Cycling In The Rain

mattyhislop

Hi

I bought a bike for the first time in a few years earlier on this year. It's gone really well and i've been commuting about 10k to and from work since then.

Recently, I started to get a few punctures so had to change the tyres(the bike was bought 2nd hand, a Giant SCR road bike and the tyres were in need of changing). I bought "Michelin Krylion Carbon" tyres - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20460. They've been very good so far, no punctures yet.

Just wondering if there are certian pessures that are safer to use in wet weather? I read somewhere that you shoud have the back one pumped up more than the front? Also, with regard to the rain, I read somewher that the krylions are prone to skidding in the rain. Any truth in this? I've got the 700 x 23 ones. Any other recommendations for the rainy weather?

Thanks for any info

blorg

As a general rule yes the back should be higher pressure as it carries more weight. This is nothing to do with the rain. All else being equal which it rarely is wider tyres at lower pressure will give better grip. I would not use under 25s on winter any more personally. I used maxxis columbiere myself but most good tyres Re available in 25s.

mattyhislop

Hi Blorg,

Thanks for the advice. Do you use the Maxxis specifically in the winter or all year round? I bought the krylions as they had great reviews for being puncture resistant - the punctures were becoming a right pain! Is it the case that puncture resistant tyres generally don't handle well in the wet weather?

Also, would 25s be a lot safer than 23s in bad conditions?

murph226

Thats great I was just wondering about changing from 25's to 23's, cheers for answering my questions, now all I have to do is decide on what tyres!

blorg

I put the Maxxis on for the winter but they are very nice grippy tyres, very light and roll well. They had plenty of life left for summer so I left them on the wheelsets they were on. I use 700x23c tyres for racing in summer. They were quite cheap for a high-end tyre on CRC when I bought them.

I haven't used the Michelin Krylion but it has a good reputation as a high quality training tyre. I have used Pro3 from Michelin and it is a nice rolling tyre but cuts up and punctures very easily I think. Some puncture resistant/durable tyres do compromise on wet grip all right, Gatorskins are not great for it and Armadillos are positively awful. So it is certainly possible the Krylion is in that category- although I think from its reputation it is probably not as bad as those two tyres in this regard.

The Maxxis Columbiere is more in the category of a good race tyre like the Conti GP4000 or Schwalbe Ultremo. Both of those are available in 700x25c incidentally.

mattyhislop

That's brilliant, thanks a mil.

I think i'll invest in the maxxis (25s). The krylions have been really good (bear in mindI haven't got into racing, just commuting at the mo) but i did feel the back tyre slip a bit one day, although it only happened once. It's just not worth compromising on the safety for the sake of another €40 or €50. Especially if it's anything like last winter!

blorg

I wouldn't read too much into it if it only slipped once, could happen to any tyre. Having said that I do like the Maxxis a lot and 700x25 are definately better for winter. You could put the 23s back on in the summer.