Tire talk with Dan Atkins

Dan Atkins (Race Pace cycling) gives good advice on tires.  How do I know?  I wouldn't have won the Monster Cross non-elite race on Sunday if I didn't push back my fears and take his advice.

I had questions, he had answers and I'm sharing:

me:  atkins.
me:  tread vs. volume.  lets say a 2.1 with more aggressive tread vs. a 2.2 with faster rolling tread.  bascially the same weight.

go.

Dan:  that's up to you

i like low tread tires usually

me:  are they equally grippy.  or does more tread mean more grip. or more volume mean more grip?

Dan:  they're not equally grippy

lower tread height tires typically have less grip

but that doesn't really mean its a worse tire

i like low tread tires on the rear because it helps me move the bike around with the brake a lot easier

me:  agreed.

alright

how about puncture resistance

any difference?

Dan:  not really

me:  ok, what is an advantage of volume?

me:  more valume that is.

and what is the advantage of less volume

Dan:  lower pressure, better traction for higher volume tires

generally

less volume is lighter and potentially faster

its hard to generalize

you really need to compare one tire to the next

me:  u ever go high pressure for something like cohutta 100 miler

like so much road

seems like u want like 45 psi

Dan:  no

never

me:  hah, ok

Dan:  it might make sense reading race reports and descriptions of the course

but in reality it's a terrible idea

me:  good to know

Dan:  just run whatever your regular tire pressure is

you will be MUCH more comfortable

i made that mistake the first time i did a 100

at wilderness

i rode like 45 PSI because i heard that there was so much stuff other than singletrack

and it was awful

me:  lol, ok i was def heading towards that mistake for wildcat 100

Dan:  don't do it!

me:  i rode 40 psi last night just to see.  seemed alright.  but only rode one trail in ccbc (over by my house) so tough to tell.  this helps

Dan:  you will regret it for sure

after 8 hours your back will be dead

me:  excellent info thx!  ok to post this to my blog "tire talk with dan atkins"?

Dan:  for sure

me:  jackpot