loss of tread slowing me down?
 

I ride a Surly Pugsley to work everyday and Ive noticed that my pace has been getting slower over the past few weeks especially. Ive also noticed that my rear tire is getting really worn down and will need replaced soon. Could this cause my pace to slow or am I just getting slower in my old age? I was hoping that the tire would last for another couple months, but Im putting more miles on it than I thought. I average about 120 miles a week on it, so I dont think its conditioning.

If anything, the tire should be getting "faster" due to becoming smoother.

:wtf: Over What or Whom?

(I've looked at how much the next set of tires will cost, have you?)

No, I don't think that is slowing you down. The weight of those tires might be though :lol:

When my commutes get slower, it usually has to do with changing weather patterns and headwind.

Thats what I thought, guess Im just getting old

Yes I have, thats why I was hoping they will last till winter

It weighs less than my cargo bike. Im hoping the colder mornings are the issue, I dont notice it as much on the way home

how do you like it?

If you are year round on the asphalt with the pugs might I suggest a set of Black Floyd's for the summer and switch to Nates or Larry's for the winter. OR with the pugs you can throw a set of 29er wheels on it and run slicks.

Yeah I know, you are not made of money. Just a suggestion.

and to answer your original question. Seem logical that less tread ought to speed you up. What pressure's are you running?

The more the tyre wears, the flatter it becomes and the more surface area is in contact with the road, and so there is more rolling resistance.

That being said, there's no such thing as sustained athletic peak performance. Any decent competitive athlete understands that you can't maintain peak conditioning forever, and athletic training for everything from running to fencing is designed to ramp up to a competition. I'd say the OP needs to take it a bit easier every once in a while, and that such fatigue is part of the natural cadence of exercise.

i wonder whether you are increasing the size of the contact patch with the road as the tires wear and effectively making it a wider tires. i can't help any more than that without seeing an actual photo.

you could roll the front and rear tire through some mustard and over some white paper to "see" the contact patch. here, i'm assuming the rear tire is more worn and that you'll see the difference. you'll have to "ride" the bike to keep appropriate pressure on the tire.

good luck.

edit: damn, beaten by a minute. i still like my mustard idea.

That's a thought, but the size of the contact patch doesn't play as much into rolling resistance as people think. (The tread moves up and down off of the road, so it's not scrubbing against the ground unless you're skidding it.) Since the tires are getting smoother, the OP could afford to put a couple more psi into each tire for less RR due to sidewall deformation.

I bet this is playing a part -- might be time to take it easy for a bit and recharge.

If anything the tire would be getting faster but more likely to pick up glass or thorns.

If you are riding every day and never taking time off the bike there is a good chance you are not allowing your body a chance to recover. Generally when all other things are equal but you are getting slower you need to take a couple days off to let your body heal itself from the constant work it is doing.

Do you think maybe you are riding a bit slower and more cautiously because you are a little worried about skidding out on corners?

Show us a pic of the worn pugsley tire.

My first thoughts when things slow down is the tire pressure. I suppose that must be obvious, or could that be the problem?

Or it could be just fatigue. It's easy to take on too much with work and a commute too. Sometimes after a couple of days without much physical stuff happening, I'm noticeably stronger when I get back on the bike.

Im hoping this is the issue. Im actually riding more in the past few weeks then I ever have in my life, but the Pug is the bike that Im feeling it the most. To answer some of the other posts, one of the first things I did when I felt the slowness creeping in, was add some PSI. I might just take the weekend off of riding and see how it goes on Monday

I cant believe you ride a pug to work everyday. Wow. You would be a monster on a light road bike!

There's a triathlete in my area who does all of his riding (except for the actual races, I would presume) on a Pug. ;)

Have you checked to make sure the brakes are not rubbing on the rim. Could be as simple as a slightly out of true wheel though with your amount of mileage I would think you keep a good eye on that.

That was my second check, first being the air pressure. It must have just been me, as much as I would like to find another reason. Today, I was back up to speed on the ride in to work

Did the Pug have the option for rim brakes? I thought it was a disc-only frame.

Its disc, but I meant that the brakes were the second thing, regardless of type

Yeah, brakes contacting the rim on a Pugsley would be a *definite* problem. :lol: