betty swollocks
large member
More fool me really. I've cycled almost every day for the last 35 years and always ensured my tyres were 'pumped up hard'. That was it, until recently...
Both of my new bikes have rims which are tubeless compatible and knowing that snakebite punctures are no longer possible, I've been experimenting with running tyres at as low a pressure as possible, supposedly for extra comfort and better rolling and I've found there really is a sweet spot where they cease to be draggy and squirmy and where the ride becomes buttery smooth, silent (apart from a comforting swish of tyre/road noise) and feels lithe and agile - the bike suddenly comes alive! Loads more grip too, which inspires confidence to ride and corner harder and faster!
Beyond this, where the pressures are too firm, the ride quality soon diminishes: it becomes harsh and juddery and the bikes just feel dead.
The sweet spot depends, obviously on weight of rider and bike and other factors: I've found that on my 953 steel
bike with 35mm Schwalbe G-Ones, 38psi (front) and 40psi (rear) does the trick and on my full carbon rocket ship with 25mm Schwalbe Pro-Ones , it's 75psi and 78psi respectively - just a few psi outside either way and the advantages are lost.
The pressures on both bikes are lower than conventional wisdom prescribes.
TBH, I don't know whether either bike is faster with softer tyres than they were before, as I don't ride with any gadgets, but I can say with certainty, they're now even more fun to ride!
Both of my new bikes have rims which are tubeless compatible and knowing that snakebite punctures are no longer possible, I've been experimenting with running tyres at as low a pressure as possible, supposedly for extra comfort and better rolling and I've found there really is a sweet spot where they cease to be draggy and squirmy and where the ride becomes buttery smooth, silent (apart from a comforting swish of tyre/road noise) and feels lithe and agile - the bike suddenly comes alive! Loads more grip too, which inspires confidence to ride and corner harder and faster!
Beyond this, where the pressures are too firm, the ride quality soon diminishes: it becomes harsh and juddery and the bikes just feel dead.
The sweet spot depends, obviously on weight of rider and bike and other factors: I've found that on my 953 steel
bike with 35mm Schwalbe G-Ones, 38psi (front) and 40psi (rear) does the trick and on my full carbon rocket ship with 25mm Schwalbe Pro-Ones , it's 75psi and 78psi respectively - just a few psi outside either way and the advantages are lost.
The pressures on both bikes are lower than conventional wisdom prescribes.
TBH, I don't know whether either bike is faster with softer tyres than they were before, as I don't ride with any gadgets, but I can say with certainty, they're now even more fun to ride!
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