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The Goldilocks Principle: Deflategate

How big is too big? How soft is too soft?

The Rider is the best book ever written about Cycling. I don’t mean that figuratively, I literally mean that literally. I say this despite having had my hand in writing our own Book about Cycling. What makes this book great is not just the prose, which is immaculate, but the spirit of the Velominatus that permeates the work. My friend @ErikdR recently sent me a copy in the original Dutch and, to my amazement, the English translation loses very little of the subtext that most translations do. Still, some expressions as they are written in Dutch carry so much meaning that it is impossible to translate into a foreign tongue. This is the essential underlying art, the intangible essence that separates language from communication.

Early in the book, Krabbé rides a short warm-up and upon reaching his turn-around point, climbs off to answer the call of nature. As he remounts, he carefully wipes his tires clean before setting off back towards the start/finish line. I had never noticed that bit of the book before but the Dutch version used a particular turn of phrase that expressed, if not a love, then an unusual degree of care given to an inanimate object.

And I realized, at that moment, that Cyclists today don’t love their tires anymore; clinchers have desensitized us against the miracle of riding on a membrane supported only by air. Tubulars, on the other hand, make you work to appreciate their miracle. You have to huff some glue (technically that counts as a win-win), you have to align the tyre properly, you have to keep the glue off both the braking surface and the sidewall, which seems like a paradox to the uninitiated. Tubulars make you work for it, they help you appreciate that a tire isn’t a bit of disposable kit; it is a commitment towards mutual benefit.

I was raised like every other Merckx-fearing Velominatus: on a strict diet of Rule #5, long hours in the saddle, and 19mm tires pumped to the highest number the sidewall said to pump them to. Which was usually around 10 bar (150 psi). Simple physics: less surface area meant less friction, and everyone knows friction is an asshole.

Until the last few years, I’ve ridden 23mm tires at 8 bar, no questions asked. In the past few years, however, we’ve come to understand that lower pressures and wider tires provide some significant benefits, like being faster and more comfortable, to pick two. I have accepted this transition like a toddler “accepts” his vegetables.

Like Grandpa adjusting to color film in his camera, I have gradually moved towards wider tires at lower pressures. I’ve been experimenting with 25mm, 26mm, and 27mm tires for the last few seasons, pumped up anywhere from 6.5 to 8.5 bar. (On the cobbles in Northern Europe, I ride them at 5 to 5.5 bar, depending on the conditions.) Empirically, the difference in ride quality by tire pressure comes down first to the quality of the tire and its materials, the weight and riding style of the rider, countered by the road conditions.

Mileage may vary based on your weight and tire, but for now I’ve landed on 26mm tires at 7.5 bar. Now I’m just waiting for my order of Gianni’s Digital Lezyne pressure gauge to show up so I can really get down to business.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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frank says:

May 22 2015 at 2:11 pm

@Nate

@frank

Did you manage to source a set of the latex tubed Ones? I have some 24s on my Shamals, they are a very nice tire. However I am given to understand that Schwalbe are now producing them with butyl tubes, which defeats its own purpose even more than a burned steak.

Based on the air seepage, yet indeed.

@Nate

@Gianni

@fignons barber

@unversio

Compelled to buy Veloflex Arenberg 25c Tubular and Corsa 25c Open Tubular — soon. Hand Made in Italy.

All I needed was one good idea to “branch out” from the usual — Contis.

You may want to hold out for the new Veloflex Vlaanderen 27mm!

Veloflex is now my go-to brand. I’ve used only Veloflex or Vittoria since the mid 1990’s. The thing I didn’t like about Veloflex was that they only made a 22mm, which was actually a 21mm. Then they made the pave marked 23mm,that was really 22mm. Now they have the corsa/master in 25mm, that is a 24mm. perfect. It’s been my experience that the corsa/master lasts at least 3x as long as the Vittoria corsa sc open, and the veloflex gets 1/4 the number of les crevaisons.

I’ve been on the same pair of Veloflex Arenbergs since I set up a pair of tubulars, over a year ago. They measure at 25mm, I ride them around 6.9 bar (100 psi) and I’m a huge slow bastard, 90 kg. More tire pressure than that seems harsh. Also, climbing on wet roads and having the rear wheel slip a bit freaks me out thinking the tires will slip much worse coming back downhill, so I like to not put in too much pressure.

Gianni, i am not as fat as you but I bet your Arenbergs would be perfectly happy at 90 if not 85 for more traction in the damp. You should try it out.

This talk of 90kg and 85psi for regular road riding gives me the heebie-jeebies.
PeakInTwoYears says:

May 22 2015 at 2:14 pm

@frank

9 times out of 10, the rider in the group with a flat is one with the gator skins.

Not to mention that they corner like utter shit.
Nate says:

May 22 2015 at 2:14 pm

@frank

@Nate

@frank

Did you manage to source a set of the latex tubed Ones? I have some 24s on my Shamals, they are a very nice tire. However I am given to understand that Schwalbe are now producing them with butyl tubes, which defeats its own purpose even more than a burned steak.

Based on the air seepage, yet indeed.

@Nate

@Gianni

@fignons barber

@unversio

Compelled to buy Veloflex Arenberg 25c Tubular and Corsa 25c Open Tubular — soon. Hand Made in Italy.

All I needed was one good idea to “branch out” from the usual — Contis.

You may want to hold out for the new Veloflex Vlaanderen 27mm!

Veloflex is now my go-to brand. I’ve used only Veloflex or Vittoria since the mid 1990’s. The thing I didn’t like about Veloflex was that they only made a 22mm, which was actually a 21mm. Then they made the pave marked 23mm,that was really 22mm. Now they have the corsa/master in 25mm, that is a 24mm. perfect. It’s been my experience that the corsa/master lasts at least 3x as long as the Vittoria corsa sc open, and the veloflex gets 1/4 the number of les crevaisons.

I’ve been on the same pair of Veloflex Arenbergs since I set up a pair of tubulars, over a year ago. They measure at 25mm, I ride them around 6.9 bar (100 psi) and I’m a huge slow bastard, 90 kg. More tire pressure than that seems harsh. Also, climbing on wet roads and having the rear wheel slip a bit freaks me out thinking the tires will slip much worse coming back downhill, so I like to not put in too much pressure.

Gianni, i am not as fat as you but I bet your Arenbergs would be perfectly happy at 90 if not 85 for more traction in the damp. You should try it out.

This talk of 90kg and 85psi for regular road riding gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Sounds like you got the good Ones.

90kg/85 psi might be a bit low but I would still encourage Gianni to let his pressure down into the 90s.
frank says:

May 22 2015 at 2:18 pm

@Mikael Liddy

This.

@all y'all's

Pontificating on PSI and/or recommending pressures without knowing the riders weight is like judging a riders bike fit from a photo of the bike leaning against a wall.

In other words, it is insanity.
frank says:

May 22 2015 at 2:23 pm

@unversio

@tessar

Sounds like the properties of the rubber compound itself would be the largest factor with “grip” and transferring kinetic energy. And then how much surface area of the rubber compound is acting on the road — and the surface conditions of the road itself — and then how much “belief” is there that demands that any given tire is awesome — or that the tire simply sucks — and then there is the color of the tire too.

Excellent, except that Gatorskins do actually suck. That's not a "belief". @Steampunk, you are wrong about the Gators, Pedalwan.
RedRanger says:

May 22 2015 at 2:26 pm

I only have one thing to add to this. Clement LGG tubeless tubs. the concept is so mind-blowing that I had to try them on my first stint on tubulars. I can't see a reason why they should work flawlessly.
unversio says:

May 22 2015 at 2:30 pm

@frank

@unversio

@tessar

Sounds like the properties of the rubber compound itself would be the largest factor with “grip” and transferring kinetic energy. And then how much surface area of the rubber compound is acting on the road — and the surface conditions of the road itself — and then how much “belief” is there that demands that any given tire is awesome — or that the tire simply sucks — and then there is the color of the tire too.

Excellent, except that Gatorskins do actually suck. That’s not a “belief”. @Steampunk, you are wrong about the Gators, Pedalwan.

But Emperor, I've already turned. You're too late. I'll trust in Veloflex like my father before me. [Deep inner voice ] "How the hell did Frank know I had Gatorskins on my Open Pros. Dang!"
frank says:

May 22 2015 at 2:35 pm

@RedRanger

I only have one thing to add to this. Clement LGG tubeless tubs. the concept is so mind-blowing that I had to try them on my first stint on tubulars. I can’t see a reason why they should work flawlessly.

I ride their tubeless tubs on my graveur; love them!
unversio says:

May 22 2015 at 2:52 pm

@frank

Veloflex Corsa 25c 205g — Gatorskin 25c 310g
unversio says:

May 22 2015 at 3:00 pm

@Nate

To commit quickly, just purchased Veloflex Corsa 25 Open Tubular pair at 52% off -- probikekit. And still interested in their upcoming 27mm.