Little nervous of how narrow I should go for new tyres, but need for Triathlon training - hmmmmm?

[Boris Bike]

Hi everyone.

I used to have a Mountain Bike with Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26" x 1.75 tyres.

About a month ago I bought a cyclocross bike for commuting (London roads) but I also want to do a triathlon next year so should start training on it.

The cyclocross still has the 700x35 knobbly tyres it came from, so I need to swap those for something that will be both fast/comfy for my commute, and fast for my triathlon training. I'm guessing I should go for 700x25 or 28, but coming from the really wide mountain bike tyres I'm a bit nervous of going to something that thin.

What do people suggest? Cheers

 

[HLaB]

I wouldn't worry too much, narrower tyres have less or no tread, so on road they actually have more rubber in contact with the ground than nobblies and have better grip. What you do lose the narrower you go is comfort and 25mm are supposed to be the optimum balance of comfort, grip and speed.

 

[007fair]

Hi everyone.

I used to have a Mountain Bike with Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26" x 1.75 tyres.

About a month ago I bought a cyclocross bike for commuting (London roads) but I also want to do a triathlon next year so should start training on it.

The cyclocross still has the 700x35 knobbly tyres it came from, so I need to swap those for something that will be both fast/comfy for my commute, and fast for my triathlon training. I'm guessing I should go for 700x25 or 28, but coming from the really wide mountain bike tyres I'm a bit nervous of going to something that thin.

What do people suggest? Cheers

Why are you nervous? Because it will be uncomfortable or some other reason?
I have 25's and for roads they are great You will love the speed and if you're training for a tri absolute comfort is not top of the priorities!

 

[Boris Bike]

Why are you nervous? Because it will be uncomfortable or some other reason?

Just thought it would be easier to fall off

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I went from a MTB with 26" 2.3's to a road bike with 700c 23's. I was terrified for the first ride. After a short while I realised that I had as much grip as I needed (maybe not in very wet conditions?) and now 2 months later don;t think about the tyre size at all. In fact my MTB tyres now look huge and feel so very sluggish and cumbersome!!!

 

[Boris Bike]

I went from a MTB with 26" 2.3's to a road bike with 700c 23's. I was terrified for the first ride. After a short while I realised that I had as much grip as I needed (maybe not in very wet conditions?) and now 2 months later don;t think about the tyre size at all. In fact my MTB tyres now look huge and feel so very sluggish and cumbersome!!!

Cheers - good to hear that I shouldn't have too much to worry about.

I was thinking of gatorskins. Will they do for both commuting and triathlon?

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Cheers - good to hear that I shouldn't have too much to worry about.

I was thinking of gatorskins. Will they do for both commuting and triathlon?

Gatorskins seem to be a Marmite tyre TBH. I am not the right person to answer this question but I am sure others will provide far more seasoned advice

 

[fossyant]

Gators are crap in the wet.

If you want a better tyre, get the 4 Seasons - faster than Gators, grip in the wet and hard wearing - bit of a jack of all trades. Bad points, expensive (only slightly more than the Gators)

I'm currently using Mich Lithion 2's for commuting, 23mm, and no problems since fitting in Feb. So good I snapped a set up offered on here in the classified, and they are sat in my spares drawer ready to fit once these wear out.

For out and out fast tyres then it has to be Mich Pro Race, Scwalbe Ultremo or Conti GP 4000 - but not really a commuting tyre.

 

[fossyant]

Oh PS - narrow road tyres grip tarmac better than knobbly tyres, and as good if not better than big fat road tyres, as they are designed for speed and grip (hence usually being expensive).

 

[Boris Bike]

Think I'm going to go for the Michelin Krylion Carbons - don't cost a fortune and seem to have better performance than the gatorskins in the wet. Thanks all.

 

[007fair]

Just thought it would be easier to fall off

haha! sorry.. maybe rude of me but this is not a reason You'll be fine !

 

[Boris Bike]

haha! sorry.. maybe rude of me but this is not a reason You'll be fine !

No need to say sorry - I would have laughed too

 

[the_mikey]

Gators are crap in the wet.

If you want a better tyre, get the 4 Seasons - faster than Gators, grip in the wet and hard wearing - bit of a jack of all trades. Bad points, expensive (only slightly more than the Gators)

Gatorskins are ok in the wet, they're far from the worst by a long way!

Avoid Vittoria Rubino Pro III's in the wet, they start spinning out when pedalling up a hill, forget braking or cornering! In the dry they're ok!

Think I'm going to go for the Michelin Krylion Carbons - don't cost a fortune and seem to have better performance than the gatorskins in the wet. Thanks all.

Used a pair of Krylions this weekend on a very wet Cheddar Sportive, no problems at all!