IME, having extensively ridden top-quality tires in widths from 22 mm (actual, on my rims) to 73 mm, it’s fat tires that are more sensitive as to handling and cushioning to small pressure differences.
Instances: my 27-28 mm Elk Pass (extralight tires at 175 grams) feel fine at pressure from 60 psi (the max I use) down to just above 40 psi, and on several occasions I’ve not noticed any difference in rolling efficiency or smoothness after a puncture until the pressure dropped down close to 20 psi — that is, when the sidewalls compressed in a corner and the bike slipped sideways. OTOH, the difference in smoothness or cushioning between 25 psi and 18 psi on very light 50 mm tires, let alone ditto 60 mm tires, is very noticeable. Long ago I rode 559 X 23 mm Specialized Turbos (labeled 26” X 1”) and those were very nice tires indeed despite their excessively narrow width. Even over-inflated to 110 psi the smoothed small irregularities far better than, say, Specialized 35 mm Fatboys overinflated to 80 psi — the Fatboys would skitter in corners over rough pavement. 571 and 559 Michelin Pro Race 23s at 80/90 psi also felt as smooth as 35 mm Kojaks at 50 psi over small amplitude bumps. On Mon, May 12, 2025 at 1:20 PM Will Boericke <[email protected]> wrote: > Skinny tires certainly bring home the difference between supple and > non-supple, as well as the importance of setting tire pressure > appropriately. Larger tires are more forgiving on both fronts, IMO. > > Will > > On Monday, May 12, 2025 at 2:56:31 PM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: > >> … feel *harder* … >> >> The NPs roll very nicely and the Riv and the Matthews clone both handle >> nicely when shod with them; it’s just that the Elk Passes go above and >> beyond, somehow, on both bikes. >> >> On Mon, May 12, 2025 at 12:54 PM Patrick Moore <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> … The NPs “mute” the handling and “feel” hard to accelerate and even to >>> maintain steady state speed — over and over again during the 25 years I’ve >>> owned the Riv, it has just seemed more nimble and easier to push a given >>> gear than with other bikes >>> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c50c9655-84f0-4b10-8e60-cd26a62f12ddn%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c50c9655-84f0-4b10-8e60-cd26a62f12ddn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsi4cfwbfMFCbEQVCCT9dvPU-vNu%3DnHasqR%3DUFUG6TRjg%40mail.gmail.com.
