Racing with 19mm tires?

[Sylv]

Does anyone use narrower tires instead of the more common 22mm? Not talking time-trials but road race / crit. And if so are there noticeable trade-offs in terms of grip, cornering and braking?

Was about to order tubulars and realised there was some weight to be saved there ;- )

Tires would go on wheels used (in descending order) for hill climbs, crits and hilly road races

[kieran]

i thought the new convensional wisdom was that too narrow tyres have bad rolling resistance and that 23mm is best? due to deformation of the tyre as it makes contact with the surface etc etc

[-Adam-]

I would agree with Kieran.

Remember the hill climbs are not on silky smooth roads, particularly the Bec and Catford, so traction is not to be ignored...

[Andrew G]

Bit drastic for the weight saving for crits and hilly RR and would probably be outweighed (pun intended) by the loss in performance (handling/grip).

HCs some people go all the way to save weight and you could go to town here for no money at all - remove the big chainring, front mech, all unnecessary sprockets (pack out with plastic spacers, and just keep going, bartape etc. Whether it's worth the faff in removing and refitting it all again is another matter.

[Sylv]

yeh 22mm

[Elliot M]

Andrew: knowing Sylv I imagine he's done all that already...

Sylv: I think that Catford has a prize for fastest MTB and only 1 or 2 competitors... not sure what the rules are on tyres etc

[Sylv]

[quote="Elliot M"]Andrew: knowing Sylv I imagine he's done all that already...

[quote="Sylv"][quote="Elliot M"]Andrew: knowing Sylv I imagine he's done all that already...

[Wal]

[quote]I think that Catford has a prize for fastest MTB and only 1 or 2 competitors... not sure what the rules are on tyres etc

[higg]

How about removing some of the chain to reduce energy losses in the derailleur or even better fit a new chain also in a shorter length.

And do a few recces to test the gear ratios/tyre pressures/new chain and remember you will be significantly quicker of the day with 200 people screaming in your ear.

[quote="Wal"][quote]I think that Catford has a prize for fastest MTB and only 1 or 2 competitors... not sure what the rules are on tyres etc

[Sylv]

[quote="higg"]How about removing some of the chain to reduce energy losses in the derailleur or even better fit a new chain also in a shorter length.

[quote="Sylv"][quote="higg"]How about removing some of the chain to reduce energy losses in the derailleur or even better fit a new chain also in a shorter length.

[Wal]

[quote="higg"]How about removing some of the chain to reduce energy losses in the derailleur or even better fit a new chain also in a shorter length.

[Sylv]

They came on the tt bike I bought second hand at the start of the year. I've been using them on that bike but had been thinking of trying them on the road bike so this will be the ideal occasion to do so. I haven't done any power analysis comparisons but have not had any issues using them so far for tts. At a high cadence you can't really tell they are not round. I am going to test them on super steep climbs though as I think they will help with leverage. They are very expensive though I think Butlers do them for £150 a set ..

Hope you'll join me for the climbs Mike. A couple years back I'd specially built an old rigid singlespeed Klein for the mtb prize at the BEC but had to DNS at the last minute unfortunately. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you running slicks, I can lend you a pair of light 1" if you need some. Put some bar-ends on!