Bigger Tyres Same pressure Harsher ride ??

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Banjo

Fuelled with Jelly Babies
Location
South Wales
I had a pair of bontrager racelight 32s in the shed and thought I would try them on my Felt V50 road bike instead of the factory fitted Lugano 28s.

The Luganos are slow rolling tyres . The ride on the felt is quite comfortable bike handles ok and seems to grip the tarmac well.

My experience with the racelights was despite bigger volume the ride was very harsh .My perception was that they roll faster but they are coming off again as I cant be doing with such a bone shaking ride.

im glad I didn't buy them for the Felt. (they are going on my steel shopping bike at some stage.)I just hope the eggs can handle it !!
 

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
Have you tried the bigger tyres at a lower pressure?
 

mgs315

Senior Member
32s at 100 sounds pretty high to me. I run 25s at around 80-85, albeit I’m quite light and run tubeless.
 

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
The pressure range for them is 85 to 115 psi so I put them on 100. Will try them on 85 out of interest.
Yep, 100psi for 32c tyres does sound a lot. I mostly use 32c tyres and inflate them to around 70, though they're Gatorskins and Marathons with lower pressure ranges than yours. I do have some new 25c tyres (GP 4000 II) that I've only tried very briefly, and around 90-100 seems suitable for starters. I'm 91kg.
 

Vantage

Carbon fibre... LMAO!!!
I run my very supple very thin walled Voyager 38's at around 35psi front and 40psi rear and I'm a tad over 10 stone.
I used to run the same tyre but in 32c at 40f and 45r. 100 psi sounds a bit extreme. Depending on yours and the bikes weight that is.
 
Location
Birmingham
I'm running Vittoria rubino 32 at under 70 and I'm wrong side of 100kg. Comfort grip speed. Drop your pressures banjo !
 
OP
OP
Banjo

Banjo

Fuelled with Jelly Babies
Location
South Wales
Will drop them down gradually until it feels more forgiving.Dont want to increase the rolling resistance too much as I am already slow.
 

andrew_s

Legendary Member
Location
Gloucester
The general rule is that if you've got a harsh ride, it's a slow ride, and you'd be better off at a lower pressure (provided you've still got enough air to avoid snakebites).

All the energy taken to rattle you around has to come from somewhere, and it just gets lost warming up your body.
The amount of energy lost can be large too; BCQ did some tests at 17 mph riding on U.S. rumble strips, and found that 279 watts more power was needed to maintain speed than on the immediately adjacent smooth road. OK, British roads aren't as bad as rumble strips or Paris-Roubaix secteurs, but even chippings are enough to make a fairly significant difference in your work rate (being what makes up what's called "heavy roads").
In contrast, the energy lost flexing over-soft tyres is more like 3 or 4 watts per tyre.
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
My VR50 came with Vittoria zaffiro pros in 28, which I've been really happy with. I run them at 90/85 R/F and I'm 14stone. Glad to hear that the 32s fit, was curious about that.

Definitely use a lower pressure though.
 
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