Tire Conundrum

SWGraveler wrote:

I find it interesting that Silca, which is, relatively speaking, a microscopic fish in this game of expensive research, is considered such a resolute source of information. Yea, Josh worked at Zipp but he hasn't for several years and this is a fairly new field of research. Plus, it's not like Zipp really every set the bar for much other than maybe being early to bring reliable carbon wheels to market at a price many would choose to afford. 1 WorldTour team rides their wheels.. They don't seem to be making waves (sinusoidal pun intended) in the gravel realm either. 

Again, there are just too many variables at play for any sort of simple answer to have even the slightest degree of universal applicability or, equally importantly, lack of applicability.

BurkC wrote:this thread kind of went all over the place, but I keep waiting for someone to talk about the American Classic tires. They look like a decent tire and won't break the bank. I want some, but don't want to be the first one to try them. 😊

widerisfaster wrote:

Josh left Zipp to start/revive Silca and consults to several Pro Tour teams on tyre/wheel/aerodynamics/rolling resistance optimisation. He has been involved with the winning team more times than not for Paris Roubaix in the last decade. He is considered the world expert by those that pay for optimization advice.

His Marginal Gains podcast is a fascinating look into the world of optimisation and trade-offs between rolling resistance, hysteresis, and aerodynamics. Have a listen and tell me he is still a microscopic fish in this space.

Yeah, this 100%.  Silca is a trusted scientific voice in this area of research.  (And maybe Rene Herse is more the crazy uncle that has a lot of ideas that have merit, but is a lot less scientific or quantitative.)

But if bigger names are needed, SRAM have also done research to debunk myth of higher pressures being faster when rider is taken into consideration:  https://www.sram.com/en/zipp/campaigns/total-system-efficiency

I think a key takeaway quote is:

> Data from our RollingRoad™ tests show the difference between ultra-low pressure and high pressure can account for 50 watts in efficiency gains on a rough road. The tests measured the power required to ride 32kph (20mph) over various surfaces. We captured energy lost to tire deformation, drivetrain, and whole-body vibration.

> The order of magnitude of this type of loss warrants your attention. As surface roughness increases, you want to run larger tires at lower pressures.