blueturtle241

Most guys i see are running 23's however i am a lightweight 140lbs and need some added grip going into corners...i dont seem heavy enough to keep the tires sticking to the road. I loved my michelin pro2 race tires since the 23's ran a bit wide it seemed, but they are now discontinued.... heard not so great things about the pro3's. Any suggestions? By the way looking for clinchers....

ronbridal

ride 23's.

Conti's, Michelin, whatever.

markieta

I'm 145,
ride Conti Attack/Force
22/24 front/rear

They're great.

grolby

What you're dealing with is irrational fear, not an actual problem. I'm about 15 lbs lighter than you, and I'm doing fine on 23s.

merlinextraligh

We time trial on our tandem with 23c tires. I think you'll be ok on 23c's

pinky

what pressure are you running?

Longfemur

If it's added grip in the corners you want, going from 23 to 25 mm tires isn't going to help you much. In fact, I think good 23 mm wide tires are probably better for this.

kensuf

The pro2's were more like 25's. The pro3's are real 23's. I'm a 175# fat-ass, but find the 23mm pro3's to be an excellent racing clincher.

merlinextraligh

120psi

CrimsonKarter21

I race on 25 mm tires. My Vittoria Pave tubulars are labelled as 24mm, but measure out to 25mm. I usually run them from 120-140 psi depending on the race.

pinky

mich reccomends 90-100psi for your weight, try that first

kudude

have you actually washed out on a smooth corner? why do you think you need added grip at 140lbs?

brendon_ak

bigger tire does not always mean more contact patch

you'd be suprised at how low your bicycle will corner before it washes out, providing the pavement is clean, etc.

Nate552

+1 I weigh 126 lbs and train on 23's. My race tubulars are 21's. No issues with grip here.

mattm

Fwiw conti gp4000s tires seem to have really good grip, size 23.

CrimsonKarter21

Hell I've raced a few criteriums with 19mm wide Conti Competitions with no problem.

pinky

or you can search a thread i started a while ago on cornering, some good stuff in there about how to get your bike around a turn upright

cmh

I'm pretty sure your weight isn't what determines what tire size you want. You have less gravitational force pushing your tires down into the road, and a correspondingly lower cetrifugal (or is it centripetal) force trying to wash you out of the corner. They cancel each other. Waterrockets can post the actual equations and the correct terms, but the bottom line is you don't need a wider tire because you are lighter.

MDcatV

I find the P3R to be better than the P2R specifically for cornering "grip". I weigh 145 - 147# so am not that much bigger than you. I use 23s and usually fill to approx. 100 psi in the front, 105 psi in the back, if my gauge is anywhere near accurate. I think 120 psi is too high, you're probably bouncing around on that.

blueturtle241

all good points...i will run a lower air pressure then in my 23's...i was doing about 125psi f&r they recommended 145 on my vredestein tri comps.... MDcatV hit it on the head I am "bouncing/skipping around" and just can't get the tires to bite on the pavement. thanks all for the input...

Creakyknees

yeah it's lower pressure you need.

generally I only tell the heavier guys to consider bigger tires, but that's usually a comfort discussion, not cornering.

Fat Boy

I'm only a tick bigger than you and have those tires on one set of wheels. I run about 95 psi front and 105 psi rear when training. I might bump it up 5 or even 10 psi when racing, but it's just a placebo thing. The softer pressures are definitely the way to go for ride comfort and grip. At 115 psi in the rear, I start getting the skipping-skatey feeling over rough pavement in corners.

YMCA

I've been running 85-95psi (6-6.5 bar) in both tires for a long time and love it.

I used to think if you ran below 100psi in clinchers, pinch flats would happen, but I proved that wrong.

You get used to the slightly mushy feel at first, but rideability is better and cornering seems less sketchy. Especially in rain.

I pump them up harder for most TT's and certain RR's though (maybe 105psi).

And the 25's thing. I tried that, loved them, but was told rolling resistance was suckier, so went back to 23's. I probably ought not listen to such stuff, but I do anyway.

caloso

I rode Copperopolis on 25mm GP 4000s. I'll use them for Leesville too. But that's for the long stretches of gravel, not for cornering.