prankster

Hello,

I just started getting into track racing. I bought a used track bike with HED Stinger 6. The tires on them are 22mm wide. The widest tubular track tires on sale at the moment is 23mm. I have been road racing for several years now. Coming from road racing, this is all new to me.

Is there a trend of going to wider tires (25mm) on track racing? If not, is 22mm as fast as 23mm on track?

JimiMimni

Based on my limited experience, there are a few things to look for in track tires, in addition to width. You need to consider the total rolling resistance of the tire, and the rolling resistance at the pressure you intend to use, as well as how the tire width and rim width interact. If you take a listen to the CyclingTips podcast episode from the TTT in the Tour, Josh Poertner, formerly of Zipp, talks about his 105% rule. For maximal aerodynamic advantage, the rim should be 105% wider than the tire, at a minimum. Your current setup should be good, provided you have fast tires, and frame clearance for the Stingers.

In general though, yes, wider is slowly becoming adopted by the track community.

colnago62

Baby Puke

When tires get wide they will limit your gearing choices unless you put on a longer chain. I learned this after experimenting with 25mm tires. Stick with 22-23mm.

taras0000

There might be a minimal, immeasurable advantage to going slightly wider on an indoor track. As you go through the banking, the tires will deform more because of the G forces. A larger tire deforms more readily with less energy loss than a narrower tire. You can counteract this in a narrower tire with higher pressures. For indoors, my guess would be 22-23mm would be fastest if you aren't running high pressures. Ultimately, my guess would be narrower rims and tires at higher pressyres would be fastest on an indoor track.