EL LUCHADOR

Ive got the hottern hell hundred coming up in a couple of months.


this ride is about 50 miles of some nasty chip seal. at my weight of 300lbs the last time I tried to do it with a 25c tire and it was a disaster.


this time I have a frame that can take up to 3" tires so Im good to go.


Im looking for tires that will be fast on chip seal, or does it matter?


Ive been looking at the compass 700x44c slick, but I read something that said that on round roads the suppleness of the tire does not matter as much.


are there tires that you would recommend for a 100mile ride about half road and half chipseal that would be fast on the chip seal?


thanks

EL LUCHADOR

this is specifically what Jan Heine, owner of compass said


Off-road, the casing suppleness isn’t quite as important – see our tests on rumble strips, where the differences between a concrete-like Bontrager Hardcase and a supple Grand Bois became statistically insignificant, because they were swamped by other factors (air pressure mostly).

HTupolev

Where Heine was claiming that the suppleness of the tire reduces in significance is when the irregularities are so huge that badly rattling the bike is inevitable and suspension effects become the big majority of rolling losses.

Chipseal is exactly the opposite, low pressures in wide road tires are usually adequate to smooth out chipseal. And if you're going to run a tire squishy, suppleness helps to minimize performance loss from the tire deforming as it rolls.

xraydog

I've been riding the Specialized Sawtooth tire (700c x 42mm) since December. My rides have every road type imaginable with a large portion chipseal. I am a Clydesdale (260lbs) and converted these tires to tubless. They run really well on all road types and are surprisingly fast on asphalt, plus they are a dream with regards to comfort.

EL LUCHADOR

thanks for that insight. I will see if I can find more data, as I cant imagine that rumble strips are much worse than Wichita Falls Chipseal!



hey thanks for that I will definitely check it out. on my commute I run bontrager h2 37c and they are ok but I want something wider and hopefully faster.

redlude97

what about a clement mso xplor in 700x40? The center blocks roll fast for me on pavement, and the soft blocks add a bit of dampening I think

HTupolev

Jan Heine is referring to rumble strip of the really gnarly interstate shoulder sort; practically a series of potholes deliberately designed to be jolting even to drivers of well-cushioned motor vehicles. I've never experienced "Wichita Falls Chipseal", but unless that phrase is a humorous euphemism for something that is absolutely nothing like chipseal, it's astronomically less rough than what Heine is talking about.

79pmooney

The OP said he wants fast. Capitalized "fast". I fail to see how 40c and more does that on pavement.

I'm light. (155 pounds.) I'd do that ride on 25c or 28c but on the best tires I could get my hands on. I'm riding now the Vittoria Graphene 28c. I wish they made that tire in 32. If I were the OP, I would be combing the internet for the best 32c (or maybe 35c) road tire I could get my hands on.

Ben

redlude97

the OP says he's 300 lbs, even a 32 on smooth roads would be a bit rough

HTupolev

OP said that 25mm were "a disaster." I'd want to err on the wide side.

Werkin

continental bicycle Speed King
Continental Speed King II RaceSport Rolling Resistance Review
This is an event tire, which means speed first, tread life and puncture resistance not so much.

canklecat

Hooter'n'heck hunnert is my area, more or less -- not sure I'll ride this year, though. We'll see how many conditioning goes in June. I'm recovering from some pesky ailments that have limited me to only two or three 10-30 mile rides a week.

Texas chip seal is probably the same as most of the midwest -- rougher and more uncomfortable than most gravel roads.

Fortunately, Texas rural routes usually aren't 100% chip seal. They tend to vary quite a bit between smooth and rough pavement, some well maintained, some cracked and bumpy, with some striated concrete thrown in for bad measure. Some areas will have chip seal shoulders -- often wide enough to make for a good bike lane even on busy highways -- with smooth asphalt main lanes. For an organized bike ride local law enforcement will often make it safe to use the main lane, so you won't always encounter the really rugged chip seal.

A friend who's a husky fellow -- not 300 lbs, but stocky and probably just over 200 -- has been riding Schwalbe Big Ones and really likes 'em. They're lighter than they look, under 500g each, and fast rolling for big ol' balloons. He was amused to see the consternation on the faces of lighter roadies riding skinny tires when he passed 'em on a recent century and a half. But he's been working really hard on conditioning too, so it's not just the tires. And his Surly is no carbon or aluminum lightweight.

Since your bike can take wide tires, check out the Schwalbe Big Ones. Jenson recently had 'em on sale for under $20 each. That's a bargain.

I really like Continental Speed Rides for mixed terrain from smooth to rough asphalt, gravel, etc. They're 700x42 only (nominal, actually closer to 38c). Very shallow file tread with mostly vestigial side knobbies that come into play only in grass or sand, although they can feel a bit squirmy on tight cornering on pavement. I weight 160 lbs and run 'em around 50 psi front, 60 psi rear -- depending on terrain and my comfort level on any given day. Conti rates 'em up to 85 psi, so they should be suitable for your size.

The Speed Rides don't have an impressive thread count and might not fit the classic definition of "supple", but the sidewalls are rather thin and the uninflated tires feel much more squishy and supple than comparable size Clement X'Plor tires at the local shops. They feel "supple" to me on rough roads, whatever that means. Yet they don't feel sluggish or unresponsive.

Several of us on bike forums use 'em and like 'em. But a friend who tried the Speed Rides didn't care for 'em. He found 'em too flat prone and switched to Clement X'Plors. I had six flats back around November-December, and none since. Four due to grass burrs after riding some open prairie/pasture; two from glass. Not bad for challenging terrain. No further puncture flats in around 1,500 miles this year. I'm satisfied with 'em.

Barrettscv 

We have plenty of chipseal in my area. It matches the description of Texas chipseal provided above.

I've tried numerous tires, and the 700x30 Schwalbe G-One is one of the best on chipseal. It provides a supple ride and extra volume without feeling slow and heavy.