Third Time's a Charm: Litespeed T3

[RyanH]

I don't have a pair of Vlaanderen mounted but most tubulars run true to size give or take 1mm and tend to be the same height as width (IOW, nice and round). The tires you mentioned I'm guessing are clinchers and will change size depending on the rim they're pair with. For the most part, this isn't the case with tubulars although they *may* plump up on certain rims but again, small changes.

Here's a new pair of Roubaix:



Vittoria Corsa 23's:



A well worn set of Veloflex Carbons (23mm):

[KarlC]

KarlC, we need to get you some Arenbergs/Roubaix...you'll see the light! Imaking20 and Denavelo are both recent converts. Come to the light...LOL.

I'm not sure Im ready to go back to 25s on my stiff riding BMC TMR01 with stiff Reynolds aero wheels, my old body likes the taller and wider 27s.

Maybe I should try the 25s on my Master X-Light first, what the difference from the Arenbergs and Roubaix ?

[Imaking20]

But 27s are having a negative impact on the aerodynamics of the 26.2mm Reynolds wheels...

Maybe 25 front and 27 rear

[Denavelo]

KarlC, we need to get you some Arenbergs/Roubaix...you'll see the light! Imaking20 and Denavelo are both recent converts. Come to the light...LOL.

I'm not sure Im ready to go back to 25s on my stiff riding BMC TMR01 with stiff Reynolds aero wheels, my old body likes the taller and wider 27s.

Maybe I should try the 25s on my Master X-Light first, what the difference from the Arenbergs and Roubaix ?

Arenberg tires are just a black version of the Roubaix. People must have clamored for the Roubaix without the tan sidewalls. They both ride/weigh the same. My only reasoning for riding 27c tires was that my crew of misfits like to ride dirt trails here and there in between our road crushing in LA. So the Vlaanderen tires were perfect for that. I also didn't like how the Roubaix tread thins extremely fast when you do lots of miles. Granted I only get in 3-4 rides a week, and that's including something big (80-100mi) on the weekends. I just wanted tread that would last longer, but the downward pricing slope of the Roubaix and comfort of those tires make them hard to pass up. I think 25 is the sweet spot of tires when you want comfort/speed/handling.

[oldturd]

Ignore this post! Found my answer..

[KarlC]

But 27s are having a negative impact on the aerodynamics of the 26.2mm Reynolds wheels...

Maybe 25 front and 27 rear

I dont mind giving up a bit of aero for a bit of comfort, besides the Zipp 27s SL Speeds are really only 26.8, are really fast and roll really well

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 2047093726

[Calnago]

KarlC, we need to get you some Arenbergs/Roubaix...you'll see the light! Imaking20 and Denavelo are both recent converts. Come to the light...LOL.

I'm not sure Im ready to go back to 25s on my stiff riding BMC TMR01 with stiff Reynolds aero wheels, my old body likes the taller and wider 27s.

Maybe I should try the 25s on my Master X-Light first, what the difference from the Arenbergs and Roubaix ?

Nothing wrong with that @KarlC... if I were you I'd get a set of the Vlanderens. sounds like they're really what you would prefer. And I get that. So long as you have the clearance. No problem brakewise with the new Shimano 9100 calipers providing the frame doesn't get in the way. With Campy it can be a different story and the clearance may not be enough... it wasn't for me. But the tires themselves certainly do provide a cushy ride. I may give them a little longer to really push them in some situations. Just went back to a set of 25's yesterday on the same Bora wheels and certainly felt the difference. I'm going to experiment with a teensy bit less pressure in the 25's today.... say 95-100 in the rear and 85-90 in the front (versus just over 100 in the rear and around 90 in the front). I was riding the Vlanderens with 90 in the rear and 80 in the front, likely a bit high, but it was on good pavement and I still wanted to "feel" the road. I'm not done experimenting and will lower the pressure in those as well. It's just fun to try out the options.

[KarlC]

Cal you bring up another good topic .... PSI.... when you say 90 psi how do you really know its 90 psi? When I inflate my tire to 90 psi and then remove the pump head there is always lost air, sometimes more sometimes less. Is that lost air coming from the pump or from the tire or both ?

[RyanH]

Lost air comes from the space between the pump head and the valve so no pressure should be lost.

Regarding pressure, at 70 kilos I run the 25s at 65/75-80. They become really plush at 60/70 but also a little squishy. For 28mm tires I run them at 60/70. I could run them lower but I don't like that squishy feeling they provide.

[Calnago]

Agree with Ryan on the burst of pressure as you remove the pump from the valve coming from the hose and not the tire. Just got back from a ride and the current pressures of my tires (Arrenberg 25mm Tubulars) are front: 79psi and rear: 82psi. The front feels about right. The rear could probably use a little more.
I've been out since 1:30pm. Quite a lot of that time was spent off the bike in accordance with my 50/50 rule. It's a stat I keep track of and basically is a goal that 50% of any ride should be spent enjoying good times off the bike. I think I almost managed that today with a couple buddies. I have one of those SKS digital pressure gauges which comes in handy when checking actual pressures.

[Mep]

Ryan what kind of inner and outer cables do you run?

iLinks and mini iLinks with regular steel inner cables?

[RyanH]

Yessir. I run that on all of my bikes.

[FIJIGabe]

Didn't you just post this bike for sale on OSM? It's a beautiful bike, BTW.

[RyanH]

Someone asked in response to the Litespeed Classic being listed what I was keeping, and I posted a picture of this. This bike is definitely staying in my stable.

[Mep]

Yessir. I run that on all of my bikes.

Do you do anything special when setting these up? Thinking of trying them out with Sram Reds as you seem to have had a good experience and are pretty demanding on your gear.