They Need To Rethink Tire Choices

[Razors Edge ★]

...for Paris-Roubaix - especially in shitty conditions.  Watching those guys ride over the cobbles on 25 or 28 or even 30mm tires was just irritating   Especially considering the cobbles are a distinct portion of the race - 25% overall, but much higher in the 2nd half of the race.  Any or all of the riders could have swapped to a different bike at the  start of the cobbled series, and that ridiculous pandemonium would be lessened for sure.

[groupw]

Maybe they should look into Panaracers. They have several asphalt/gravel tires. 

[jsharr ★]

[Razors Edge ★]

24 minutes ago, groupw said:

Maybe they should look into Panaracers. They have several asphalt/gravel tires. 

I'd think a 650b with 38 to 44mm tires would work - any brand of tire, but surely what they are rolling in some of the bigger gravel racing events out there would be good ideas to look at.

[ChrisL]

It seems they tend to stick with tried & true equipment choices. Many teams have tires & wheels just for Paris Roubaix.  But being the race is 75% non cobbles I’m thinking a fast rolling tire is needed as to not lose speed & watts on those sections.

[Razors Edge ★]

3 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

It seems they tend to stick with tried & true equipment choices. Many teams have tires & wheels just for Paris Roubaix.  But being the race is 75% non cobbles I’m thinking a fast rolling tire is needed as to not lose speed & watts on those sections.

Yeah, but that's where the bike swaps make sense, as you could roll with the road set-up for the first half, but the second half, where that bike makes much less sense, swap over to a better tire choice.  Those guys were doing bike swaps anyway, so might as well do it to a better set-up.

[ChrisL]

4 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Yeah, but that's where the bike swaps make sense, as you could roll with the road set-up for the first half, but the second half, where that bike makes much less sense, swap over to a better tire choice.  Those guys were doing bike swaps anyway, so might as well do it to a better set-up.

I have been too busy the past week & haven’t been in my usual cycling sites but has there been any profiles on the winning bikes?  I’m curious to know what the male & female winners rode. 

Im guessing there was carnage due to the weather but somebody prevailed and that somebody was probably riding 28 mm tubulars.  

It could become a discussion of rider skill vs equipment choice & plain ole luck. 

[Razors Edge ★]

6 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I have been too busy the past week & haven’t been in my usual cycling sites but has there been any profiles on the winning bikes?  I’m curious to know what the male & female winners rode. 

Im guessing there was carnage due to the weather but somebody prevailed and that somebody was probably riding 28 mm tubulars.  

It could become a discussion of rider skill vs equipment choice & plain ole luck. 

Interestingly, the female winner - Deignan - was on a 1x12, with 30mm tubeless tires.  She still skittered around like an ice skater.

The SRAM Red eTap AXS-equipped Trek Domane SLR features a 1x setup in the form of a 50T SRAM X-Sync Aero chainring, combined with the 12-speed 10-33t cassette. This makes sense, considering how little climbing there was on the route, but it’s still an uncommon sight in the peloton. With the roughness of the terrain, having a single chainring up front offers improved chain security, made all the more secure by the K-Edge chain catcher on board.

Though slightly less unusual these days, it’s still noteworthy that Deignan raced on tubeless tyres, which are still being taken up slowly by various teams. Deignan’s Domane pairs shallow Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 wheels — designed to be agile and less affected by wind — with 30mm wide Pirelli P-Zero TLR tyres. Opting for 30mm tubeless tyres certainly makes the ride more cushioned, with Deignan being able to run lower tyre pressures and, for the most part, retain traction on treacherous terrain. The focus on comfort extends to the Bontrager Ajna Pro saddle, designed for sustained support while adopting an aggressive ride position.

[dinneR ★]

 

 

[ChrisL]

11 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Interestingly, the female winner - Deignan - was on a 1x12, with 30mm tubeless tires.  She still skittered around like an ice skater.

The SRAM Red eTap AXS-equipped Trek Domane SLR features a 1x setup in the form of a 50T SRAM X-Sync Aero chainring, combined with the 12-speed 10-33t cassette. This makes sense, considering how little climbing there was on the route, but it’s still an uncommon sight in the peloton. With the roughness of the terrain, having a single chainring up front offers improved chain security, made all the more secure by the K-Edge chain catcher on board.

Though slightly less unusual these days, it’s still noteworthy that Deignan raced on tubeless tyres, which are still being taken up slowly by various teams. Deignan’s Domane pairs shallow Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 wheels — designed to be agile and less affected by wind — with 30mm wide Pirelli P-Zero TLR tyres. Opting for 30mm tubeless tyres certainly makes the ride more cushioned, with Deignan being able to run lower tyre pressures and, for the most part, retain traction on treacherous terrain. The focus on comfort extends to the Bontrager Ajna Pro saddle, designed for sustained support while adopting an aggressive ride position.

I was just about to post the link myself.  Yeah 30 mm tubeless, maybe they did reconsider tire choice?  

[Razors Edge ★]

7 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I was just about to post the link myself.  Yeah 30 mm tubeless, maybe they did reconsider tire choice?  

The women were dry(er) conditions, but it definitely has been the evolution over the past couple decades to go from 23->25->28->30 widths, but seeing as how that's been relatively slow versus the non-racing world, and that the tubeless 30s were still considered novel leads me to think someone like EF could really shake things up with their gravel guys showing up with their beefier tired bikes for the next P-R. 

I think they are always evolving, it just seems a bit slow for this very specific race.  Few others except maybe something like Strade Bianchi make much sense for anything weighted too heavily towards gravel set-ups.  We do know, that if cross didn't restrict size, that those guys would be trying fatter tires, and I think for the P-R rough road racing, especially with bike changes readily available, a swap makes sense.

[Randomguy]

Question:  So a bike rider in Paris Roubaix gets a flat, then gets a bike change.  The previously used bike is disgusting, covered in mud and has a flat tire.

What happens to that bike next?  Do they rerack it on top of the car as is, or do they rerack it with another wheel in place?  Where do they put the wheel with the flat?  What if another flat happens to the same rider?  What if the rider that flats has his replacement bike square in the middle racks of the team car, and two bikes on either side have to be removed first before the preferred bike can be pulled off the roof of the car?

[ChrisL]

1 minute ago, Randomguy said:

Question:  So a bike rider in Paris Roubaix gets a flat, then gets a bike change.  The previously used bike is disgusting, covered in mud and has a flat tire.

What happens to that bike next?  Do they rerack it on top of the car as is, or do they rerack it with another wheel in place?  Where do they put the wheel with the flat?  What if another flat happens to the same rider?  What if the rider that flats has his replacement bike square in the middle racks of the team car, and two bikes on either side have to be removed first before the preferred bike can be pulled off the roof of the car?

I don’t really know but my guess is, if it’s a leader they put a fresh wheel on it.  If it’s a domestique they are scrood…

[Razors Edge ★]

37 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I don’t really know but my guess is, if it’s a leader they put a fresh wheel on it.  If it’s a domestique they are scrood…

Pretty much EVERYTHING would revolve around the team leader(s) and the other folks would ... be screwed   A well run team will get it right most of the time, but even a team like Ineos can screw it up as we saw with Moscon.  Probably didn't definitively decide the race, but it definitely did not help.

[Randomguy]

24 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Pretty much EVERYTHING would revolve around the team leader(s) and the other folks would ... be screwed   A well run team will get it right most of the time, but even a team like Ineos can screw it up as we saw with Mosconi.  Probably didn't definitively decide the race, but it definitely did not help.

It seemed to take quite a while with Moscon, didn't it?  The falling didn't help either, but that bike change seemed like 20 seconds or so, way too much time.

[Razors Edge ★]

4 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

It seemed to take quite a while with Moscon, didn't it?  The falling didn't help either, but that bike change seemed like 20 seconds or so, way too much time.

I think the bike falling was part of the team miscalculation as the bike might have been set up differently. Even different tire pressure?  He looked awful on it for a while.

[Randomguy]

9 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I think the bike falling was part of the team miscalculation as the bike might have been set up differently. Even different tire pressure?  He looked awful on it for a while.

Well, if that leak was slow for a while before the hole got bigger, he might have had some enhanced traction for a bit.  They might have also set a different pressure on spare bikes, maybe a team standard of x number of lbs, a bit different from individual rider preferences?

Both conspired to prevent a bid for victory, seems like.  He looked strong as hell until all the stuff happened at an inopportune time.