2mm narrower tyres really are faster?

[Globalti]

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?

 

[Rip Van]

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?

Might just be the different compounds and pressures.
I bought Michelin PRO3 tyres to replace Rubinos. I'm prepared to believe they "grip" the road better but other than that they were absolute shite. I got loads of punctures with them and they certainly didn't feel, or make me, any faster. The Rubinos, which I've gone back to, feel a lot more robust (and heavier) than the PRO 3's, plus the 20 or so more max PSI in the Rubinos further reduces rolling resistance, making the bike feel more "eager".

 

[GrasB]

Yes it's faster, less weight a little less rolling resistance, but it's more likely there's a difference in construction &/or compound.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Any comments?

They are great. Relatively inexpensive too IMHO. I am running their 700c x 20.

 

[andrew_s]

Probably construction & compound.
If you want to try to work out if it's the size, try testing 23 & 25 versions of the same model

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I took my Dawes down from 25 gator skins to 23 hard cases and didn't notice any difference. My fixed has 28 hard cases and I can't feel any difference between them and the 23's on my Dawes.

 

[Norm]

Too many variables. On crap roads - which covers most of my commute in South Bucks - I'm faster on the 32s I have on the Tricross than the 25s on the Secteur.

 

[repairtec]

Narrow hard pumped tyres are faster on good quality flat roads, wider tyres pumped hard are faster on bumpy roads. For climbing fast where speeds are lower choose narrow tyres. A favourite of mine thats not to narrow but rolls and sounds like a tub is Maxxis