why do the fastest bicycles have really thin tyres but the fastest cars have very wide tyres
In: Engineering
A really fast car with wide tyres would most probably be even faster with narrow tires, it would just suck at turning and accelerating, which is important things for most fast cars.
This isn’t true. The fastest car, the one that set the land speed record, it had thin tires too.
Bicycles are power and endurance limited by the cyclist so minimizing friction and drag are paramount.
Racing cars on a track with curves is typically grip limited (ie tires lose grip before engine max power). So wider tires that improve grip reduce the time it takes to go around the track.
Fast cars need to grip the road well to maintain control at high speed. Wide tires let them contact a larger surface of road. Bicycles are just built as light as possible as you don’t reach the same speeds to have those problems
Thin tyres equals less resistance on the road resulting in less effort required to peddle.
Thick tyres on a fast car does create more resistance but the advantage of having more surface area on the road allows for more grip and so the ability to put more power down before having wheel spin.
Thin tyres reduce fraction – as the power of the cyclist is limited, you choose the as lightweight as possible option
Cars have enough power – and wide tyres give them better tracktion
Fast cars need a lot of traction, which means they need a lot of surface area on their tires. Otherwise, they spin out really easily thanks to the high speeds and power.
Bicycles don’t really have that problem because you aren’t going fast enough for it to matter. Thinner tires weigh less and weight is a big selling point for bicycles.
That’s actually not true for bike tires. On a perfect surface skinny tires are faster but on normal road conditions a slightly wider tire is faster. That’s why pro’s have gone from 19mm tires up to 25mm tires recently.
Cyclists are actually moving away from the thinnest tires as the weight and aerodynamic benefits do not outweigh the benefit of added traction with wider wheels. So basically, your initial statement isn’t correct.
Fastest cars don’t have wide tyres.
Th best racecars have wide tyres – however they are not even remotely closeto being able to set landspeed records.
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