Am I wasting energy?

[posterboy]

Folks I have started to commute 18 miles a day, the front tyre has a larger profile than the rear. Both hybrid style tyres.

The journey is not getting easier, should I swap them around?

[mchammer89]

posterboy said:

Folks I have started to commute 18 miles a day, the front tyre has a larger profile than the rear. Both hybrid style tyres.

The journey is not getting easier, should I swap them around?

Can't see it making much of a difference, just stick with it and you'll be flying before you know it, I remember I used to have to stop halfway during my 4 mile commute during the summer (though I have a tendancy to go flat out the whole time =P) and now I can do 25 miles in almost an hour, you'll get there, keep at it.

[Beyond Rational]

What pressures are they running and what is the width of the tread?

[gbbird]

For a normal commute, have them at a high pressure and it should be easier

g

[posterboy]

Thanks for the replies!

Front
26 X 1.5 85PSI

Rear
26 X 1 1/8 116 PSI

[Beyond Rational]

Well the pressures are high enough, if the tread is on the smooth side already I doubt it'd be worth changing them for narrower profiles at the expense of comfort. Are there any other high friction items, hubs, cranks, brake drag etc? Is the ride hilly with a heavy bike? What kind of cadence do you maintain?

[mchammer89]

It's a bit hard to measure your own cadence (use a computer/unless you regularly go to the gym and have a rough idea) but try to make sure you're spinning pretty fast and it doesn't feel like you're grinding along.

[posterboy]

I try to sprint when I can, there are no major hills just 2 evil inclines that go on for almost 2 miles. The bike is light, 16inch cinderkone. Since I am new I just plod along.

[mk1fan]

Depends how far into the subject you want to go. Ultimatley a proper road bike would be a lot more efficient than an mtb on the road. If you're only using the bike to commute on then I'd swap for proper road mtb tyres when the current ones wear out. Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres are excellent. They combine punture resitance and speed. The added bonus is they have a reflective strip around the shoulder.

Weirdly - although when you think about not - at the same pressure a wider tyre rolls more efficiently than a narrow tyre.

[gbbird]

Is your posture correct on the bike i.e right seat height, stem length. A quick internet search will give you lots of info on this

[carbonjunkie]

buy a road bike and put 23-25mm tyres on it, you'll do it 15 minutes quicker instantly.