Slipping on thin tires

grizzly

I've slipped off my bike twice in the last week . I bought a Giant racer 5 months ago after 10 years of mountain bikes so I'm still getting used to the thinner tires. Recently I've put armadillos on to prevent punctures. I've noticed that they have less threads (are smoother) than the ones I replaced. Thinking that maybe these tyres mixed with colder, wet weather is losing my traction.

What do you think, is there anything that I do? Lightly sanding the tire was a thought I had .

kona

grizzly wrote: »

I've slipped off my bike twice in the last week . I bought a Giant racer 5 months ago after 10 years of mountain bikes so I'm still getting used to the thinner tires. Recently I've put armadillos on to prevent punctures. I've noticed that they have less threads (are smoother) than the ones I replaced. Thinking that maybe these tyres mixed with colder, wet weather is losing my traction.

What do you think, is there anything that I do? Lightly sanding the tire was a thought I had .

you have to learn to ,use a bike in the wet!
get all your breaking done before ya turn, keep the wheels turning, when they are turning they are biting and gripping, its like a car. get all gear changes and braking done before the corner.
the position on the bike is very very important

rubadub

And maybe take a different route. I pick a route with few turns and not wet leaves or muck.

niceonetom

i've found armadillos to be a bit skittish too. on frosty mornings especially. the conventional wisdom says that threads don't do much, that it's all about rubber on the ground. or something like that. lower your tire pressures?

grizzly

Thanks for the replies! Something to think about there.

Morgan

Think about the situations where you came off. Were you leaning too hard in a corner? Braking (as mentioned above)? Slipping on something like a grate, tram-track, road markings?

Some tyres do indeed have better grip than others but in the wet a lot comes down to how you handle the bike. Sanding your tyres won't really do anything - apart from wearing away your tyres. The roughness would be smoothed out in a few miles anyway.

animal

Armadillos are the most slippery tyres i have ever used and i really wouldnt recommend riding them in the wet at all. I used them for about 3 years of commuting and while i think i got only 1 puncture due to a missive nail i stopped using them as i found them too dangerous. If you have to, perhaps let a little air pressure out of them. If they are hard they are more likely to slip. This would be in addition to just taking it handy around corners.
As an alternative i use the continental Gatorskins. They arent as slippy and are reasonably strong. Not in the same leage of puncture resistance as the armadillos but good all the same. As they arent as heavy, they are also quite a bit quicker than the armadillos. You still need to take caution in the wet mind you. They dont instill me with the same confidence as racing tyres.

E@gle.

Morgan wrote: »

Think about the situations where you came off. Were you leaning too hard in a corner? Braking (as mentioned above)? Slipping on something like a grate, tram-track, road markings?

I agree with this, i have armilidos on my winter bike and i have never slipped at all and i do take corners pretty fast. In the winter i usually have around 80-90 psi in the armilidos as it helps with grip compared to my summer tyres which i have at around 120-125 psi.

pete4130

Armadillo's resist punctures by using a harder rubber compound, so they are more hardwearing and durable at the cost of some grip. I've had my back end slide out and bring me down when I had to weave to avoid a parked car on damp ground. the back end just went from under me, not even under braking. They are fantastic for reducing the number of punctures for sure but you always have to remember the slight lack of grip, especially when its wet out/luas lines/cobbles or anything else thats more slippy than usual. This asid i do totally recommend them, especially in winter when the last thing you want is the "p" word happening!

unionman

I've been using Vittoria Rubino's last couple of months. Cheap (and some say nasty) but effective so far in all winter conditions and 'p' free so far too. Good points above about braking, steering and position, they all count too.

Raam

I've been using Armadillos for ages now and have not had any issues with grip (apart from fish-tailing on Sunday as I tried to stop at the bottom of a hill, but it was very greasy that day). They might not be as grippy as other compounds, but unless you are actually racing, there probably isn't a need to take corners so fast that it causes you to slip.

The advice Kona gave is good. Just take it a bit easier in the wet and you'll be fine.

grizzly

I was going over road markings the first time I went down. It was a freshly painted yellow line and had less traction than glass! Must have only been put down a couple of days ago.

I'll just have to be more careful and drop my tire pressure a little.

8kvscdpglqnyr4

For me, Armadillos definitely have poor grip! Changed recently to Continental Gatorskins and so far they are much better.

zorkmundsson

have gatorskins on mine and had a pretty good-looking spill off the bike on sunday night. too dark, too wet, and too fast on the luas line, reckon i skidded on the track. entirely my own fault, though, can't really blame the tyres.

although it won't stop me trying.

neilled

I whacked a set of hutchinson fusion 2's on my bike. I know they're more of a performance tire rather than commuting tire, but they're doing the job grand, no punctures so far. Wear rates reasonable and the grip is good. Still though, I'm picking a hell of alot of glass outta them but that happens if your riding in the city.

pete4130

Vittoria Rubino's are cheap and cheerful IMO. Used them on a few bikes before. Good grip, dont cost a fortune (although sometimes hard to find in black!) and even though they feel light and thin they are quite tough.

I've got a set of Specialized "Mondo" tyres on my road bike that are 100% slick, but a nice soft compound that quite thick. They are a little lively in greasy/wet conditions but not so much so as the Armadillo's. Didn't get a puncture in them for a good 6 or 7 months (and living in Finglas you have the pleasure of cycling through alot of glass every day!), until I was cycling home one evening in the rain and thought to myself "these tyres have gone ages without picking up a "p"....2 minutes later I was walking home in the rain. Talk about putting the scud on myself.

david1two3

unionman wrote: »

I've been using Vittoria Rubino's last couple of months. Cheap (and some say nasty) but effective so far in all winter conditions and 'p' free so far too. Good points above about braking, steering and position, they all count too.

Rubinos ,the only tyre that ever slipped in the dry,bone dry at 35miles an hour,forget them and try for the same price Continental Ultra sport ,one puncture in 9 months and that was a race number pin on the track.I have mostly raced the Ultras in the wet as the weather was oddusual this year ,total confidence in full race conditions.

Civilian_Target

Armadillos aren't great in the rain, they do tend to slide more. If you've been at it for 10 years, you know how to brake. But for others, Sheldon Brown has a good guide that showe me how (after I'd fallen off!) http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

niceonetom

Civilian_Target wrote: »

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

good article.

Many people will tell you that it is dangerous to use your front brake in a turn; I would respond that this is so if your turning/banking technique is incorrect. The center of gravity of a bicycle/rider must lean into a turn; this is required by the laws of physics. There are three ways you can do this. One way is to keep the bike more-or-less upright, but to lean your upper body into the turn. Another is to keep your body more-or-less upright, and lean the bicycle under you. The third, and usually correct technique is to keep your body in line with the bicycle frame, lean the bicycle and rider together as a unit.

when i (occasionally) get it wrong it's usually because of leaning either too much or too little in a turn. i am, of course, tempted to blame the tires, but technique is key. especially so on a fixed gear.

blorg

I use Armadillos myself, great for puncture protection but they are definately slippy. I've had slideways slip, tyre spin on heavy acceleration, etc.

AFAIK it is more the materials used rather than anything to do with the tread; tread doesn't help traction on a tarmac road at all:

http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/slicks.html
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tyres.html#tread