>I wonder why motorcycle tires are so much worse. Bicycle tires are
>obviously very good. What is different about motorcycle tires. Is there
>some fundamental reason for the higher rolling resistance, or is it just
>that the manufacturers don't bother (and customers don't care)?
Not 100% sure, but I think "rolling resistance" is mostly caused by the tire
deforming as it contacts the ground. The lowest rolling resistance would be
a solid steel wheel. Any rubber, inflated wheel will deform and have a
"flat" contact spot where it contacts the ground. If this deformation results
in "heat" and this heat is lost to the environment , then you lose the energy
and it appears as "rolling resistance"
The area of this flat spot is related to the air presure. It's also related
to the sidewall strength. The energy used in this deformation is also
related to the shape of this contact patch. I've heard that a wide tire can
have lower rolling resistance than a small skinny tire, because if a wide
tire's contact patch is the same area as a skinny tire but this makes the "flat
spot" of the wide tire result in less overall deformation. (i.e. it doesn't
look so "flat" from the side and more like a circle instead of a circle with a
flat spot) Of course a wide tire will probably have more air resistance
though.
If the energy used in this deformation could be recovered, then it wouldn't
matter
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