Tire Review, or How I Roll

I'm a tinkerer, for better or worse, give me something mechanical and I'll mess with it until it is either marginally better, or totally FUBAR. (Also true with my interest in linux, but that is another story.)

Part of the fun of biking for me is tinkering with equipment, trying to do more with less (as is often the case for grad students), or even just seeing how small adjustments and changes in equipment effects riding. Some take it extremes, see this MTB to road conversion.

I enjoy trying out different tires when possible, while they make a drastic difference for cyclocross, there are still noticeable changes in handling, speed, cornering, and comfort for road. Here is a breakdown of the tires I've ridden on road, roughly in chronological order.

Vittoria Zaffiro (wire bead, 25mm) - I love Vittoria tires for the most part, but these might be the worst tires I've ever endured. To begin with, they were the most difficult tires I've ever mounted, the kind that will break your tire levers if you're not careful. Plus, they didn't roll particularly well and weren't super durable. If you can't afford more then $15 for tires, there are better options then these. Maybe the new version is better.



Continental Ultrasport (wire bead, 25mm) - A few bucks more then the Zaffiro, but a better tire. I commuted on these for a while, and had no major complaints. By no means a racing tire, but if you need something cheap to get around on, these will do just fine.



Hutchinson Fusion 2 (kevlar folding bead, 23mm) - My first suitable racing tire, and a huge leap up from the Zaffiro and Ultrasport. I've also ridden the Fusion 3 for a short while, but didn't notice any difference. I've seen these sell for as little as $20, and even at twice that price, they are a good bargain. They roll well, handle well, are generally a good tire for racing and training. The Fusion is probably the easiest tire I've ever installed. After more then two years of regular riding (several thousand miles), the rear is pretty much worn out, but the original front tire stills sees occasional use.







Vittoria Diamante (folding bead, 23mm) - One of my favorite tires for both training and racing, remarkably comfortable on a wide range of road conditions, and still feels fast. When these wear out, I'll probably seek to replace them.









Continental GP 4000 (black chili 25mm) - The most comfortable tire I've ever ridden, by a huge margin. This is my top choice for most of my riding and training. The only thing I don't like this tire for is racing crits, although the profile looks round, it sometimes feels like you're riding on a "corner" which is unnerving when leaning over in a pack at 30+ mph on the off camber section of the Thursday night crits before the final straight. A German magazine did some real world road testing, and these rated highest for wet road traction. They are long lasting, after 1000+ miles, the central seam is still visible on the front tire, and the rear is only slightly more worn. Traction is very good, and they still roll fast. These aren't cheap, but that's the price to pay for tires that do it all. I generally keep these mounted to my 32 spoke box section wheels at all times for a super plush ride, long miles are much more enjoyable that way. Good 25mm tires are underrated, everyone should try a pair.






Hutchinson Intensive (tubeless 25mm) - Relatively new to me so far, but they seem to be just about indestructible. They don't feel quite as fast as the above 3 tires, but it's hard to really tell without doing some testing. On the plus side, they feel like they'll last for nearly forever. I do wish that they were a bit wider, on my rims (Mavic Ksyrium Elites) they measure 23.1mm in width, some of the other 23mm tires are actually wider then this. See my video review here.










Specialized S-Works Turbo 23mm - Relatively new to me as well, but my first impression is that they are faaast. The rubber feels particularly sticky, the kind that if I turn the wheel while rolling it across the tiled kitchen floor, I get all kinds of screeeching noises. Thursday night crits and road races have gone very well with this tire, they feel very responsive but predictable in pack riding situations. Based on how soft the rubber feels, I suspect that they will wear quickly, but best crit tire yet.












FLATS: I've read all kinds of tire reviews in which the author complains about getting flats constantly, or in the first 10 miles. This baffles me, as I've had about probably at most 3-4 flats annually, and last year I rode over 3,000 miles. Most of my flats are a result of me getting lazy, not keeping my tire pressure up, and then pinch flatting. None of these tires have given me excessive flatting problems.

RAIN: If the road is wet, I don't push it, so I can't comment on wet traction.

ROTATING: Like the good Sheldon Brown recommends, never rotate your tires. Rather, when the rear is worn, toss it. Move the front to the rear, and buy a new one for the front. The front and rear wear at very different rates, and there is no use in throwing out a perfectly fine front tire. Also, the better of the two tires should always be in front.

PRESSURE: Like most things in life, more is not always better. Play with your inflation pressure, if the roads are rough, too much pressure can slow you down. Comfort is a factor as well.

Experiment, enjoy.

Easterns at PSU, Nittany Classic Black Mo' RR

Wow, I missed out on the TTT and crit, but Penn State put on an awesome road race.

I was concerned about the forecast of 100% chance of rain, plus thunderstorms, that could make for a wet and miserable 64 miles.



We came from the east, so we got to preview the 5+ mile climb from the comfort of our car. As we ascended, we entered the clouds and the fog got so thick that the visibility was nearly nil. I crept along at 20 mph and we kept our eyes peeled for cyclists in the mist.



Tom on the climb in the fog. Sorry, I don't know who took these pictures, I think that they circulated from somewhere in facebook land.



Devin on his way to a 28th place finish in a huge C field, his last collegiate race.

Brandon, Eric, and I staged for the start of the B race, and after a short delay, we were off. Everyone seemed well aware of the long race ahead of us, not to mention the climbing, so we rolled off relatively chill. I sat at the back, and just took it easy until we came around to the base of the climb. There is a short "prelude" to the actual climb, not long or steep (about a mile at 3%), but it seemed like a good place to start moving towards the front.

On the first time up the main climb, I decided to just set a steady tempo, and see what happened. I wanted to keep a small group together, and keep good reserves for the next two trips up that climb.

By the time we crested the summit, we had somewhere around 10-12 guys, and I think a few more chased on in the following rollers. The first time check we got was something over a minute, but shortly after it came down to 30-40 seconds. There was some attempt to re-organize and start rotating, and we managed to do a respectable job. I wasn't too worried about more people chasing on, as we had 2 more trips up the climb, and that is where the race would be decided.

In between the climbs, it was just like a chill group ride, plugging along at a leisurely pace which was just fine with me. The second time up, I tried to ride as efficiently as possible, steady, and protected from the wind. I could feel the effects of two trips up the climb, but still felt very comfortable.

Coming into the "prelude" climb before the big one on the last lap, Pitt was the first to make an attack, but it got swarmed very quickly by the group. When we hit the switchbacks on the big one, Dickinson accelerated smoothly away, and Pitt went off in hard chase. I didn't want to blow up at the bottom of the hill, as that would be disastrous. I tried to keep a steady pace, and the U of Michigan rider was climbing right with me. We had a good tempo going, definitely making up time on the Pitt rider, however my legs were giving out, and I was starting to crack. The U Mich rider and I bumped wheels a couple of times, as we were both about at our limits. He was incredibly tenacious, and kept digging deeper. Finally we crested and decided to work together to try and keep up our progress on the Pitt rider. Dickinson was long gone, at this point.

We traded pulls on the rollers, but I was really cracking, my legs were blocking up. I lost U of Michigan's wheel, and he went on to chase down Pitt for second place. Shortly after, RIT came by charging hard. I jumped on his wheel and he led the entire way down the descent and around the final turn before the finishing straight.



I sat on his wheel like a true wheel sucker, and with short acceleration, passed him before the line. Later I found out that Yale was behind and chasing hard 6 seconds back, so that is probably why RIT was so willing to pull.

Kudos to the U Mich rider for battling his way to take second, and second in the crit on Sunday as well. That's an impressive combo. And RIT, taking 3rd in the crit (after 5th in the RR)!

Eric caught the two-up sprint on video.

The Lehigh Cycling blog entry.

A really great road race, probably the toughest course I've ever ridden, felt harder then Battenkill, can't wait to do it again.

Tubeless at Battenkill

Worked out pretty well:

Battenkill 2011 race report

After almost not signing up for Battenkill this year, I'm glad I changed my mind. I thought that I might have waited too long, based on how fast registration filled up last year, but when I looked at the pre-reg for the Masters 30+ and saw that 149/150 spots were filled, I figured that the very last slot was for me. So I had to take it.

In 2010, I logged over 500 miles for the month of March, and the first week of April was probably my best cycling condition of the entire year. This year, I barely hit 300 miles for the month of March, and my legs didn't feel like they were at the same level.

However, my main concern was navigating the course and climbs with a field of 150, that is a lot of people for a course with enforced yellow line rules, a covered bridge, and dirt climbs with few good lines. I decided to skip any warm up, and staged myself as far forward as possible, only a few rows back. Fortunately, I managed to save enough room to squeeze in Steve, Greg, Chris, and Jeff. I think that turned out to be a good move, as we could sit relatively chill up through the covered bridge and not worry about fighting our way past 100+ spots. Last year, sitting at the back of the field, the section right after the covered bridge was a really hard chase, with lots of gaps opening up. This year, it was much better up towards the front. Again, what a difference positioning makes.

We kept steadily shedding riders as they got dropped or flatted. I didn't remember the exact location of too many landmarks on the course, except for Meetinghouse Rd at mile 50-52. Last year, I went deep into the red trying to maintain contact, but then had very little left for the last 10 miles. This year, I let a gap open on the second part of Meetinghouse Rd, but didn't panic. After I crested the top, a small chase group came by quickly and I managed to jump on. One guy was doing almost all the work, and I had no legs to contribute. We got up to the lead group which looked like at most 30 riders at this point and reintegrated.



However, the next problem was a long, windy, paved downhill section. I kept letting gaps open, and as long as there were people behind me to come around and close it, I bubbled up to the rear until I finally popped off the back. At this point I knew I wouldn't be able to get back, my legs were done. On Stage Rd, I was joined by another rider and we worked together to roll in to the finish. I couldn't contribute much, but no one else got by.



Finished 25th out of 105 finishers, an improvement from last year, and a result I'm happy with in the Masters field.

The Intensive tubeless tires on the Kysrium Elites worked great. They aren't the fastest rolling tires around, but they're incredibly tough. I rimmed out hard in a pothole on a paved section (some of the paved roads were worse then the dirt) but no problems. I was worried that I might have bent the rim, but the only evidence was a bit of sealant that squirted out of the rim/tire joint. I could ride the bad sections and move up on the shoulders without any worry of flatting. I also was glad that I went with even lower gearing then last year, a 52x36 with a 11x28 is very low at the low end, and I don't think I used the 28, but it was a good option to have available.

Jeff had a great ride and finished 18th. A great weekend of racing. Chris had a good response to the guy complaining and moaning, the weather was perfect, the riding was great, and adds that up to an excellent weekend.