I had been riding on Kenda Small-Block 8's for about a year, maybe more. They served me really well last winter with their traction, and I used them last in a gravel-grinder spring race where they also performed well.
For the nicer climate and the sake of a mostly paved commute (albeit on some pretty bad roads), I switched back to my beaded Kenda KWest. They are wider (35 compared to 32 for the 8's) and have a road friendly tread. Alas, they were awful.
I didn't know what was going on with them until they "naturally" got softer as they lost some of their volume.
I have almost always inflated my tires via the squeeze test. Always liked my tires hard for less rolling resistance. But I have learned a lesson here - my bone jarring ride (aluminum frame and awful roads) has really smoothed out quite noticeably with less tire pressure.
I had always 'heard' this to be true but now I know it is.
Here's to getting the correct tire pressure!
On rough roads, there is an argument that says that some suspension offered by softer tires provides less resistance that harder tires (to a point). Now that I ride rougher roads than I once did, this argument seems to match my experience.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pondero. I guess the trick is to find that 'point' as you say...sort of the 'sweet spot' I guess.
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