I improved my speed over my usual 12.6 mile evening "blast", which is effectively a flat time trial, from 16.1 mph to 17.1 mph, again only a tiny difference. I guess I would need to do it several times to get a convincing result but certainly the tyres didn't make as much noise as the Specialized tyres do and the bike felt faster.
The Rubinos seem to have a harder tread compound than the Spesh tyres, which are really quite sticky and motorbike-shaped in profile; they corner very well indeed. I wonder how much that affects it?
Any comments?
The Rubinos seem to have a harder tread compound than the Spesh tyres, which are really quite sticky and motorbike-shaped in profile; they corner very well indeed. I wonder how much that affects it?
Any comments?