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Wet Road with slick tyres

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  • January 26, 2016 at 6:11 pm #25302
    Toekneewood

    Greetings all, sorry for the “wet” questions ha ha, but my background is in mountain biking.  I have been going out in the evenings for a 20 Mike Loop using my mountain bike with 1.75 tyres that has a tread pattern. 

    I would like to start using my road bike that is carbon with slick tyres.  I am paranoid that because they are slick, that the grip will not be good when I corner. 

     

    Any experience or tips would be greatly appreciated 

    King Regards Tony Wood 

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  • January 27, 2016 at 2:27 pm #865999
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    sergius

    I’ve not had a problem with

    I’ve not had a problem with the lack of grip when cornering, the only time I’ve ever had a wheel slip on me was on a metal drain cover on a roundabout, luckily I was going slow so I managed to recover it.

    Unless you are a really big unit, there’s no reason to run really high pressures in your tires, I never go above 90PSI in mine (weighing 65kg) and that’s with 23mm tyres.

    I’ve got Conti GP4000II tyres on both my bikes, they have lasted well (4000km+ without showing any appreciable wear), I’ve not had a single puncture and I’ve used them in all conditions including snow on one occasion.  Of course I will have jinxed myself now.

    January 27, 2016 at 1:57 pm #865997
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    danielosman

    I run conti GP4000 which i

    I run conti GP4000 which i find very good, i drop the presure to around 85psi front 90psi rear and i have had the joys of cycling in torrential rain and flooded lanes never had a problem, but just bear in mind the conditions do mean rarely a PB

    January 27, 2016 at 12:29 pm #865995
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    Stef Marazzi

    Continental Four Seasons –

    Continental Four Seasons – great grip the wet

    January 27, 2016 at 11:12 am #865993
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    Toekneewood

    Hi bendertherobot, thank very

    Hi bendertherobot, thank very much for the advise, I have 25cm fitted at the moment.  I don’t think that I can go any bitter as the frame clearance near the forks is tight, so the Schwalbe or Continental would be a good choice.  Thanks very much for the tips also.

    January 27, 2016 at 9:31 am #865991
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    bendertherobot

    The GP4000iiS do not have any

    The GP4000iiS do not have any tread. They have nice fancy indentations. They’re really useful for figuring out when the tyres are worn out. 

    Bear in mind the competitors to the Conti’s. The Schwalbe One and Michelin Pro 4. Bare as a very bare thing. No tread, just as good in the wet. 

    Anecdotal evidence is great. If your tyre slipped out from under you at very low speeds, think about whether those grooves that you didn’t have would have sufficiently siped the road so as to increase your grip. 

    Use a bigger tyre, run the pressure a bit lower, take more care. All of those are far more helpful than tread.

    January 27, 2016 at 9:02 am #865989
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    Toekneewood

    Hi SuperPython59 & jdryan86,

    Hi SuperPython59 & jdryan86, thanks very much for the sound advice, I think that I will replace my tyres that came with the bike and save them for summer.  I have been a fan of Continental from my mountain bike days and it looks like the GP 4000s are the way to go.

     

    Thanks very much all I really appreciate the help and advice.

    January 27, 2016 at 8:43 am #865987
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    jdryan86@ymail.com

    Tony

    Tony

    Speaking from my personal experience only. On my first Carbon bike it came factory fitted with 23cc tyres with no tread pattern (mavic aksium) first wet ride cornering came off! Following this I changed to Continental Grand Prix 4000S II Folding Road Tyre 25cc never came off and been out in similar conditions and same route.

    I recently bought a new bike again fitted as standard with 23cc tyres slick i.e no tread and I thought to save money I would run these tyres out before considering changing! Cycling in pretty wet and pretty cold conditions cornering at slow speed felt the tyre go and fell. Luckily it was at fairly slow speed so no damage or issues. So once again swapped to 25cc GP 4000s II. On my most recent ride again wet / cold using the 25cc GP 4000s II feels much safer and not twitchy at all and no issues. My recommendations would be this but this is solely my experience and what works for me. I notice a vast difference with 25cc tyres with a slight tread pattern. The bike feels safe and I dont get that confidence running 23cc slicks!

    January 26, 2016 at 8:08 pm #865985
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    Toekneewood

    Hi wycombewheeler, great tip

    Hi wycombewheeler, great tip about metal covers. I will take a look on wiggle, all the best and thanks very much 

    January 26, 2016 at 7:25 pm #865983
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    wycombewheeler

    I found vredestien senso
    I found vredestien senso extreme tyres very good in the wet. £25 on wiggle I think.

    Generally it is OK when properly wet. The first bit of rain after a dry spell can be very greasy though. Also watch out for metal covers, for some reason the highways authorities accept these being placed in the wheel path at roundabouts.

    January 26, 2016 at 7:06 pm #865981
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    Toekneewood

    Hi mike the bike & Big engine

    Hi mike the bike & Big engine, great advice thanks very much.  You have some very good points of view. I think that I just need to bite the bullet and start using my road bike all of the time.  I have 25cm fitted at the moment. 

    I take it that a Composite frame would be ok would winter training.  Sorry if it’s another daft question but all of my mountain bikes have been aluminium.  So it’s a learning curve with things like torque settings on each bolt. 

    January 26, 2016 at 6:49 pm #865979
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    Big Engine

    Bontrager Hard Case Lites are
    Bontrager Hard Case Lites are £25 each. Although maybe not ‘really’ good, they are definitely a very good tyre at that price.

    I’ve punctured less with them than on GP 4000 SII.

    January 26, 2016 at 6:34 pm #865977
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    mike the bike

    Counterintuitive though it

    Counterintuitive though it may be, tread plays very little part in a road tyre’s grip.  Narrow bike tyres are never going to aquaplane and so tread, which is necessary on car tyres to avoid such things, is not required.

    It’s the compound that decides whether or not your tyre will hold the road; the softer the better.  But softer wears quicker so most rubber is a compromise between not letting go and not wearing out.

    A lot of tyres have dual compound construction.  The centre strip is harder to minimise wear when you are upright and the shoulders are softer to provide grip when you are not.

    Are there any really good tyres on sale for less than £30 each?  Read some reviews, here and in other magazines, and make up your mind. 

    January 26, 2016 at 6:23 pm #865975
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    Toekneewood

    Hi gonedownhill, thanks very

    Hi gonedownhill, thanks very much for the support fast reply. I tend to run my 120psi at 100psi.   Thanks  very much for the advice, I will give it a go. It will also means that I will be better off on the long riders as I would be used to the geometry. 

    January 26, 2016 at 6:16 pm #865973
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    gonedownhill

    Having commuted on 23mms for
    Having commuted on 23mms for years and only gone down once due to losing grip my advice would be to bank as little as possible, meaning you have to slow right down to take a corner.

    Got a pair of mavic aksion tyres on my best bike which have poor grip in the wet. Always got on well with schwalbe duranos. Letting a bit of pressure out can’t hurt.

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