Originally Posted by
obuckler
I believe in magic!
Comparing a tire’s effect on ride quality is admittedly subjective. But one thing I compare (beyond how I think it feels) is this: while riding I keep an eye on my front tire’s leading edge. I watch how much vibration it exhibits.
Clinchers vs tubular or even a hard tire vs a supple tire all show different degrees of bounce or chatter which is easily seen. This is not entirely objective but it is at least observable.
My supple Corsa G+’s barely move. Other tires chatter.
It would be interesting to see if others notice any correlation of tire quality to ride quality this way.
Other factors in play here: the wheel build (rim type, spoke number/gauge/butted or not, etc.) and tire size/inflation are probably the biggest two.
My wheel builds are all 36 spoke 3 cross and butted spokes (15/16/15 or 1.8/1.6/1.8). For all my tubulars I ride the rear at the lowest psi recommendation and the front 5-10 psi lower. Today on 25mm tires that meant a bit over 100 rear and a bit over 90 front.
Well, there's about a mile of new pavement between here and the village of Marshfield. I'll have to ride them over it and see what I see.
By the way, I'm also riding a Vittoria G+ in front, and another Vittoria G+ in back. (That's roundabout phrasing, but I couldn't come up with a rational-looking way of making a plural out of "Vittoria G+.") They seem like nice tires, although I have nothing to compare them to.