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I’m sorry but Jan Heine has unscientific methods and his products are of questionable reliability. You can drop 200usd on his tyres. It’s like hifi nerdy but fo

I’m sorry but Jan Heine has unscientific methods and his products are of questionable reliability. You can drop 200usd on his tyres. It’s like hifi nerdy but for rubber.

bigfudge 4y ago
I agree the tyres are expensive, but their findings on tyre width and pressure are largely bourne out by more controlled tests. In addition, their rolling distance tests include one factor which most standardised rigs didn’t: the losses from hysteresis when uneven surfaces have to lift/return your mass over a bump. I think soft wide tyres would be even more advantageous than most people realise once real losses on real roads are factored in, and compared at speeds most cyclists go at (i.e most people don’t average 30kph). In fact, even using average trip speeds as the comparator would be daft because that would include downhill sections where riders are actually braking, or don’t really care about rolling resistance because the difference between 50 and 55kph downhill makes no practical difference.
- ActorNightly 4y ago
  The tire width definitely has a break even point where wider tires are significantly less efficient than narrower ones unless you run them at unsafe pressures. More volume in the tire means that at the same pressure, there is more deflection, and deflection hysteresis in the tread, notably the rebounding of the tread behind the contact patch is what causes the rolling resistance in the first place.
  - wiredfool 4y ago
    RH 48mm tires at 25psi are pretty damn good on a single. Likewise my tandem uses 44's at 45psi (front, heavy captain) and the rear 53mm at 40 (light stoker).
  - bigfudge 4y ago
    Totally agree. I do think that people underestimate the width of that point tho. For most people who are not racing the suspension benefits probably outweighs the minimal aero loss, but it’s really hard to measure. I have been on fast group rides on 48mm slicks and although I get funny looks (and am not going to win many races because I’m old and lazy) I genuinely L find it easier to keep up than on 28mm tyres i had previously. Part of that is confidence maneuvering at speed on fairly crappy roads though.
762236 4y ago
Where are the supposed alternative people with scientific methods?
- pharmakom 4y ago
  I don't know but I'm also not trying to market very expensive tyres.
- wmorein 4y ago
  Two of the best people who are not selling anything are Tom Anhalt (http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/ http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/) and Robert Chung. They both post a lot in various forums like Weight Weenies (which is more about rolling resistance and aerodynamics now that we know that they are more important) and Slowtwitch (more triathlon focused but has a lot about general bike tech). Josh Poertner from Silca is also good but has things to sell. Of course what everyone is saying above is right -- fitness and rider weight matters the most. But it is fun to look at this stuff especially once you have achieved some level of fitness.
- Dave_Rosenthal 4y ago
  bicyclerollingresistance.com

I’m sorry but Jan Heine has unscientific methods and his products are of questionable reliability. You can drop 200usd on his tyres. It’s like hifi nerdy but for rubber.

bigfudge 4y ago

I agree the tyres are expensive, but their findings on tyre width and pressure are largely bourne out by more controlled tests. In addition, their rolling distance tests include one factor which most standardised rigs didn’t: the losses from hysteresis when uneven surfaces have to lift/return your mass over a bump. I think soft wide tyres would be even more advantageous than most people realise once real losses on real roads are factored in, and compared at speeds most cyclists go at (i.e most people don’t average 30kph). In fact, even using average trip speeds as the comparator would be daft because that would include downhill sections where riders are actually braking, or don’t really care about rolling resistance because the difference between 50 and 55kph downhill makes no practical difference.

ActorNightly 4y ago
The tire width definitely has a break even point where wider tires are significantly less efficient than narrower ones unless you run them at unsafe pressures. More volume in the tire means that at the same pressure, there is more deflection, and deflection hysteresis in the tread, notably the rebounding of the tread behind the contact patch is what causes the rolling resistance in the first place.
- wiredfool 4y ago
  RH 48mm tires at 25psi are pretty damn good on a single. Likewise my tandem uses 44's at 45psi (front, heavy captain) and the rear 53mm at 40 (light stoker).
- bigfudge 4y ago
  Totally agree. I do think that people underestimate the width of that point tho. For most people who are not racing the suspension benefits probably outweighs the minimal aero loss, but it’s really hard to measure. I have been on fast group rides on 48mm slicks and although I get funny looks (and am not going to win many races because I’m old and lazy) I genuinely L find it easier to keep up than on 28mm tyres i had previously. Part of that is confidence maneuvering at speed on fairly crappy roads though.

762236 4y ago

Where are the supposed alternative people with scientific methods?

pharmakom 4y ago
I don't know but I'm also not trying to market very expensive tyres.
wmorein 4y ago
Two of the best people who are not selling anything are Tom Anhalt (http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/ http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/) and Robert Chung. They both post a lot in various forums like Weight Weenies (which is more about rolling resistance and aerodynamics now that we know that they are more important) and Slowtwitch (more triathlon focused but has a lot about general bike tech). Josh Poertner from Silca is also good but has things to sell. Of course what everyone is saying above is right -- fitness and rider weight matters the most. But it is fun to look at this stuff especially once you have achieved some level of fitness.
Dave_Rosenthal 4y ago
bicyclerollingresistance.com