WHICH TIRES ARE BETTER: NARROW OR WIDE?

For nearly a century, cyclists knew that narrower tires rolled faster. Some people realized that in theory, wider tires were faster because of their shorter contact patch, which deformed as they rolled. But the thinking was that in practice, the lower pressure that wider tires ran at limited their performance. If you want to go fast, choose narrow tires. So the question becomes: are narrow or wide tires faster on a bike?

Our ADO experts tested on real roads with a rider on the bike and found that the increased vibrations from the narrower tires caused energy losses that negated the gains from the reduced flex. These suspension losses are mostly absorbed in the rider's body.

The faster we ride, the higher the frequency at which our bike vibrates because our tires are hitting road bumps at higher speeds. However, narrower tires also increase the frequency of the vibrations they transmit. Basically, a bike with narrow tires feels faster, although it can also be slower. Conversely, wide tires vibrate less and therefore feel slow to most cyclists.

Narrow or wide tires on a bike? What does that mean for us riders? That we can choose our tire width freely without having to worry about performance. Of course, that doesn't mean that a wide touring tire will run as well as a narrow racing tire. The casing determines 95% of the speed of a road tire. To get good performance, you need a supple, high-performance casing. (The other 5% comes from the thickness of the tread.)

In summary, tire width affects the ride feel, but not the speed. If you measure the fast feel of a road bike connected to the road, you should choose narrower tires. If you want superior cornering grip and the ability to go fast even when the roads get rough, choose wider tires (like A20F+ ).