Triathlon - tire technicalities

I have recently been riding a crappy set of tires with a max psi of 105. I am 175 lbs and am wondering if a tire with a max psi around 150 or 160 would have signifcantly less rolling resistance? I know the handlins would also improve drastically. ANy thoughts or facts would be appreciated

Thanks

I have recently been riding a crappy set of tires with a max psi of 105. I am 175 lbs and am wondering if a tire with a max psi around 150 or 160 would have signifcantly less rolling resistance? I know the handlins would also improve drastically. ANy thoughts or facts would be appreciated

Thanks

Clinchers are not really designed to go much over 120-130 PSI. They also vary considerably in regards to rolling resistance.

Check out the German Tour Magazine's tire rolling resistance test (discussed here http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10572 ) for an idea on the better tires. Also to improve the rolling resistance, use the clinchers in conjunction with latex tubes.

In theory, higher PSI does reduce rolling resistance. As in real world conditions, road surfaces are not completely smooth and a highly inflated tire bounces more and provides a harsher ride.

Saying this though, I still prefer race on tubulars and usually inflated somewhere between 160-170 PSI - even though they are out performed by modern clinchers according to the tests. I race on tubulars because they are quicker to change a flat, less chance of pinch flats and my race wheels are tubulars.

This is pretty good (http://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-1503651.html) - especially for the lists, linked from little images at the very bottom. Not only do they have rolling resistance, but also puncture resistance.

Nice! Adrien has updated his site layout.

I use Vredestein Fortezza TriComp clinchers which are rated to 145 psi, but you better first check your rims to see how much pressure they are rated for before inflating them to the max tire pressure. Most clincher rims are only rated for 120 psi, which is the case for my Bontragers and Flash Points. My Mavic Ksyrium SL3s are rated to 140 psi and I have inflated my TriComps to 140 psi with them, but I honestly couldn't really tell any significant difference between 140 psi and the 120 psi tire pressure that I use for all my other wheelsets. As such, I just inflate them to 120 psi regardless of what wheelset I'm using.