This upcoming Crit season I’m running
Roval Alpinist CL has 33mm Depth, 27mm external width, 21mm internal width, carbon.
Since I don’t have more aero wheels to run, I’m trying to maximize grip while reducing my rolling resistance. And from what I’ve read, bigger the tire = more grip = less rolling resistance.
My tire choice will be continental gp5k.
I’m considering 30s or 32s. Should I go 34???
Anyone have thoughts or experience in running such a setup?
Thanks guys!
It’s not as simple as bigger means less rolling resistance. Bigger also means heavier and potentially less aero, especially on relatively narrow rims like yours where a 30mm+ tyre will be a lot wider than the rim. Personally I also don’t like a really wide tyre for racing as although you have plenty of grip I find them less nimble. That might be mitigated with a wide rim leading to a nice round tyre profile.
So personally if it was me, for crit racing on those wheels I don’t think I’d go any wider than 28mm. Which is about where the pro peloton seem to be, other than those teams riding really wide wheels like Enve which are optimised for 30mm. If the road surface is good and you’re not too heavy I’d even still consider a 25-26mm tyre, at least on the front, as I think that’s what those wheels were optimised for.
Yeah, similar to @cartsman I’d say 28mm max. Or 25mm if they are cheaper than the 28mm version (cos it seems that wider tyres cost more just cos they’re more fashionable). You just don’t need the grip or the comfort of anything bigger than 28mm. I’ve found labelled 32mm tyres are definitely more slugglish.