Installing Pathfinder Pro Tyres Has Changed My Vado SL Totally
Since not everyone of you is watching
the David Berry's thread, let me tell you what happened yesterday.
I wanted to ride for ice-cream to an excellent cafe "nearby" (the round trip is 42 km). There was a 22 km/h headwind on the outbound trip (I believe it was far stronger than that!). I used 100/100% SL Turbo mode for the whole trip. I was pedalling as hard as I could. The shortest distance to the cafe was 18 km, and I completed it in 45 minutes with average speed of 24 km/h (mind you, upwind!).
I decided to beat some Strava E-Bike Segments on my way back with the tailwind as my ally. That made the return trip distance of 24.4 km. On a 7 km Strava Segment, I achieved max speed of 46.8 km/h (29.0 mph!) and the average speed of 38.1 km/h (23.7 mph). On another 4.6 km segment, my average speed was 39.1 km/h (24.3 mph). My own input averaged at 127-129 W only (meaning, I never maxed the motor out on the attempt!) Both segments were
totally flat.
I attest I have never been able to achieve such high speed on another tyre make/model. (The Pathfinder Pros were at 4.5 bar inflation pressure).
Let me give a comparison between the performance of two similar rides on two different tyre sets. Almost the same distance. Flat terrain. 100% Turbo mode. The intention to complete the ride as fast as possible. In both cases, it was a loop ride with the wind effect cancelled by the loop.
View attachment 118362
What could improve the average speed that much if not the tyres?