Blackwalls or tanwalls?

[rmhurley]

Gotta say Im feeling the black walls on this particular fit, but if you were to swap the saddle or handlebar wrap it could change. I had some black wall gravel king slicks on my rando bike and when they wore out, I was ready to get another set, but I found some tan walls on sale. Luckily by then, the once black newbaums bar tape had faded to brown and I had put on a brown handlebar bag and the tan walls look right at home.

[peanutgallery]

tire label aligns with the valve...it is written

[Jad]

Hmm, I think tan walls lend a certain classic gravity that helps balance the bar bag.

[Carbonita]

Tan walls are slower. Really! Don't believe me? Check BRR data comparing black vs tan.

[Wunder]

Black because it makes the pink parts pop more. If you had black/silver headset and seatpost collar I'd say tanwalls.

[veggieburger]

Tan for sure.

[deluz]

I doesn't matter, buy the cheapest one.

[fourflys]

I'm a sucker for tanwalls on almost any bike.. and your's is no exception!

[azrider]

Tan !!

[dcama5]

I am definitely no expert in aesthetics or looks, but I see greater differences in other places between these two pics: different crank arms, maybe different stems w/ spacers in different locations, water bottle affecting the comparison, one more cage in one pic doing the same, and rear light/reflector in different places.

Basically, I think both tan and black look fine, and that sale would dictate my preferences also. Ha Ha

Dave

[Cat3roadracer]

Love the tan.

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by Carbonita

Tan walls are slower. Really! Don't believe me? Check BRR data comparing black vs tan.

Does Jan Heine know this?

[Louis]

The black's a bit better (IMO) but because the tan looks like it's on the dark side, it also looks fine. I'd ride either one.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Carbonita

Tan walls are slower. Really! Don't believe me? Check BRR data comparing black vs tan.

The only tires I could find on BRR in which they tested both tan and black wall versions was the Continental GP 5000 TT TR. But there is something clearly different between these tires apart from their colors. For the 28mm width, the weight of the tan version was 284mm vs. 250mm for the black version - heavier tires will always be slower (all else the same). For the 25mm width, the weights were closer, but the actual measured width of the tan version was narrower than the measured width of the black version - narrower tires will always be slower (all else the same). So I think the jury is still out on tan vs. black, and will likely depend on other differences between the tires.

[Carbonita]

Here is the result for conti gp5kstr 28mm tan/trans vs black, similar to 25mm, as well as conjecture as to why. IIRC Heine doesn't cotton to this protocol, since suspension losses not measured. But he has no repeatable test protocol/test rig AFAIK.

"We can now conclude that the transparent sidewalls cause this poorer result. We think there is more loss in the casing wires of the transparent version because they are less fixated and can rub against each other, resulting in a loss of efficiency."

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...transparent-28