Jan Heine's tests attempted to isolate rolling resistance from all the other resistance terms in the bicycle speed equation, and we should exercise caution when interpreting his results. Obviously, TdF riders haven't made the jump to 700x35 mm tires, so maybe there's a reason! I would argue that the biggest reason to go for skinny tires is weight. Since it is rolling weight, a lightweight tire will translate not just into marginally faster speeds uphill, but, more significantly, faster acceleration, and probably faster maneuvering.
All that said, it really isn't THAT much of an improvement for most types of riding to have skinny tires - if you are racing or really serious about ultra-brevets, tiny percentage improvements may matter, but otherwise, the gains are trivial. You won't be substantially faster on a 700x25 than you will be on the light-for-its-size Jack Brown Green, Grand Bois, plain-jane Pasela, etc. Also: the AHH is designed to have a low BB with much larger tires. If you go much skinnier, you may have some significant issues with pedal strike, which can be dangerous and irritating. My experience with this is that my bike desires are highly asymmetrical, and every time I try to fill the road bike void, it's disappointing. I've had several "roadie" bikes that just didn't get the use that my "all-rounder" bikes get. On Dec 3, 9:09 am, newenglandbike <matthiasbe...@gmail.com> wrote: > Not to throw a wrench in your plans for the AHH, but Jan Heine et. al. > recently published results of an extensive test involving various > tires/widths and speed, and they found that rolling resistance is a > *weak* function of tire width. In other words, tire width had > little to do with rolling resistance. They found that wider tires at > moderate pressures are actually faster than narrow tires at high > pressures. I do not have the issue of BQ (I'm working on getting a > copy) but is in Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn 2006). > > Does anyone here have the article? > > On Dec 3, 9:34 am, Shawn <sa240...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Now that I have the Atlantis, I have been thinking of making my Hilsen > > more of a roadish type bike to use on week-end rides with my friends > > on our smooth local MUP. Can anyone tell me how the AHH might handle, > > ride and look with 25mm to 28mm tires on it. I know most people don't > > ride that skinny of a tire but any feed back would be appreciated. I > > am trying to separate the two bikes into two distinct categories; > > Atlantis- touring, camping, commuter= big tires; Hilsen- club rides, > > events, exercise, go faster=skinner tires. It seems like the Hilsen’s > > clearance are wasted now that I have the Atlantis. > > > I know it sounds like I want a more traditional type road bike and the > > Roadeo would fit that bill perfectly, except there is the matter of > > finances, can’t sell the Hilsen to totally finance the Roadeo, and I > > am not crazy about the fact the Roadeo does not have brazeons for at > > least a Mark type rack. > > > Is the Rambouillet a better road bike than the Hilsen? If so maybe I > > should trade or sell my Hilsen for a Rambouillet. I want to be clear > > that I do not want to race, I just want to make a clear distinctions > > between the two bikes. > > > Sorry about the long post and thanks in advance for any advice or > > feedback. > > Shawn -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
