I had the same experience after installing 559 X 28 Elk Passes (175 digital grams) to replace 571 X 23 Michelin Pro Races (different rims of course). The PRs were better than the light version of the Conti Grands Prix that I used previously, but the Elk Passes felt as if I were riding on a "good day" instead of a tired day; and that feeling remains after 8 years. (I shod the 2020 Matthews with the EPs and it felt fast! Then I replaced the EPs with the 42 mm Naches Pass ELs; these feel darned good, but the bike no longer has the feel of "accelerate!" that it did before (and the handling also loses some "crispness).
Ditto when replacing the 50 mm F Freds -- which felt fast when I rode them -- with the lightest 60 mm Big Ones: again, consistently over time and repeated conditions I pedaled in a gear 1 tooth higher. Tho', odd: My Herse had some mediocre tires; IIRC 32 mm Pasela wire beads; and I'd bought the bike cheap because the previous 2 owners thought the tubing too thick and unreponsive. But the fit felt "perfect" from the first ride, and with that bike too I routinely rode 1 tooth smaller in back. Odd. On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 1:47 PM Ted Durant <teddur...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 11:35:41 AM UTC-5 J J wrote: > > > I attached here a section from Riv's website > <https://www.rivbike.com/products/soma-shikoro-tires> about tire ride > quality fyi. > > That section is from Soma, not Riv, and it says, "There is a pervasive > myth that thin, "supple" tire sidewalls are essential to a smooth and cushy > ride. That is misleading at best, bullshit at worst." (I could be wrong, > but I don't think Grant has ever sworn like that in anything he's > published, btw.) > > Soma is doing the misleading here. I've never heard or seen anyone claim > that supple tires are "essential to a smooth and cushy ride." The claims I > am aware of are 1) they are faster, and 2) they are more comfortable, all > else equal. Claim 1 is fully backed by science. Claim 2 is simply a matter > of opinion, and lots of people I know hold that opinion based on thousands > of miles of experience. > > The first tires I put on my ProtoveloBleriot were Rivendell's Fatty > Rumpkin tires. I rode those lots of places, over lots of surfaces, lots of > miles, and all the time I thought, "this bike is okay, nothing special." > Then, before riding that bike 600km to my 25th college reunion, I put > Pacenti PariMotos on it. As I said in my previous post, I audibly gasped as > I coasted down my driveway the first time. The bike accelerated like a > rocket pack had been attached to it. The tires utterly transformed the bike > into one that I happily rode many more miles. You can look up Compass/Rene > Herse tire testing results to see their measurements of rolling resistance > and how miserably off the back the Fatty Rumpkins are. It was very > interesting for me to read their test report, having binned the tires a few > years earlier. > > Look, as I also said previously, we have an embarrassment of riches in > bike tires today. In my experience, which I think is pretty extensive, the > three things that most transform a bike (assuming you've found your happy > saddle) are new tires, a new chain, and new handlebar tape. In the grand > scheme of cycling expenses, trying a new set of tires each year is, IMO, > money well spent for max enjoyment. I highly encourage people to experiment > and find what works for them. > > Ted Durant > Milwaukee, WI USA > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2fa16eb4-d7df-4f57-8889-fc64127075f2n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2fa16eb4-d7df-4f57-8889-fc64127075f2n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgtAngSQoOyR2Pi_ud_Np36-KrvZf%2BV_s%2BfyTikJNZwkmg%40mail.gmail.com.
