Considering going from 700x23cc to 700x25cc

[Fab Foodie]

Grip is more about the tyre construction rather than small difference in size. My 23c Pro Race 4 are easy grippier in dry or wet than my 25c Bonty hardcases and just as comfortable despite higher pressure due to more supple sidewalks.

 

[vickster]

What tyres are on the Triban? Stock ones? Maybe better tyres would help more than the 2mm?

 

[User6179]

Grip is more about the tyre construction rather than small difference in size. My 23c Pro Race 4 are easy grippier in dry or wet than my 25c Bonty hardcases and just as comfortable despite higher pressure due to more supple sidewalks.

Grip is more about the compound of the rubber , softer the rubber the more grip , summer/race tyres are softer and have more grip than winter type tyres .

 

[Fab Foodie]

Grip is more about the compound of the rubber , softer the rubber the more grip , summer/race tyres are softer and have more grip than winter type tyres .

Correct, you made the point better than I did!

 

[midliferider]

What tyres are on the Triban? Stock ones? Maybe better tyres would help more than the 2mm?

Front has the stock tyre which came with the triban.
Rear one had couple of punctures and then discovered that tyre has a small hole in it. It is replaced with Michellin Dynamic sports for under £10 from Halfords.
In portugal, it will be road surface but likely to have many potholes. It may rain in late March. I will be doing on average 40 miles a day.

 

[User6179]

Correct, you made the point better than I did!

That's a first for me

 

[Fab Foodie]

That's a first for me

 

[vickster]

I was asking the OP but getting better tyres good for you too

I have 25mm Michelin Pro4 Endurance, no issues with grip, very good reviews. A couple of p'fairy visitation as I rode over a boulder but that would have been an issue on any tyre!

Don't go for Marathon+ if worried about grip, I have 28mm on the hybrid and they are slippery buggers, fairy proof though by all accounts!

 

[fluffkitten]

Only problem with 25c on a Triban 3 is clearance with mudguards, of you don't us guards you'll have no problems.

 

[zacklaws]

It's interesting to hear the responses from this, looks like the main benefit of moving to 25's is that it will mainly give me the comfort factor because it's slighly wider as it can be run at a slightly lower PSI but by doing so there will be no noticable difference in rolling speed for the average joe between the two.

Not exactly, lowering tyre pressure increases rolling resistance. Evidently (so I have read), rolling resistance is determined by how quickly the side walls can flex back into shape, and that is not only controlled by how the tyre has been constructed but also by the pressure of the tyre. Rolling resistance is also affected by the pattern of the tyre on the ground, a thin tyre has a logitudial pattern as opposed to a widish pattern of a wider tyre, a wider tyre has less rolling resistance. So it is possible to run a wider tyre at a lower pressure and sacrifice some rolling resistance and take advantage of the wider tyre pattern to compensate, but it will also increase the longitudial pattern as well, its a fine art to get it right, I found its best to pump them up to maximum pressure, but you do still feel the extra comfort espcially over broken tarmac etc.

Somewhere online is a site with comparisons of loads of various tyres in different widths and pressures from all the tests they did on them but its hard to find.

 

[Dusty Bin]

Not exactly, lowering tyre pressure increases rolling resistance. Evidently (so I have read), rolling resistance is determined by how quickly the side walls can flex back into shape, and that is not only controlled by how the tyre has been constructed but also by the pressure of the tyre. Rolling resistance is also affected by the pattern of the tyre on the ground, a thin tyre has a logitudial pattern as opposed to a widish pattern of a wider tyre, a wider tyre has less rolling resistance. So it is possible to run a wider tyre at a lower pressure and sacrifice some rolling resistance and take advantage of the wider tyre pattern to compensate, but it will also increase the longitudial pattern as well, its a fine art to get it right, I found its best to pump them up to maximum pressure, but you do still feel the extra comfort espcially over broken tarmac etc.

Somewhere online is a site with comparisons of loads of various tyres in different widths and pressures from all the tests they did on them but its hard to find.

Not entirely sure what you're trying to say there, but it's quite possible that a wider tyre at a lower pressure will roll better than a thinner tyre at high pressure. Also, pumping tyres up to the max is poor advice.

 

[zacklaws]

Not entirely sure what you're trying to say there, but it's quite possible that a wider tyre at a lower pressure will roll better than a thinner tyre at high pressure. Also, pumping tyres up to the max is poor advice.

Thats more or less what I am trying to say, but if the pressure is too low, you will lose the advantage of it being a wider tyre and alter its "footprint" on the ground by making it increase longitudialy increasing rolling resistance. So it is a fine balancing act to get right and keep the advantage of the wider tyre over a thinner tyre, otherwise you will lose it.. The aim if I recall from what I was taught is to aim to get 15% deflection in the tyre wall when it flexes to get the best optimum rolling resistance from a tyre.

 

[Venod]

Some good advice here.

http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf

 

[zacklaws]

Some good advice here.

http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf

Good link, long time since I've seen that, I knew 15% came into the equation somewhere along the line, but took a guess at what it was. Following it up, here is another good article similar:-

http://www.bccclub.org/documents/Tireinflation.pdf

and also:-

http://www.bccclub.org/documents/Tireinflation.pdf

Just need to find the article I mentioned in a previous post about comparisons of tyres and rolling resistance but its probably well out of date.

 

[midliferider]

Today I went on a club run in my Triban 3 which has 23C tyres. We did 35 miles. It was pouring down for most of the time and some of the roads were very muddy. There were 8 of us and most of them were very seasoned club riders. Most of them were using 23C. We had no problems. I have never gone out in that much of rain and mud before in a road bike.
My opinion is that what matters most is careful riding according to road conditions.