Through the Tour de France, a video emerged of Groupama FDJ staff mechanics sanding new tyres as they constructed up the staff bikes. Some viewers instantly joked that this was some type of publicity stunt. However we have additionally seen different groups doing the identical, together with Tadej Pogačar’s UAE crew. So is there extra to it, and may all of us be sanding our box-fresh tyres?
Why may you sand you tyres?
Placing the sniggering to at least one facet, do different biking disciplines sand tyres and will it’s related to highway racing/driving?
The obvious comparability is observe racing the place sanding new tyres to ‘scrub them in’ is comparatively frequent. The truth is, there’s a lengthy historical past of sanding new tyres, which dates again to a time when tyre expertise was very totally different and way more simplistic. The standard of grip out there from a tyre 50 years in the past (and even 15 years in the past) was vastly totally different from what a contemporary tyre can supply. The form, width, compound and chemical construction of a contemporary tyre have all improved over time, which creates a product that behaves completely in a different way to these of outdated.
A mechanic works on a tyre previous to the lads’s elite observe biking on day one of many 81st 6 Days Gent 2022 at The Kuipke Velodrome.
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos / Luc Claessen)
With a more durable, stiffer tyre I genuinely imagine that roughing up the highest layer of the tread would have made a distinction. Considering again to the clincher tyres that I began racing on 25 years in the past, and the very excessive pressures all of us ran, it was value doing something you could possibly to seek out some additional grip. Again then, until you could possibly afford tubulars the tyres have been fairly unhealthy!
On the observe, pressures have been even increased, Coupled with the sleek, polished floor of the velodrome, it made sense to tough up the highest layer of rubber on the brand new tyre. By doing so, you have been guaranteeing that it might behave like one which’s worn in.
Is the observe nonetheless related for at present’s tyres?
As you’ll know from the previous couple of years, tyres throughout all disciplines have gotten wider and, subsequently, we’re all operating decrease pressures. This alters the scale and form of the contact patch (the a part of the tyre that contacts the bottom) and that is the rationale why a small change could make a giant distinction. The chemical nature of the tyre and the compound are additionally each main contributing components to grip on the highway floor. I might argue that these 4 main components in all probability trump the necessity to sand off the highest layer of a tyre normally, however how about new box-fresh tyres?
New tyres can have a skinny coating of residue that will cut back grip till it has worn off.
(Picture credit score: Future)
Usually, I’d argue that the enhancements in tyres negate the necessity to sand them. Nonetheless, I do even have first-hand expertise that challenges that assumption.
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A 12 months in the past, a rider in a Continental staff that I work for, was main a four-day stage race in France. On stage two he punctured and so, that night we fitted a pair of recent tyres. Each he and I have been fearful about becoming brand-new tyres straight out of the field. Partially, this was as a result of the climate had been unhealthy and the roads have been very greasy. However ultimately, he made the choice that that’s what he wished.
The next day, lower than 40km in, he rode throughout a roundabout in the midst of the peloton and was the one rider to crash. Was it a fluke, unhealthy luck or was it the brand new tyres? We’ll by no means actually know however we have been each left questioning the choice to suit new rubber. Once I noticed the Groupama FDJ video, this incident instantly sprung to thoughts.
What do the tyre firms advise?
Schwalbe advises driving “gently and easily, with simple acceleration, braking and cornering”, till the tyre “turns into matte and…extra homogenous”. I feel the necessary a part of this assertion is relating to when the tyre turns into matte; it’s one thing you’ll be able to simply spot when evaluating new and used tyres.
Michelin goes additional and says that on, “some highway tyres, small white waxes are seen when the tyre is unpacked. This can be a chemical agent within the tyre used to guard it from pure components. On moist roads, these waxes may trigger the tyre to slide when braking”. I feel normally, all these totally different bits of recommendation are largely referencing the identical factor.
Driving gently for just a few miles, with out pushing too exhausting on the corners is a sensible precaution when you’ve simply fitted new tyres.
(Picture credit score: Future)
In addition to sanding, I’ve seen riders utilizing white vinegar and/or rubbing alcohol to ‘clear’ their new tyres – particularly at races throughout moist climate. On the very least this removes any left-over launch agent from the tyre; when the tyres are made, they spray a launch agent onto the mould first, a bit like utilizing butter or oil in cooking to cease the meals sticking to the pan. The discharge agent must be eliminated earlier than the tyre is packed, nevertheless it’s attainable that there could possibly be some leftover. Utilizing alcohol to take away it’s akin to sanding the highest layer of the tyre. I can see how each would assist take away any issues, superstitious or in any other case.
We are saying
In the end I feel roughing up the tyre will certainly enhance the grip. That mentioned, I additionally really feel that the distinction will probably be so marginal that you simply or I might by no means discover the advance.
However, we achieve this many issues every day – particularly the place bikes are concerned – just because we really feel higher about doing them. Primarily, it turns into a ritual.
So, if sanding your tyres makes you’re feeling like you’ll be able to experience by means of that nook 1mph sooner, then guess what, you truly can experience by means of that nook sooner because of the confidence you could have within the gear. Whether or not it comes all the way down to confidence or precise quantifiable science is essentially irrelevant when you truly begin going sooner. So go forward, sand your tyres, carry a fortunate penny, and reap the advantages out on the highway!
