Winter tires

jozi

I got myself a nice boardman flatbar racer about 2 months ago, love cycling it daily on my commute but I find the skinny tires a little scary at times when it's wet.

With the roads being wet most days from now till after xmass I think it's time for a tire change. This morning when going onto a cycle lane at an angle I went over a manhole and next thing I know I'm on the ground with a big dirty scrape on my top tube :eek:

I've noticed before now with leaves it can get a little slippy and when going over manholes that are angled a little I've noticed the wheel dragging along the edge. I try to avoid them at all cost as well as going through leaves.

I think it's a 30C tire on the bike, is there any recommended decent tire that has a little more grip going over manholes and through leave on the occasions where I can't avoid them?

jon1981

Some opinions that the slick skinny tyres are better for wet conditions not sure how true this is ( I have 23mm tyres Conti GP4000 SII and they feel good on wet roads). Personal experience, no matter how thick the tyre you'll have trouble going over a slick manhole cover, try to avoid them and don't turn sharply over them if you can't avoid them, read well ahead in the road. For wet leaves, if you can't avoid just take it extra slow, they are fecking lethal. I've had a few squidgy pants moments in the last few weeks over leaves! :eek:

cython

I'd agree with jon1981 in what he said. Metal manhole covers offer very little grip at the best of times, and when wet the only way not to lose grip on them is to avoid them completely. You might get lucky by rolling/coasting over them dead straight and centre, but incorporate any angle, or even putting power through the pedals, and you have a high risk of losing traction and finding yourself on the ground.

The only manhole covers I'd risk cycling over in the wet are those ones which have a cycle-path-like surface on the top of them, as that actually gives something to grip against.

Wet leaves are more difficult to avoid given how they fall and spread, but avoiding off road and ill-maintained cycle paths is probably a good start. At least on road cars tend to keep the surface reasonably clear.

D3PO

30c tyres should be plenty wide enough. I recommend you let some air pressure out of your tyres when wet out that will lead to an increased contact surface between tyre and road.

Alanstrainor

The leaves will be gone in a few weeks, so we'll all just have to grin and bear it for the time being. As for manhole covers, they are dangerous at all times, even when dry I find, no tire is really going to change that unfortunately. Be ware of road markings too, they're slippy bastards too!

IMO you should invest in some decent puncture resistant tires. The best tire I've had to date is the GP4000II, although I'm not sure what sizing you can get them in. I had 700x23c and found the grip fantastic. I just put on a Schwalbe Marathon Plus, which is 25c and slower, I've only just cycled once on it so I can't comment. But they're supposed to be on of the most puncture resistant tires you can buy.

smacl

Alanstrainor wrote: »

IMO you should invest in some decent puncture resistant tires. The best tire I've had to date is the GP4000II, although I'm not sure what sizing you can get them in. I had 700x23c and found the grip fantastic. I just put on a Schwalbe Marathon Plus, which is 25c and slower, I've only just cycled once on it so I can't comment. But they're supposed to be on of the most puncture resistant tires you can buy.

For a road bike, I've found Durano Plus offer a high level of puncture resistance, good handling in the wet, and much lighter than Marathon plus. For a wider tyre, I'm currently on 32c Marathon supremes on my hybrid and cross bike (which is now doubling up as my road bike). Lighter and slicker than Marthon plus, but a bit pricey. If I'm going to be off road in the mud in the wet weather, I'll stick on a cross tyre. Was using Swchwalbe CX comp last year, which are grand but not particularly puncture proof.

Quickpip

smacl wrote: »

For a road bike, I've found Durano Plus offer a high level of puncture resistance, good handling in the wet, and much lighter than Marathon plus. For a wider tyre, I'm currently on 32c Marathon supremes on my hybrid and cross bike (which is now doubling up as my road bike). Lighter and slicker than Marthon plus, but a bit pricey. If I'm going to be off road in the mud in the wet weather, I'll stick on a cross tyre. Was using Swchwalbe CX comp last year, which are grand but not particularly puncture proof.

+1 for the Durano Plus. Have over 2500km on this set without a single puncture(probably get a few punctures now for saying that lol). previously had gatorskins and found they punctured regularly and they weren't great in the wet. Of course others swear by them.

jon1981

I don't think puncture resistance is the problem for the OP, it's grip in the wet or strategies to increase grip.

poochiem

+1 the wet leaves. Girl tumbled behind me when I had to brake for a car that crossed our path last evening. She braked hard in front and the leaves did the damage. I'm changing from 23mm gatorskins to 35mm semi-slicks for the weekend and may keep them if the weather remains like this.

jozi

Having learned my lesson from going over manhole covers and the like as well a leaves I was a little shuck yesterday when on my way home I fell again :eek:

Was going around a corner on my route home when suddenly I was on the ground hoping there wasn't a car coming around the corner behind me. I've cycled the same route the last 4 months in worse conditions, wasn't going any faster or anything but I guess the roads were slippy/damp/frosty?

Anyhow, on the tires front I have Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Folding 700c x 28c tires that came with the bike. Are these just not great and if so what recommended tire can I replace them with that has a little more grip?

Wishbone Ash

jozi wrote: »

...Was going around a corner on my route home when suddenly I was on the ground hoping there wasn't a car coming around the corner behind me. I've cycled the same route the last 4 months in worse conditions, wasn't going any faster or anything..

There could have been oil/deisel or something similar on the surface. Even the best gripping tyres won't really help with oil on the road.

(I'm presuming as it was evening time, there wasn't black ice around??)

07Lapierre

I don't like Vitoria tyres... I found them to be less grippy than others. I now use Conti GP2000 tyres.

jozi

Yes evening time. I don't think it was freezing, the road was/is black with dirt though.

I have continental on my other bike, never a problem. Might take a chance on new tires, need to change chain also and do a good clean