Hi,
I'm a biker who comes from the touring/trekking world and recently (March last year) switched to gravel.
As much as I love the rigidness, low rolling resistance and low weight, I don't love the amount of punctures I get in my tires (my Tufo Thunderos 40C failed me 3 times already within last month, altough ran smoothly for around 3 months without problems) and with my old Marathons I did't get a puncture even once over the span of 6 years.
Frustraded as I was, I decided to switch to Schwalbe Almotions 38C as they seemed a good compromise between rolling resistance and puncture resistance.
Based on measurements on bicyclerollingresistance.com the RR for Almotions is only 2 Wats higher than Thunderos (19,4 vs 17,4) but once installed, I feel a strong drag from the tyres and it seems like the difference is much more. They ride slower even when more inflated than Thunderos (5 bar vs 4 bar).
I wonder if the fact that I got them second hand (in pretty good shape) can play a role here or are touring tires just generally feel slower than gravel, even when rolling resistance is comparable?
And consequently, would for example a tire such as Pirelli Cinturato Allroad (29.7 Wats RR) which is budget-friendly would just "feel" faster than Almotions only because of compound used, or is the rolling resistance measurement the only thing that makes tires feel fast or slow?
I really do want to find a good balance between rolling RR and PR so I can keep decent speeds on paved roads and not to worry to often about getting a puncture every weekend so any input or recommendation would be much appreciated.
by Humble-Tennis7735
4 Comments
Rolling resistance in real life, on a real bike, under a real rider is a combination of factors; Rubber compound, knob profile, tread profile, thread count, air pressure, weight on the wheel, type of surface, maintenance of that surface, etc, etc, etc…
What can be measured in a lab is objective data. What you feel on the bike is subjective.
Yes, the tire measured just 2w more in the lab, but maybe you’re heavier than the lab’s testing accounts for, so you compress the tire into the ground more, and because the ground isn’t a smooth metal roller, but heavily ridged concrete, you as a rider might feel 20w difference, for example.
The most simple answer here is: Don’t worry about it. Buy a tire that’s durable enough for your needs. Your speed might take a hit for a month or two, but you’ll eventually get stronger.
Well, the thunderos is tested for 17-18 watts in low pressure, like 2-2,5 bars. If you put 4 bars in it, it is much faster than that
Most punctures are a skills issue. Avoiding pointy objects is in your control – as is running appropriate pressures. 9/10 times I’ve flatted I was doing something I shouldn’t have been doing. For me, it’s usually bombing down singletrack ignoring all of the sharp rocks. Sometimes you’re in a pack and don’t have control over your line choice. That’s the main reason for punctures in pro gravel racing. That doesn’t seem like it’s the issue for you.
I puncture maybe once a year on average with a high volume of riding. I run thin casing race tires almost exclusively.
Now I’m going to flat the next time I ride!
I used to ride with Schwalbe Durano Plus on road and hardpack gravel and would get less than one puncture per year/3k miles. Now that I get to tackle slightly more demanding terrain I fitted slightly bigger (32mm versus 28mm before) Panaracer Gravelking SK+ and so far I have no complaints, although they do feel slightly slower – but not by much and probably because of the lower pressure.