Lab Tested - What's The Fastest Road Bike Tire?
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- What's the best road tire on the market? Is there really much of a difference between the best ones?
(NOTE - The Continental GP4000 S2 was tested, but we accidentally left it out of the list of tyres at the start of the video)
And what air pressure should you use in yours? We sent ten of the best road tires to Wheel Energy for testing, and did plenty of our own tests in Boulder, CO too.
This video contains a paid product placement on behalf of Easton Cycling.
Steve Gribble's cycling tool - www.gribble.org/
The Tyres on test were -
Bontrager R4
Continental GP4000 S2
Zipp Tangente Speed
Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless
Clement LCV
Michelin Power Competition
Vittoria Competition Corsa
Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactik
Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton
S-Works Turbo Tubeless
I've been using Continental GP4000 S2 for years now, and i'm very happy with it! And that's mostly because I only get two flats about once a year for a pair (for about 7500km).
I know hard to measure in a test though, but for anything but racing, alot more important than the rolling resistance or how aero they are, u can loose minutes instead of seconds if u have to change tyres! But nonetheless an interesting video!
For a fair comparison between tube clincher a tubeless tire , the tube clinchers should be tested with latex inner tubes ( my personal opinion )
I got tired of flats so I filled my inner tubes with concrete and it's just amazing.
Did this idea come from Garage54 or did he get it from you? How does it feel going up hill?
Clearly the best tyre test I have ever seen on video, great stuff
Love the paint job on that bike.
dgarage9 factory paint. 🤙
I'm pretty sure there's an error at 7:42 -- drag ramps up quadratically (as the speed squared), not exponentially. The power required goes as velocity cubed. Exponential growth would be far, far worse.
The video is not incorrect in this point, just not specific. An exponential increase colloquially refers to any change that happens at a power greater than 1 (e.g., 1.3, 2, 3, 4).
When scientists/engineers say exponentially they mean e^x.. or more generally a^x. Quadratic is x^2. The video is incorrect.
Science usage isn't the same as common usage. In scientific terms, yes, it's e^x. But in the New Oxford American Dictionary, and how lots of people use the term, exponentially means "more and more rapidly: our business has been growing exponentially." Not even the dictionary's example sentence is scientifically correct! So scientifically, he's wrong, but if we get too scientific in this analysis there are many other details to critique.
You are of course correct. I had also looked up the meaning as you did :) Given that English evolves based on what becomes common usage (e.g. refudiate), I was merely putting pressure to discourage said usage which causes ambiguity on a topic where we very much use physics to understand what is going on. Cheers!
Superlinear would be more correct though. Exponentially is reserved for processes where the growth rate is proportional with the size, so a^x indeed. You wouldn't be happy if your interest rate would result in an aerodynamic growth:)
Dear Bike Radar, I like the amount of work and effort you've put into this test.
What doesn't come out very clear is the distinction between the commonly used relatively stiff sidewalls (vulcanized, nylon threads with lower TPI) vs the more supple sidewalls/casings (ie the Vittoria, Bontrager, Specialized and others with cotton thread and high TPI). In my opinion this is because:
1) in the Wheel Energy Lab test the suspension losses (vibrations absorbed in body tissue) are not accounted for;
2a) your field-tests seem to be performed on very smooth tarmac, also minimizing suspension losses by having less rougnesss;
2b) you field-tested in cold conditions, possibly reducing the difference in suppleness between the two categories of tires;
I would be very delighted to see test results in summer conditions on a bit rougher tarmac (e.g. with a top layer of small crushed stone as is quite common for local roads). It wouldn't surprise me if your findings would line up more with the findings of Jan Heine & co, who actually found a large difference in rolling power for supple vs stiff, a more flat relationship between rolling power and pressure for supple tires, and also generally arrived at much higher Rolling Wattages if I’m correct (due the suspension losses). They claim a 20% reduction in total power required at 25 kph for a low-end stiff to a high-end supple tire, which is huge.
Besides there is an aerodynamic effect, not only from the tire-width, but also from the fit of the tire on the rim, as well as the rim depth. These effects play a more important role at TT speeds. It thus demonstrates that the choice of wheel (rim+tire) has an effect both at lower speeds (rolling resistance) as well as higher speeds (aero resistance).
His voice is so smooth and relaxing. He's the cycling-worlds answer to Geralt of Rivia. A true silverfox.
Very informative. Concise commentaries. Excellent!
So you omitted Continental GP 4000 S II?... but I got it... Everyone knows that it is the best clincher tyre in the world, so you had to find the 2nd best in this test. You are really smart! Hats down!
Another, more important (depending on whom you ask), factor in tyre 'speed' is the way it mates with the rim you mount it on. The aerodynamic gains from a tyre that is well suited for the rim profile it is mounted on, in most circumstances, will outweigh rolling resistance. Not to discount rolling resistance, it does play a factor in comfort and speed, but aerodynamics are king when it comes to pure speed.
Yeah, you're right. Aero may not be 'everything', but it is huge. It's interesting to see the work wheel companies are doing on this front. And besides aerodynamics, there is also rotational weight and its effect on speed, especially when accelerating. It's complicated! That's part of the reason we just focused on rolling resistance here.
Then put 23c in the front as most of your aero drag from the wheel is there. Rear are fine shielded behind the frame.
And bigger and better rolling in the back where it support most of your weight.
Bogdan Rylski You have to remember though aero drag from the front of the bike is minimal with regards to the tires themselves. The greatest drag occurs with wind coming in from the sides. In this regard a larger tire creates more drag through deflection. It is why deep dish profile rims actually create more drag in non static circumstances, IE out in the elements. Deep dishes are great in enclosed areas but outdoors they are getting generally an impediment for speed, especially in front and even more as far as balance as the wind will take you where it will at times. This is why box section rims are now more preferable in the outdoors. But most importantly if drag is a concern proper rim with matching the width of the tires is king. Especially if the side walls are as close to flush with the sidewalls of the tires as possible. Under this scenario aero drag is minimized to such a degree that it is overwhelmingly offset by lesser rolling resistance. As well the larger diameter and width is nullified completely. It is very noticeable under these conditions. I do agree that wider widths at the front are somewhat unnecessary. It comes down to comfort and power loss due to vibration. Especially over long distances, your Constitution is greatly effected by those vibrations and so while a 28c in front might be going to far, certainly dropping to a 23c would be inadvisable. A 25c or sticking with matching would be more preferable. Also as an addition, power delivery from a 28c is a great increase from a 25c and certainly a 23c with wider contact patches, however shorter it is. The lesser rolling resistance offsets the shorter contact patch while giving a wider area of grip making up for that lack. Wider being preferred because of the shortened time a given area of the tire is in contact with the surface you are riding on.
it depend on how you balance your weight between two wheels and tire pressure difference (or who do you ask from) but generally front require less pressure than the rear. Then if you use different tire width that would result in same pressure on both tire.
like front 23c 90psi.
rear 25c 90psi.
In this case, i don't think smaller front tire would result in any more vibration than the rear one.
Plus, matching rim width and tire width is not enough.
Best would be rim is 5% wider than the tire, (105% rule)
silca.cc/blogs/journal/part-5-tire-pressure-and-aerodynamics
That can not be achieved from most combination of rim and 25c tire as bigger external width generally come with bigger internal which make the tire bigger than rim again.
Closest to perfection would be the new Roval CLX32 and 50 with 29mm rim, 21mm internal width+ 25c tire mount and become 28.3mm wide. For other wheels with external width less than this, a 23c on wide rim are 25-26mm wide which is quite big already.
Chavit Denninnart Remember though that a 23c tire patch profile is longer than a 25c creating much more resistance in comparison. 25c and 28c are virtually identical with regards to patch profiles, being wider than 23c but much shorter. So you are completely offsetting into the negative, your wind resistance gains with a 23c. If you are going to go with non matching sizes, 25c front and 28c rear is a better combo, as they both easily outperform 23c tires and are easily more comfortable.
There are dozens of idiotic videos trying to quantify resistance and speed across 23, 25 and 28 bicycle tires. After 20 years of racing experience, your methods and summary provided the most accurate results. My take away is to use Continental 28 on the back, 25 on the front of two Zip 303s at 90 PSI and enjoy the comfort of staying on the saddle, speed may vary. Thank you for a great job
There's one CRITICAL variable not took into discussion: the increase in aero drage a wider tyre may produce. The wider tyres are a win-win only in one perspective: when it comes in a combo with an aero, WIDE, CARBON, DEEP section wheel. With all the other wheel setups, it doesn't work just like that. I tried for lots of kilometers (like 10,000) to alternate among 28mm, 23mm and, more recently, 25mm tyre combos, fit in my SHALLOW ALLOY rims (22mm to 24mm deep, 15c to 18c), as I am just one amateur average joe with no money availability to buy wheels that cost more than my 2 road bikes :) . What I noticed is that, really, there is a lower rolling resistance in low speeds and increase in comfort when it comes to wider tyres, BUUUUUUT..... there is a substantial, NOTICEABLE, increase in drag resistance when increasing the FRONT tyre width, specially in speeds above 35km/h. It gets really harder to sustain speeds with a front 25mm tyre than with a front 23mm tyre. The 23mm tyres in front simply CUT the ar, and the 28mm in front are true air cushions. For the rear tyre, I really can't notice increases in drag; in the other hand, as the rear tyre has to sustain more weight, and it is the determinant factor for my buttocks comfort, it is a good deal to maintain it wider. So, my CONCLUSION is: Today, I adopt the combo 23mm in front (ranging from 100psi to 115psi) and 25mm in the rear (ranging from 105psi to 120psi) as the preferrable pair of tyre choice for my weight (76kg), my bike (an aluminum alloy frame w/ some carbon parts, weighing about 9kg), and my wheel choice (shallow aluminum-alloy wheels).
Rômulo Passos sounds like you have a similar bike as I have. Good info here, thanks
Rômulo Passos incorrect sir wider tires are actually more aerodynamic. 👍 #janheine
Tires are aerodynamic when matched to a deep section rim designed to a specific tire size. Currently only tires up 30 are aerodynamic. Being inherently wide doesn't make it aerodynamic.
wider tires are more aero with a wider rim, thats a newish trend so if your hoops are 10 years old running 25s wont be more aero then 23s
Great to here, just as i suspected. Thanks for doing the real world experiment :)
very realistic analysis. I stick with Specialized because as well as fast, they are super stable and grippy in all conditions so I feel i save energy by being more relaxed.
There's something I've read elsewhere that's not covered here. The same tire but in a wider width rides harsher with the same tire pressure than the narrower tire. Meaning that for the same comfort level you would need to lower PSI on the wider tire. Loved the video. Confuse in Calif.
Comprehensive reporting and very communicative style. Top marks Ben!
Colorado tarmac is not normal tarmac. That stuff's smoother than the lab drum.
My experience in Ride the Rockies 2 years was a little different.
You need to get out of town for a bit...
*op
When I grow up, I want to be this guy...white hair and all
I took a look at the final results. I reckon this is a very in depth research so excellent work!
To me, revealing are the actual measured tire width. One thing you don't say, is that it's true that *at the same pressure* wider tires roll better than slim tires. but that *at the same pressure* is very important: wider tires often cannot be inflated to the same pressure of slimmer tires, and even more often, they get inflated less for comfort. For instance, I'm not sure 28c can get up to 120psi, I've got 32c and I believe their max stated pressure is somewhere around 80/90 psi.
What I don't get is that at very high pressure (120 psi) on a rough surface, I was expecting wattage to go up, but in your results it didn't happen. was the "rough" surface not rough enough?
Amazing video, most of the tests nowadays are nowhere near this cautious or in depth.
How about 28 and 30mill. I’m on 28 at 90 psi and love it. Fast and smooth. It also feels like your riding on rails... like my BMW. Or it’s just the new Tarmac is fabulous
All the tire talk aside, that S-Works is glorious in that colorshift paint!
I love this guy talking and riding, from now on I'm calling him Graystrong
wait so you are saying higher pressure is faster?? doesn't that contradict what is discussed in the CyclingTips podcast episode "Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Rethinking Road Bike Tire Sizes and Pressures" ?? I thought they said: yes, rolling resistance is higher for low pressures but the vibrational losses in energy are lower. So because we don't ride in a steel drum at the end of the day lower pressures are faster to the point that you can go as low as the tyre almost coming off the rim and you'll still be faster... can someone explain?
The whole "tire almost coming off the rim" thing was specifically for aggressive cobbles. On smooth roads, putting the pressure as low as possible without wheel damage is not a good strategy.
I guess there is an optimum pressure and it will vary according to the roughness of the tarmac. As Ben said at the end, it is the balance between the grip and resistance. If you deflate your tire pressure to the limit where "almost coming off the rim" feels definitely slower in paved road.
>"it is the balance between the grip and resistance"
Partially.
More significantly to the discussion, it's the balance between losses from hysteresis and losses from suspension. Pump the tire too soft, too much energy is wasted flexing the tire. Pump the tire too stiff, too much energy is wasted vibrating the bicycle.
I had the exact same reaction as I just happened to have listened to this podcast today. Here is another article talking about suspension losses that I found interesting: janheine.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/suspension-losses-confirmed/
Prastt the fact that anybody would still profess that hire precious or faster reveals how completely ignorant they are. lower pressures are faster why our tires are more aerodynamic this has been proven the false narratives of thin high pressure tires are being perpetuated by people who claim to be experts who don't know their ass from their elbow... and the thing is you're going to get a whole contingent of people believing this nonsense. #ufb 😒
Interesting video. I'm surprised that 25ml of sealant weighs 54grams, that makes the sealant twice as dense as water.
I adore my 28mm Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless. Comfy like a commuter but fast like a race tire at 70-80psi.
Not mentioned is the fact that wider tires do pay an aero penalty. This is why Zipp recommends 23c front and 25c rear. The aero penalty is in part due to the rim\tire transition.
schwalbe pro one tubeless 25mm with 110 psi rolls great. i can feel the different between it and conti 4000s2 on a short 20% climb.
however when the road is wet pro one rides like the tarmac became ice, all kinds of slippery, while 4000s2 still offer reasonable grip.
Great video! I am glad these are tested for all riders to see! Thank You for a great review! cheers!
this is eye opening
as a personal opinion
i strongly urge any one to stay away from the vittoria competition's
i you look at it in the wrong way they are busted
these things cause more leaks than a strainer
It appears the wattage difference of the tyres is an insignificant amount compared to other resistances to forward motion. One thing i have found in my research on the net, is that running a smaller tyre on the front, say a 23mm over a 25/28mm can give more aero advantage than rolling resistance gains of a wider tyre. Also 23mm vittorias are more like 24.something, if you measure them. Maybe why they sent them.
great info... your bike is the same color as my new Roubaix... loved seeing it from all the camera angles.
I've got the continentals so I'm happy🙂
is spherical correct? i feel like it should be cylindrical when talking about the drum
I would like to see a similar test like this but only with tan/gum sidewall tires. (For us who care equally about performance and aesthetics 😉)
It would be very nice to see this kind of test but with cx tires!
What about testing the differences between new tires vs used (4000 km) tires?
It would be interesting to see the results.
Álmos Bárócz interesting! agreed!
Álmos Bárócz My tyres are ready for the dump at 4000 Kms, my roads are quiet harsh and I smoke the tyres a fair bit ;-)
Then you'd need to also consider age and how that and UV exposure affects the various tire components.
Complicated but it would indeed be interesting.
Thanks for the video, very will done. The review at the end really summed up what could have been a giant numbers argument. Can you feel the difference between the best and the worst?
my record in road descent last summer at St-Fulgence in Québec Canada , 110 km-hres big wind in back with my BURLEY WOLF CREEK dura-ace 10 ! with TUFO tubular clincher on them! WOW and ZÉRO vibrations! Michel Gagné
great video and data collection! thanks
I noticed the difference between 23mm and 28mm tires 30 years ago. Since, I have bought larger tires than 23mm. These days, I am more likely to ride 28mm than 23mm or 25mm.
Thanks for the work you put in to make this video .... GREAT
Suomi mainittu. Pitääkö tästä nyt lähteä taas torille?
Bicycle sunday Are you kidding me... Finnish?
Torilla kai sit pitää kokoontua... Tuon Bilteman #1 ulkorenkaat.
Bicycle sunday Sinneppä justiin!
Kai se on mentävä :)
Vieläkö ootte siellä?
What amazes me is that here we are in the late 2019 & the racing bikes have become slower, heavier, the riders have become slower but more fashionable since the early 1980's when real cyclists were around, not the fancy crowd that call themselves cyclists.
Here's a few secret's that only old competition cyclists know. You need 3 bikes, a training bike setup in the same configuration as all your 3 bikes, a racing bike & a track racing bike. Your training bike frame should comprise of welded heavy gauge steel tubing, the heavier the better. When you go out training you should do mixed sessions of working up from over a few month's starting at 15mins, 30mins, 45mins, 1hr, each extremely high cadence in 1st gear while riding as close to the white line of the road as possible, this works on your stability at prolonged high cadence in races whilst inches away from other wheels etc. After doing one session of high cadence you find a nice small long hill where you ride off the saddle in your 9th or 10th or 11th gear on the large chainwheel for 5mins, 10mins, 15mins, 20mins, 25mins 30mins. Each time you ride up the hill in that extremely difficult gear off the saddle you are building strength in your legs on the heavy bike, then ride back down the hill slowly as you recover then turn around & do it again over a few month's. Do these 2 different types of training in the same day.
On the next day do a long 100 mile ride any way you wish to so long as you endure the distance, time is not important. On the next day have a short 5 mile street circuit planned out away from your neighborhood that does not have much traffic or people traffic. Most races are 25 miles or 40km so in this training you are going to do 8 laps of your circuit as fast as possible over the coming month's all on this very heavy training bike & there is a very good reason for it.
As you are doing all these different types of cycling training for racing you also need to do some time of martial arts that involves a lot of stretching so that your legs will be more flexible as they become more bulkier. The main reason for having a heavy training bike is that you are your own worst enemy with doubt & negativity etc, your own mind will always accept that you can't do certain things, that there is a limit to what you can do to break records etc as well as there are plenty of haters out there that are ready to say you can't do that, why are you wasting your time? So you have to trick your mind & body very easily by racing on the super lightweight bike only on race days & only ride the training bike all other times. As both bikes are set up with the same measurements then the only difference is the weight change. When you get onto your race bike & it only weighs about 13.2 lbs or 6kg when you've been riding a training bike everywhere that's 33lbs or 15kg then you will feel that everything you do on the bike will be so much easier. The high cadence of 180 that you might of been doing in 1st gear working up to an hour at a time will transfer into your higher gears without you even noticing. Your strength to get over hills while others are changing gears & you are not so that you power ahead makes the world of difference.
All these fancy brands etc costing you thousands of dollars do nothing to any rider who has not trained properly, a properly trained cyclist can take a lesser branded bike or even a professionally built one off frame with very cheap parts on it & thrash most so called great cyclists in this day & age. You don't need drugs etc, you need hard work & be smart on how you do everything.
What kind of asphalt they use in Colorado? that road very smooth to me.
At what point do wider tires stop being faster than thinner? 25's are faster than 23's and 28's are faster than 25's but when does it even out? As an example would 42's be faster than 28's? Thanks.
It's complicated. Wider tires can roll better, especially as you get to rougher surfaces, and with heavier bike+rider. But aero drag increases, which matters more at faster speeds, and they also weigh more.
There's also equipment availability to consider. For instance, aero rims aren't really a thing out past about 30mm, so it's difficult for high-performance road racing builds to benefit from super high width. But on lots of training bikes where rim+tire width-matching isn't as much of a thing, and especially for riders who aren't crazy fast, this might not be a big concern.
However, with possible exception to rim-tire matching, width generally seems to have very little overall effect on paved performance. I do road rides on tires ranging from 23mm to 53mm - yes, FIFTY THREE millimeters - and comparing my performance cruising the flats, I don't really see differences.
The important thing is getting good fast tires and setting them to appropriate pressures.
Awesome, thanks for your answer.
28 is the new 25 for me. And at 85-90psi it’s a pleasure.
rim width is important for aero. Its not good to have a narrow rim with 28s', it creates a very un-aero lightbulb like shape.
Wider tyres roll better at the SAME pressure, remember we normally run wider at lower pressures. I have found searching the net, that on the front it can be beneficial to run a skinner tyre. As noted 25/28mm create more drag as it presents a larger frontal surface to the wind. So it is a trade off. Saying all this, it is all tiny amounts and i wouldn’t say it make any significant difference to the riding. As said here in the vid, 5 seconds over 10 minutes could be just test variables. So very small.
sounds like Conti GP 5000 TL is 17% improved from the GP 4000 S2.. if that's true, it moves to 20.1 watts of rolling resistance which would edge out the Schwalbe Pro One tubeless by .8 watts. It'll be interesting to see if that's true. They're 100 bucks a tire though!!
Could have tested a broader range of tyres imo but good content none the less
RoseOfHizaki they did pretty good considering the time it would take.
Your S-Works' colour is sublime! I wish, My Salsa WarBird Carbon v.4 came in that beautiful glue-green-purple-grey gradient paintjob!
By the way, may I ask you to do a like test with slick "gravel" tyres within the 32mm to 40mm width range? Thank you.
Very informative, however, for my own personal preference, the results does not in anyway matter for me. The 25C tire for is more comfortable against my 23C, regardless of what the current road, terrain and atmospheric condition is. An my bottom line consideration is the PRICE as CASH is KING. I am not a racer or a hard core rider who closely watch the numbers and etc. I just ride and ride and ride for as long as I can.....
Good-to-have info overall. Thanks.
Caveat: So you did the "real world" portion of the tire resistance test on your Rollers?? "It tracked pretty well" with the prior roller testing (well, duh). And that adds to this testing how?
Other lab tests by major labs have shown the michelin power competition with standard 100g butyl inner tube at anything above 90psi less rolling resistance than all others inc schwalbe and all of the tubular and tubeless tyres. I like them with my 50g supersonic tubes in but in real world no tyre makes that amount of difference really its just number playing
awesome video guys! Thanks. I wonder how 25mm Corsas would have done as well as including Conti GP4000s.
dang, thanks mate! Well now I feel a bit silly.
Bummed you didn't test the Vittoria Corsa Speed TLR according to Bicycle Rolling Resistance its the fastest tire they've ever tested.
Thanks for your efforts, very informative video. Found it very informative 👏👏
Anyone want to buy some almost new 23mm tyres, I have about 10 sets of clinchers and 10 of tubulars.....
What tire and how much for clinchers?
They'll be back in fashion in 6 months.
what are the tubulars and their prices? Only interested if they're much cheaper than Ribble and PBK sale prices.
Aero drag is what holds you back above 10 mph. That's one takeaway. So 28mm at same pressure as 25mm, is faster and comfy?
Fantastic video and article, thanks BikeRadar!
Our pleasure!
nice paint job !
btw we dont ride on valves u have to test tyres on assembly line ....and only real world test will on downhill and curves , how tyres holds u on tarmac ....
My question is just how much cleanup is required to deal with a tubeless tire. I'm sure this has been answered a million times, but I'm just getting back in the road cycling after taking a couple of years off.
The Fastest Road Bike Tire is the Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ TLR BUT I had to much probs with it! 6 punctures in 4 Weeks
Really appreciate your effort thanks bro
I really want to see tubular tires performance, because I’m using tubular wheels
Check out that handling skills! 4:44
dat 12oclock front QR lever tho.
I was going to put specialised turbo cotton of my race wheels I am about to buy and keep GP4000SII on my training wheels. However they aren't faster which surprises me! Maybe they are just grippier and more comfortable?
Tufo Calibra Lite 150 grams rear and Veloflex open clincher front!
Great work on this video!
Great work, thank!
Thank you :)
One test no one have made, the test is how the rolling resistance evaluate in the total life of a road tire. I'm questioning myself I found my 28mm of 2000km tire very slow much slower then a 23mm of 2000km. I think the flat made by wear (2000km) is much larger on a 28mm then the flat made by the wear on 23mm. What do you think????
If your tyres wear flat, that is indicative you have them inflated too hard.
Awesome test!!!!!!! Thank you!!!
the pzeor is on the market ,,,,,could you guys do a test to see if the performance can justify the price tag
Air drag goes up with the SQUARE of velocity, NOT EXPONENTIALLY. Exponential is a mathematical function that has a specific mathematical formula, and it does not mean "REALLY REALLY BIG!". It drives me crazy when I hear politicians, and people in the press, like Tom Freidman, use the word exponential, and have no clue what exponential means. It turns out that fluid dynamics is pretty complicated, but the force of air resistance of bicycles goes up with pretty closely with the square of velocity: FORCE_AIR_RESISTANCE = CONSTANT * VELOCITY ^ 2. As a side note, the power to over come air resistance goes up with the cube of velocity. Even though I am criticizing you for this one mistake I thought this was a really good video.
Nothing can beat Scwalbe ! :)
Bontrager R3 Hardcase lite, Continental GP5000, or Pirelli P Zero Velo, which one you choose ?
I'm now running the new Maxzis radiale 24 tubeless. radial ply tires in both motorcycles and cars have less rolling resistance and better cornering characteristics. why have the manufacturers not invested more R&D into the radial tire
the radial is key yes. But the Maxis is opposite of Radial as they claim. The Vitt Diamante Radiale is actually a radial and it is superior.
Would like to see a 2021 version
Well done content
how did the guy at 6:47 come off the bike that day? ice?
My bike has 47 mm winter tires with deep thread and spikes and they weigh 900 grams a piece. Ice and snow here in Finland. I wonder how high the rolling resistance is?
Good stuff, thanks! No love for Conti?
Oh, just seeing the caveat note now.
A good rule of thumb is going as wide as your frame allows it lol (seriously it works).
I can only hope the staff at WHEEL ENERGY can conduct a rotational wheel balance test so they can see with their own eyes the difference between a ba!anced & unbalanced wheel at speed o/a 25 ~ 35 mph +, I think they will be shocked. So if a wheel by sheer luck is badly out of balance the oscillating wheel will have a negative result. Where as the same wheel is perfectly balanced the true performance will reveal its self.
One last thing to think about, 50% of a bike is static, while the other 50% spins at a high rate of speed... Don't you think balancing the spinning 50% makes sense???
If you want the best mileage with speed, GP4000 is your choice. You can get faster racing tyres, but they only last 1-2k at tops. The GP4000 does 6-8k at least. Lower the speed, the more you benefit from the lower rollingresistance. Higher the speed, the higher the air resistance becomes. Guy my size needs +300w to hit 40km/h on a roadbike, so the 10w difference isn't worth for me to invest 3-5 sets of tyres over one set of GP4000. Buy a faster set for racing and train with the GP4000, that's my fiver :)
It's true. The GP4k has some thick tread compared to the rest.
Yes, wider tires roll faster compared to narrower tires...when they are compared with *equal* pressure, like in this test!! It makes sense because there's less sidewall/casing deformation as the contact patch is spread width wise and not length wise. The problem is the misinformation continuously pushed out there that you can run much lower pressure *and* still have less resistance, just because you're on wider tires. That's just not true. There's a dramatic resistance dropoff when pressure goes down...bigger than profile width difference.
Dropping pressure allows the tire to conform to imperfections in any given surface rather than bounce off it. You roll slower with high pressure because energy is being spent bouncing around, rather than gliding over.
Smale Rider - No, you do not roll slower with higher pressure. I suggest you rewatch the video. The energy saving from wider tires is due to casing formation. If this were not true, the smooth/perfect drum would show the bigger tires as slower...which is not the case. The science backed it up. The dropoff in rolling resistance on the rough drum, illustrating a road with bumps, also confirmed lower pressure rolls slower.
I speak from a position of extensive gravel biking. Wide and low is the way to go. Pressures near 40 and tires near 40. Traditionally sized road tires with high pressures are unfavorable. Too much energy is spent bouncing off rocks instead of rolling over them. You want the tire to have the ability to deform over the loose stone. As regular roads turn to shit (which there really is no shortage of where I am), wide and low is favorable.
Smale Rider. You are correct! janheine.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/suspension-losses-confirmed/
Sorry, "thechosedude" you are wrong. The drum test is flawed. See this.... janheine.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/suspension-losses-confirmed/
What kind of inner tubes did you use for the clincher tests?
Can maybe latex inner tubes close the gap to the tubeless?
what tire width would you recommend on rim shape about 22,3 mm wide (external) ? Because based on many videos out there, I found , the best combination should be tire which match width of rim as close as possible, some people say also that rim should by 5 % wider to get the best results ... so my vision trimax 35 carbon, 22,3 mm wide should go with 23 mm tire rather than 25 ? Thanks
If I want to change from Aluminium Wheel to Carbon fibre ones, do I have to have a specific size? Or is it all the same for all the Road bikes so long as the wheels can reach the break callipers?
Good review
This is confusing. I hear other "experts" says lower the pressure. Here they say pump it up, to reduce rolling resistance. I have the Michelin power competition 23c. I don't get it.
I saw they had a mountain tire in the lab so can we see a video about mountain tires and rolling resistance
Awesome video and presenter !
Nice, comprehensive testing!
I'll be 'that guy' ...I think you mean the drums are not completely "cylindrical"... not "spherical" 8-)
which is the best and fastest tubeless road tire?
Great video !!!!
Thanks dude
Are those high PSI numbers above the rated max. PSI for specific tires? For example, my Conti GatorSkins spec 102 PSI as a practical maximum, but I've ridden them at 110 PSI (accidentally, mind you), and everything went fine. Any thoughts on exceeding specs?
Do that for tubulars as well, please.
what is the sensor zip tied to your front hub?
Or the Wahoo speed sensor to eliminate GPS-drops / better speed accuracy.