scorecardThe secret ingredient used to treat bicycle tires at the Tour de France? Vinegar
  1. Home
  2. sports
  3. The secret ingredient used to treat bicycle tires at the Tour de France? Vinegar

The secret ingredient used to treat bicycle tires at the Tour de France? Vinegar

Before the rain, some vinegar for good measure and good luck.

The secret ingredient used to treat bicycle tires at the Tour de France? Vinegar

Mechanics keep the vinegar in a water bottle and pour it into a rag before rubbing it onto the tires.

Mechanics keep the vinegar in a water bottle and pour it into a rag before rubbing it onto the tires.

Italian handmade-tire manufacturer Challenge has an insightful blog post on about the use of vinegar on tires. You can read it here. This is the most relevant part:

Immediately when I brought up the problem in front of team management they looked at me incredulously and said, "What? You do not know that you need to apply vinegar to the tires before riding in this 'season of the little stones'?" I could not have been more stunned. ...

Riders and mechanics for professional teams are all taught at a young age that you must treat racing tires with vinegar every two to three days during “winter” (or when “winter” suddenly reappears). ...

Long story short, if you want to have all the incredible performance - low rolling resistance, cornering and traction – that the Pros enjoy with Challenge Handmade tubulars but do not want to get a bunch of cuts or punctures, simply keep a rag handy and wipe your tires with vinegar every couple rides in that “season of the small stones”

Vinegar — it's not just for salads and fish and chips.

Vinegar — it

Should recreational cyclists use this vinegar trick at home? We asked Mark Purdy, an experienced mechanic who has wrenched for racing teams and currently works at Savile Road bike shop in New York.

"I've never done it myself, but I am aware of the concept of using vinegar on tires to soften the rubber a bit, like for rainy days," Purdy told Business Insider. "I suppose it makes sense, but your tires will wear out really fast. Diluted vinegar is a decent degreaser too."

Advertisement