Do You Really Need Wider Tires For Cycling?

Skinny tires on your road and time trial bikes. Wide tyres on mountain bikes. Right? Maybe not… Lately, that premise has been challenged. So why are triathlon tyres getting wider and wider? And is wider actually faster? Join us as GTN investigates are wider tyres really faster!?

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[gtn]

Is tyre pressure important to you? Let us know 🤔

[wynchesster]

I switched to 28mm tires a few years ago, and now I won't ride anything else. In terms of comfort and speed and just overall feel of the bike, they are my absolute fave for both my road and Tri bikes. I ride 80PSI on the rear tire and 75PSI on the front. I'm 181cm and 75KG for reference.

[JeffersonPunk]

I made the leap last year. I now run 28mm tubeless tyres on 25mm internal width hookless rims, 55psi front & 60psi rear, super fast and super plush!

[michaelvrbanac]

TT's and triathlons, 23/25 mm front and 25/28 mm rear, depending on rim width, weight, road surface, frame clearance, brake clearance, and speed. Pressure according to road surface. Don't ride too low of pressure due to potential pinch flats. Yes, you can pinch flat a tubeless tire, and you are screwed unless you have a tube, etc, to deal with it.

[andrewmcalister]

Well done James on doing a very complex subject justice, while still keeping it simple and understandable.

[grahambell]

One of the best and informative "tech" videos this very much James for the clear explanations

[sean]

Great vid, with way more nuance than most discussions on this topic!

[EatMyPropwash]

Silca has a nice free tire pressure calculator for anyone wondering.

[Semeyaza]

- Any bike tech question
- Well... it depends...

That's one thing I don't really appreciate about the biking, honestly. Sill, I can ignore most of it and enjoy my old bike with no pretense on being a top performer so... everyone's happy. 😉

[SBoots]

I have been tossing about changing my rear tyre to 28mm. Currently I am running 25mm on both.Thanks for answering that question. I is a yes.

[JamesCrandallPainting]

120 psi tyres sound good rolling down the road. Essentially with the new TP tubes.

[GS-pkrd]

Skinnier for front, wider for rear, best of both worlds aero and comfort

[carlosj.ortizbernal]

Ride what is comfortable for you and you will be faster.
I ride 28 I won’t go back to skinnier.

[owenmace]

I just returned to cycling after more than 30 years on my basso road bike. Still got the 20 mm tyres and the old mind set. It’s like now trying to convince me the world is flat to say wider can be faster. The proof of the pudding will only be in the eating if I get a chance

[MMichiganSalveRegina]

Nice video. GCN also did some experiments and found thinner is faster for same power (for multiple power levels I think too)

[devo]

Lest we forget the turbo encabulator and rotor trunnions !

[richardlake]

Do tires of different widths really have the same rolling resistance? Or is it the lightly taller profile of the wider tires that is not taken into account when calculating rolling resistance, and thereby giving an edge to wider tires?

[TransAmk]

I am about 85kg (+/- 2 kg depending the time of the season). On my TT I have 23mm front and 25mm back. My wheels are 25mm outside width so the 23 in the front fits nicely. In the rear i think 25mm is as big as i can fit on my 2016 cervelo p3. Haven't really played with 28mm yet but can't possibly see me fitting 28s in the rear. On my road bike (older bike maybe 2010-2012) I can't fit anything bigger than 23mm on the back (It will rub during hard cornering, I tried it). Then i have my waaa bike.... the one i use when its nasty out or towing the kids... that one has 32 all around and feels pretty nice (this bike is an older schwim flatbar converted to drop bar as i upgraded my other bike...)!!

[jamiefuhrman]

Great video, thank you James! You indicated a higher tire pressure is generally faster due to a higher casing tension (all else equal). Intuitively this makes sense but I know there’s been a recent trend towards lower tire pressure. I’m wondering what the science behind that trend is - I think it’s surface area?

[DiGiTaLdAzEDM]

Why is everyone so obsessed with speed? At least when it comes to recreational riding/commuting, don't we enjoy being on our bikes? So why do we want maximum possible speed thus shortening the time on the bike? I'm likely in the wrong comment section to make that argument. I commute on a 21lb 26" wheel Ti hardtail with an 80 mm travel fork with lockout. Riding Maxxis Maxlite 310g 1.5" tires--set around 40-50psi. With a road bike I could likely trim 15 minutes off my average commute time-but I don't really want to shorten the time on my bike. Certainly not worth spending 3K or more to acquire a decent road machine. On my XC race bike I can hit some trails, ride down steps, and off curbs during my commute with no worries. Anyone who thinks a 26er is a bad choice for commuting--I recently met a guy who worked as a bike courier in Vancouver for several years riding a 26er.