Do Chip Seal Roads required wider width tires?
This is a question from a trial member; wondering if weight of tires doesn't matter, should he switch to 700 x 25c tires for more stability on a chip seal course like St George?
What say ye, team?
Thanks,
Patrick
0
Comments
Don't know about tires but I would suggest really good bar tape to help reduce fatigue in hands from the bouncing.
I don't know much about tires, I just know what I like to ride. I think Matt or Chris would have a better answer but, if were me, I'd ride the fastest tire at normal pressure and if I were worried about vibration I'd consider putting a neoprene saddle cover on. In my experience, that's good for the feeling of about 20lb less psi.
In my personal experience, carbon fork and seat post, good bar tape and some cushioned shorts will do better than wider tires. With that said, I run with a 700x25 on my rear tires, and a 700x23 on my front. That was initially due to a purchasing error, but have stuck with it on all my tire pairings.
No issues here in NorCal. 700 x 23 tires all day, every day.
That said:
If you want speed, find the tire with the lowest rolling resistance, most aero fit to your race wheel, latex tubes and the right tire pressure. I could care less about comfort and ride/race on many chip seal roads. I race with Vittoria CXII 320s 20 up front and 23 in the back on Zipp clinchers, I also weight under 140. I'll be trying out some Bonty R4 Aeros next year as well.
If you want comfort, then a wider tire may be worthwhile, however I recomend you worry more about gettig high quality tire first and then the size, as 23s will work well for most people in most situations.
The biggest difference I have noticed in comfort is switching to a wider rim, high quality tire, and lowever air pressure. I ride Zipp 101s and love the feel on them, I've also tested out HED Jet C2s and they have a similar feeling. Both ride much more like tubies then standard width clincher rims. I think the Zipp Firecrest Carbon Clinchers will be a big hit after more people discover this.
This chart can help you pick tires if you are looking for the fastest option: http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf
For some increase in imaginary unmeasurable comfort, maybe?
I have often heard people scoff at the CRR data in the link Matt posted because they are done on a smooth drum rather than "real world conditions" which involve things like chip seal roads. This argument is unsupportable. When doing the tests on a less smooth surface the differences are actually wider. For example: If tire A rolls better than tire B on the drum test [lets say it takes 3 less watts to make it roll at 20 mph] then it will, percentage wise, roll even better on a rough surface, say 6-8 watts easier to make it roll at 20 mph than tire B. If you even just read some of Al's supporting notes without digging deeper you will get the basic idea.
In sum, no you do not need wider tires you need better rolling tires. If you want wider ones, OK, knock yourself out. Wider tires that roll the same will in theory be less aero but I do not have enough data to make that generalized statement without knowing which wheels/frame and fork we are talking about. Some wheels are made to be interfaced with wider tires, others no so much. Then there is the fact that just cause a tire says 23 on it does not mean that it is actually 23 mm.
Should I have just answered NO?