Buying Speed Post #2

In my quest to both train to get faster and buy things to get faster, here's the next installment of buying speed.  Today's focus is generally on race wheels but specifically on race tires and tubes.

Why are tires and tubes important?
I found out years ago that having the right race tires is important because some tires roll faster on the roads.  In addition, some inner tubes make tires roll faster too. 

Which tires roll the fastest?
According to Bicycle Rolling Resistance, the fastest tires currently are:
1. Vittoria Corsa Speed - Open
2. Vittoria Corsa Speed - Tubular
3. Continental Grand Prix TT
I wasn't able to find Vittoria tires in stock, so I picked up some limited edition Grand Prix TTs.  The difference between these tires and the tires I used last year (Continental 4000S II) is reported to be 2.3 watts.
Cost:  $90 for two tires
Cost per watt:  $39.31/watt

Which tubes roll the fastest?
Latex tubes roll faster than butyl tubes,  but is there a real difference? In a word, yes.

John Heasman, product promoter at Vittoria, the Italian tyre company, says that a “standard butyl tube adds roughly 5 watts per tyre” when compared with latex. Five watts might not sound like much, but over the course of long rides or time trials, it’s significant.  Read more at Cycling Weekly.
Cost: $24 for two tubes
Cost per watt: $4.80/watt

Thanks to RCK for getting me some new Vittoria latex tubes for the season.

RCK and I mounted new tires and tubes over the weekend.  Here's what the finished product looked like on my end:

Hopefully these will serve me well this year.  Two weeks until the first race of the season!