Bikes, saddles, wheels....What about tires?
 

I have been reading the forum for about 6 months. Lots of great information out there, thanks everyone...

I was wondering what everyone thought about tires and tire pressures. I bought the Vredestein race tires from Performance. I just put them on my bike yesterday- inflated them to 145. Wow! What a difference. I definitely felt more of the road. Perhaps it was in my mind, but I did feel a little faster (or was it the 20 mph tailwind?)...

Thoughts on tires anyone? Do they make a difference? If so, how much?

Oh, I chose these tires based on a mid-range price at my local Performance Bicycle shop (about $30/tire)...

Tires can be significant. SO can the tubes you put in them.

Since the original tires on my bike are finally wearing out, i choose tires with a strong puncture resistance. The last thing you want to deal with during a race is a flat tire... There's plenty of good tires to choose from without having to resort to Specialized Armadillos. Michelin Krylion Carbon and Pro2Race tires have been reported to be fairly puncture resistant and still grip/handle well. Even Continental Ultra Gatorskins have been given good handling ratings with a relatively low rolling resistance.

As for tire pressures, i still think you should go by your bodyweight instead of the tire's listed max pressure. If you go too high, the tire will literally bounce OFF the pavement when you hit small bumps and road debris which leads to compromised handling/braking. Too low and you'll need extra effort to overcome the increased rolling resistance. So unless you know the road course is going to be straight and/or smooth, i'd recommend going with somewhere from 100-120 psi (lighter people can stay close to 100 psi, heavier riders will need to increase their tire pressure accordingly). I'm 130 lbs and i use 100-105 psi usually.

Add a vote by me for the Pro Race 2's. If you look around on ebay, they go for $35 or so a tire from time to time. They are a low(er) pressure tire, but when a friend of mine showed my his squared off but usable ones that survived 4500 miles (they didn't look like much anymore but still were working fine), I was sold. About 500 on mine so far and you can still see the molding like down the center. FWIW :)