Re: [CR] Nylon tubulars

(Example: Production Builders:Frejus)

From: "Ted Ernst" <ternst1@cox.net>
To: "Ted Ernst" <ternst1@cox.net>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, "donald gillies" <gillies@ece.ubc.ca>
References: <20100529042219.C82CA215E0@ssh-linux2.ece.ubc.ca> <3FEFC7A5607B469FB00B0064DA47B393@D8XCLL51>
Date: Fri, 28 May 2010 21:39:59 -0700
Subject: Re: [CR] Nylon tubulars


Anybody watch the Giro today?? Descending in the rain? No rain in San Diego? Drought and H20 rationing is working. Nobody is watering lawns, washing down driveways or sidewalks. Ted Ernst Palos Verdes Estates CA USA


----- Original Message -----
From: Ted Ernst
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 9:32 PM
Subject: Re: [CR] Nylon tubulars



> Yes , but that's why riders and coaches have been adjusting pressure for
> decades to compensate for weather conditions.
> Cotton is not that flexy either.
> That's why it's silk for cement tracks and cotton for boards.
> That's why the tires are marked wet weather and all-weather, etc.
> That's why the board tracks recommend rubber based strips, instead of
> silicon, so the coefficient of friction can be maximized.
> That's why sew-ups are so much better cornering than clinchers, etc., etc.
> Ted Ernst
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "donald gillies" <gillies@ece.ubc.ca>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 9:22 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR] Nylon tubulars
>
>
>> That photo of 'Raleigh Nylon Extra' tubulars is from a tire that's
>> rotted away, and for display only, so there is no danger of me riding
>> them (and even so, here in san diego we hardly have any rain.)
>>
>> Here's a theory about why nylon tires might be WORSE in rain. First,
>> vulcanized rubber is vulcanized rubber, whether it's vulcanized to
>> a cotton or nylon casing. HOWEVER, a fully inflated tubular with a
>> cotton casing may be more 'flexible' than a similar nylon casing tire,
>> which, at its maximum pressure, might be totally inflexible, like a
>> latex vs. butyl tube.
>>
>> So rain lowers the coefficient of friction between the rubber and the
>> road. However, the cotton tire is more supple and rides like a
>> squished sponge, so has a large contact area with the road and good
>> traction in the rain. A fully pumped nylon tire behaves like a rigid
>> body, with very little surface area on the road, and when you lower
>> the coefficient of friction for that small area, you pass some
>> handling or steering minimum friction point and the bike becomes
>> dangerous to ride?
>>
>> - Don Gillies
>> San Diego, CA, USA