Originally Posted by trentschler
Tell me more about your Big Apples: How wide are the 60-406s? I bought a pair of 50-406s from Calhoun recently, and they're about 47 mm on my Aeroheat rims.
57.5mm on Sun Rhyno Lites
And where can one buy the Primo Comet Red Label and KHE Premium Folder? I did a google search but got no hits.
Your LBS can order the KHEs from QBP. I got the Comets from J&B but they are no longer in the catalog. Another promising tire is the Vredestein Perfect Moiree but the only US source I know of only carries them up to 47mm.
The big tires made the handling much smoother, and were as comfortable as a sprung seatpost and fork, but, as I mentioned in another thread, I thought they felt really heavy when I was climbing. I know they're touted as having low rolling resistance, but they "felt" slow to me. I guess I should have done a more scientific comparison, and measured actual speeds instead of "feel!"
A harsh riding bike always feels faster. But the energy that slaps you in the iscial tuberosities is subtracted from your forward momentum.
You say you use them on your fastest and lightest bike, so obviously your Big Apples don't feel ponderous?
The 60-406s are listed as 600 gm apiece on the Calhoun site. This seems heavy! But, I'm willing to experiment some more.
Here's the bike, 23.5 lbs with Apples.
To give you an idea how much I care about weight on this bike.
I started with a thinwall bb shell and bored the ID out so there were only 6 threads at each end, then holesawed a 1/14" hole in the backside.
I eliminated ½ the spokes in the front and 1/3 in the back.
Single chainring to save the weight of derailleur, shifter, cable and extra rings.
Bars and seat struts are non-adjustable.
I sent to England for a 1-3/8" x 0.032" main tube, despite having 1-3/8" x 0.035" on hand.
V-Brake noodles at the brake levers so I could have a sharper curve and eliminate 14" of cable.
I tossed the rear QR and tapped the axle for 6mm bolts.
Steerer tube is plain gauge 0.058 and the fork crown is a piece of 7/8" tube.
What I didn't do was spend money on expensive, lightweight components. That might have saved another pound or two, but any idiot can write a check. I was doing this as a design exercise.
So, you can believe I wouldn't be using such a heavy tire unless I really, REALLY liked it.
What are the benefits of a 1.3 pound tire?
Confidence. I may go very slightly slower uphill, but I bomb right through, or over, stuff that slows everyone else down. Part of this is the stabilizing effect from the greater self-aligning torque of a wider contact patch. (If they ever come out with a 305-60 I'll get one.) But most is the way those fatties swallow up irregularities.
On most of our rides I believe my "average" speed would be slower on Stelvios. And that's without figuring in at least one flat per ride, which was my average on Stelvios. At 35psi I don't even get those tiny tread cuts that any high pressure tire gets after a few miles. I don't outcoast everyone I ride with, probably only 90% of them. Some guys will outcoast me on smooth roads but not on rough ones.
At my age I don't do a lot of sprinting, so the fact that it's rotating weight isn't important.
Should I try a set of 60s on my next brevet? Maybe...
Not if you are going fast enough that aerodynamics are more important than rolling resistance. Unless the roads are bad and you will be riding in the dark much of the time.