from Hacker News

Bicycle Rolling Resistance: Tire Rolling Resistance Tests and More

by jacksgt on 5/15/24, 7:54 AM with 141 comments

  • by ano-ther on 5/15/24, 8:57 AM

    I appreciate sites like this where they make an effort to systematically review products rather than just giving a superficial impression or repeating PR. https://www.notebookcheck.net/ or https://dpreview.com/ are also good examples.

    They are also a testament to the dazzling amount of options that mature industries seem to produce.

    > The Schwalbe Racing Ray is optimized for front tire use and is a bit less aggressive than the Schwalbe Rocket Ron, […] Schwalbe suggests pairing the Racing Ray with the Racing Ralph (read review), which is optimized for use on the rear wheel.

    > The Racing Ray used to be only available with the Addix SpeedGrip compound, which [is] grippier than their Addix Speed compound. We just noticed Schwalbe also released a Super Race version with the Addix Speed compound somewhere in the last few years, and we're not sure about the front wheel claims for that version.

  • by pandemic_region on 5/15/24, 9:23 AM

    Unless you're on the ProTour, choose riding comfort over rolling resistance.

    Also see https://www.renehersecycles.com/12-myths-in-cycling-1-wider-... for a related myth-debunking of the impact of tire width (which contributes to rolling resistance) on speed.

  • by matsemann on 5/15/24, 8:46 AM

    I think it's interesting to have observed the changes over the years. Before it was about having as thin tires as possible, pumped as hard as possible. Then one realized that only gives a low rolling resistance on perfectly even surface, something softer can absorb more of the little bumps (and also perhaps not fatigue the rider as much from a bumpy ride). Then bytul vs latex vs tpu tubes. Or go entirely tubeless is in vogue lately, often with wider tires and less air in them.

    There are other trade offs than rolling resistance. Like puncture resistance, grip/cornering ability, aerodynamics, weight etc. that also comes into account when choosing a tire setup.

  • by Neil44 on 5/15/24, 8:49 AM

    The rolling resistance data is interesting, but it would be nice to see some more realistic testing. For example ramping the pressure up on a smooth surface gives lower rolling resistance on a rolling road. But in the real world super high pressures cause the whole bike and your body to shudder and vibrate, which also consumes energy. So there is a sweet spot, between heating the tyre up too much, and passing too much vibration through.

  • by zython on 5/15/24, 8:43 AM

    I wish there was a site that ranks tire grip. Only way to know right now is to see who is rolling faster through the corners than you and word of mouth.

  • by simonbarker87 on 5/15/24, 9:49 AM

    Not sure how valid this really is for mountain bike tyres as the terrain is so varied.

    For example if you run an MTB tyre hard it will bounce around on a rocky surface and roll less efficiently than if you run it at lower pressure that allows the tyre to deform and bounce around less.

    Interesting site nonetheless and a useful data point to compare tyres in a systematic way.

  • by giuliomagnifico on 5/18/24, 2:16 PM

    Oh I’m reading this website (and subscribed) since lots of years. It’s very interesting and used for cyclists like me! Love it.

  • by unnervingduck on 5/15/24, 8:18 AM

    What a coincidence, earlier this week I thought about changing the tires on my MTB to better suit my riding style, and I wondered if there are sites with extensive tire reviews.

  • by rasz on 5/16/24, 3:52 AM

    Imo worthless hyper optimizing. Want health? ride fattest worst tires. Want comfortable distance? mount $500 hub motor.

  • by Titan2189 on 5/15/24, 8:26 AM

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  • by ActorNightly on 5/15/24, 9:07 AM

    A super easy way to tell how efficient a tire is going to roll is weight. If you are comparing tires for the same diameter/width/tread pattern, in most cases, the lighter tire is going to roll better.

    Tire rolling resistance comes from effectively the rebound damping on the tread. As the tire rolls, the tread on the backside of the contact patch takes some time to rebound, so the tire is effectively always rolling over a bump that is the uncompressed tread the front of the contact patch

    The lighter the tire, the less sidewall and puncture material there is, which means that the rebound damping on the tire is going to be less.