first off of the season -> winter tyres

niceonetom

well the inevitable happened yesterday and, as i lay on my back in the rain, listening to the blaring horn of the white-van-driver behind me, i thought it might be time to change my tyres. luckily instinct kicked in before i started drawing up a mental shopping list of winter essentials and i picked up both my bike and myself and made it to the footpath to find out how much skin i'd just lost, and if my beloved 'whip' would still get me home.

well this morning my right buttock, flank and elbow are a lovely shade of puce and scabs are forming nicely on elbow and knee. but my bike is fine, which is the main thing.

at the moment it's wearing Continental Ultra GatorSkins (700x23s) which are lovely and light for being so tough. they're a bit scary in the wet though, and rotten leaves, and diesel patches etc. make them bloody lethal.

so after all that: any suggestions?
tyes should be:
-grippy grippy grippy
-puncture proof
-light
-no wider than 25 (that's all that fits)
-available in/to Ireland
-come with a free blowjob from Keira Knighley

i'm might be willing to comprimise one of these prerequisites. maybe.

mkdon05

niceonetom wrote: »

so after all that: any suggestions?
tyes should be:
-grippy grippy grippy
-puncture proof
-light
-no wider than 25 (that's all that fits)
-available in/to Ireland
-come with a free blowjob from Keira Knighley

i'm might be willing to comprimise one of these prerequisites. maybe.

Theres a nice pair on chainreactioncycles for 20euro that fits all your requirements. Only thing is the Blowjob is from Mary Harney:p:D

Membrane

niceonetom wrote: »

at the moment it's wearing Continental Ultra GatorSkins (700x23s) which are lovely and light for being so tough. they're a bit scary in the wet though, and rotten leaves, and diesel patches etc. make them bloody lethal.

Any tyre is going to give way on rotten leaves and diesel. The Ultra Gatorskins don't use sillicone which is known to be slippery in the wet, they use natural rubber. I'm not so sure that there's anything substantialy better out there.

tyes should be:
-grippy grippy grippy
-puncture proof
-light

You can't have it all with tyres, the better the puncture protection the heavier they will be.

-come with a free blowjob from Keira Knighley

That's a model pump I haven't heard of before

tunney

No tyres will grip on wet leaves, manhole covers or oil. If you hit them in a corner I'm pretty sure you're going to crash regardless of your rubber.

Rob (aka Wheelworx) may be able to correct me.

rubadub

No tire is going to be great. I just cycle slower and accept it. I am usually in rain gear so cycling slower makes sense as i dont sweat as much. Try and find a clear route, might take longer but is still quicker than driving for most. More cars on the road these days anyways

mkdon05 wrote: »

Only thing is the Blowjob is from Mary Harney:p:D

At least you know she is bound to swallow!

sapper

Well ahead of you

unionman

niceonetom wrote: »

tyes should be:
-grippy grippy grippy
-puncture proof
-light
-no wider than 25 (that's all that fits)
-available in/to Ireland
-come with a free blowjob from Keira Knighley

i'm might be willing to comprimise one of these prerequisites. maybe.

Sorry to hear about your fall. It was a rough one yesterday, and hats off to every cyclist who felt the fear and did it anyway.

I switched from Specialized Mondo slicks (lethal and puncture-prone) to Vittoria Rubino 700x23's about two months ago. Very grippy (though diesel and wet leaves? Not even my old Hybrid chunkies could handle those), I've been puncture free so far (despite cycle lane glass fragments on a few occasions), they are light, there was a negligible difference in speed, and I got them in Cycleways, on the advice of the big Polish guy with the pony tail (very helpful and a nice guy, but I can't remember his name). Inexpensive too(less than €20 for the pair I think).

The thread is unlike anything I've used before - slick in the centre with small bumps on the outer rims for grip. I was sceptical, but they do the job. Went over a polished smooth manhole cover on the quays yesterday, and crossed the luas tracks at St James' - no problems.

As for the fellatio from Kiera? More immediate relief may be on offer closer to home

Wheelworx

You will have problems with any tyres on diesel and wet leaves, ultra gatorskin's are about as good as it gets, you just need to ride around the conditions, ie dont lean in corners, slow down and try to keep your weight over the wheels as much as possible.
Hope that wasn't too obvious/patronising.....
Rob

rob1891

Consider running lower pressures in your tyres, particularly if you are running them rock hard at 110psi (or whatever). At a lower pressure they will deform more and shouldn't skid so easily.

I'd concentrate on reducing the pressure in the front wheel as the back is more prone to snake bite punctures if it is too low, and because loosing grip on the front wheel is usually more catastrophic than loosing it on the back.

It won't help if you are turning man-hole covers, wet leaves or diesel, but you should notice some difference on clean road surface.

23s are pretty skinny also ...

[edit: actually, drop the pressure in the back too, if you loose traction while rear braking in a corner you will go down, and generally you probably brake with the back more often when it is wet, so no harm in having extra grip, just watch the potholes]

david1two3

Rubinos are cheap and nasty but seldom puncture. It is the only tyre that ever slipped in the dry on the last corner at Eastway(London) ,I was doing 30 + and it was terrifying. I have been on Conti Ultra sport since April and just changed the back but not the front with the only puncture coming from a safety pin on the race course at Hillingdon, great tyres for £15 each. I have raced them 3 times a week since then plus countless other journeys with no problems at all. If its great it gets my vote and if its rubbish I wont spare the critisism.