How can bicycle rolling resistance affect your ride?

What is bicycle rolling resistance?

In simple terms, bicycle rolling resistance is what prevents you from riding fast. There are several factors that produce this: gravity, mass and aerodynamics.

1 - Mass and gravity

Your bike and all its components have mass. You, the cyclist, have mass, as does your load (backpack, water bottle...). When you get on your bike, all of these elements form an overall mass that the earth's gravity pulls to the ground, making it more difficult to move forward.

Take the example of an eraser: the harder you press it down on the table, the harder it is to make it slide. When you're on your bike, it's a similar story. The greater your overall mass, the harder you're drawn to the ground, the harder it is to move forward and the more effort you need to make in order to ride.

Depending on the gradient of the terrain, the forces either increase or decrease. If you're pedalling uphill, the force of gravity pulls you down harder, in the opposite direction to where you're going. Bicycle rolling resistance increases and you need more energy to counterbalance this force and reach the top of the hill.

Conversely, it becomes easier to drive downhill because you're going in the same direction as gravity. Bicycle rolling resistance is reduced and the energy you need to get to the bottom of the hill is minimal or non-existent.

2 - Aerodynamics

Another factor in bicycle rolling resistance is aerodynamics, which is closely linked to speed. If you're driving down the motorway in a car and you stick your hand out of the window, it will feel a strong resistance from the air coming against it. If you turn your hand so that it is parallel to the ground, its position will be more aerodynamic and will therefore reduce this resistance.

On a bike, it's much the same thing. In terms of aerodynamics, the position of the cyclist, his bike and any baggage constitute resistance to forward movement.

The role of tires in rolling resistance

As you can see, the higher the rolling resistance, the more energy you need to expend while pedalling to overcome it. And in this context, your tires, which are the only two elements in contact with the ground, can in some cases reduce bicycle rolling resistance so that you can make less effort, and therefore use less energy.

Bike tire rolling resistance

As we drive, a zone of the tire enters what is known as the contact area, then leaves it for the rest of the lap and re-enters it again on the next cycle. Each time it passes, this area of the tire is deformed, which implies energy consumption.

An optimised tire is one that is designed using carcass, rubber, tread and tire shape technologies that will reduce energy consumption when driving.

Michelin's expertise helps us to refine these designs to create tires that dissipate as little energy as possible so that the effort applied to the wheel is exploited to the maximum. This is what we call rolling efficiency.

Impact of Tires Optimized for Rolling Efficiency

It's important to know that, depending on the use, a tire will have a greater or lesser impact on bicycle rolling resistance.

On the road, if you're going uphill, tire optimisation isn't very noticeable, but it is more noticeable during a relaunch phase. This is because the tire helps to optimise your performance. A non-optimised tire, on the other hand, can penalise relaunching, particularly in competition.

It's a bit different in mountain biking or road racing when you're travelling at speeds of over 20 km/h, since aerodynamics contribute over 60% of the energy consumed by the forward motion, which reduces the impact of a tire, no matter how optimised.

Which Michelin Tires Should You Choose?

For road cycling: The Michelin Power Time Trial tire provides low rolling resistance in the Tubetype category.

For MTB & Cross-Country: The Michelin Jet XC2 Racing Line offers high performance.

For added grip: The Michelin Force tire range offers better traction with a 2-Watt loss in efficiency.

For extreme conditions: The Michelin Wild XC tire provides the best grip but sacrifices rolling efficiency by 4 Watts.

How Can You Optimize Tire Performance?

Depending on how you use your bike, tire pressure will play a decisive role in tire performance and therefore bicycle rolling resistance. And the good news is that tire pressure is something you can control.

Pressure for Road Use

For road use, optimizing tire pressure enhances your performance. If your tires are not properly inflated, bicycle rolling resistance will increase. Therefore, it's crucial to regularly check and adjust your tire pressure.

Remember, it's not about inflating as much as possible, but inflating to the recommended pressure. Never inflate beyond the maximum pressure marked on the sidewall. Over-inflation could lead to rapid air loss which could potentially lead to accidents.

Pressure for Mountain Biking

If you're riding a mountain bike, the pressure you need to adjust will depend on the terrain. On gravel paths with dust or on sand and other soft ground, it is better to ride at low pressure. In this type of surface, high pressure would otherwise mean a drop in performance. Over-inflated tires tend to penetrate the ground and make it harder to move forward.

Pressure for Gravel Riding

For gravel use, you will have to choose a pressure which enables you to reach the versatility you wish. A high pressure will give good results in terms of rolling resistance on smooth surfaces, but could come at the expense of off-road grip. A low pressure will enhance off-road grip, but with potential downsides in terms of pinch protection and rolling resistance on smooth surfaces. Over- or under-inflation could lead to rapid air loss.

For more information about pressure, check out our tire pressure guide.

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