Grippy Tyres for Road Commuting in the Rain?

[angusc43]

Is there such a thing as a soft-compound grippy tyre for road commuting?

I was slithering around this morning on the way in to work. Can't recall what tyres I have on at the mo - they are a semi-slick design. Breakaway is quite sudden. Feels like I am on the bike equivalent of something hard compound/high mileage.

In car terms I'd go for sticky Yokohamas, Toyos, Goodyear GSD3's.

Has anyone found a good sticky slick of semi-slick for 26 in rims?

[Parrot of Doom]

Tread pattern > compound.

[natcot]

I am currently running these and they're are very good, as for wet weather performance, I'll be able to answer that properly tonight sadly!! 15 miles is the wind and pi55ing rain - oh joy. They're hardly super fast but they do roll well and and are very comfy, but a tad pricey.

http://schwalbetires.com/marathon_supreme
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/...

[angusc43]

natcot said:

I am currently running these and they're are very good, as for wet weather performance, I'll be able to answer that properly tonight sadly!! 15 miles is the wind and pi55ing rain - oh joy. They're hardly super fast but they do roll well and and are very comfy, but a tad pricey.

http://schwalbetires.com/marathon_supreme
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/...

Cheers natcot - looks like the sort of tyres I'm after.

Let me know how you get on in the rain.

[anonymous-user]

I use these, the narrow width, 100psi+ and rounded profile means that it cuts through any water and maintains a decent contact patch even when leaning round a corner. Oh and they are bloody fast too!

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/continental/ul...

Just to clarify deep treads on a bike tyre for the road is pointless if it has a narrow width, anything with knobbly shoulders is plain dangerous wet or dry.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 2nd September 15:52

[okgo]

I have some conti sport contact tyres at the minute..

they are cheap at 40 quid a set, they roll quick, I went round a roundabout earleir at some speed in wet and they were fine..


One question I have though, they rate them up to 85 psi I think. Should I go higher?

[anonymous-user]

depends on size, design and operating parameters, the ones posted above I have are 26 x 1.2 and have a max psi of 115.

The increase in PSI means significantly less rolling resistance, being slick also means less rolling resistance, low rolling resistance doesn't necessarily mean less lateral grip especially in the wet and especially vs treaded tyres. It's all about having an optimum contact patch on the road, with thin tyres & high PSI you don't need to worry about water displacement proporties as the section width is narrow enough to do that on it's own.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 2nd September 16:14

[Rolls]

I always uses Spec All Condition Pro on my MTB when that was the commuting bike - found them pretty darn fast, and good in the rain to boot!

[Chris71]

My hybrid's got Conti Country Rides (I think they're called) and they seem almost slick to me as a mountain biker, but the roadie in the shop assures me they're a year round tyre. Anyone familiar with them? To be fair they do seem pretty good in the mildly damp conditions I've been out in.

[ewenm]

Watching Le Tour this year, someone emailed in asking if the riders have different tyres for different conditions - the answer was no, as the tyres are narrow and at 100+ psi there's no need for different tread patterns/compounds. Of course, that dosn't mean there's the same level of grip in the wet as the dry but does mean that your standard slick road tyre will perform as well as anything else in the wet.

[cheadle hulme]

+1 for Conti Sport Contact.

They also come with a 12 month puncture guarantee which is handy.

There are grippier road tyres out there (Michelin Pro 3, Conti GP Chilli) which are probably the equivalent of a Yokohama or Toyo but they don't come in 26" and would be too lightweight for commuting.

Everything's a compromise innit?

[angusc43]

Chris71 said:

My hybrid's got Conti Country Rides (I think they're called) and they seem almost slick to me as a mountain biker, but the roadie in the shop assures me they're a year round tyre. Anyone familiar with them? To be fair they do seem pretty good in the mildly damp conditions I've been out in.

Conti Town and Country maybe? That's what I have at the mo.

I was slithering about on Monday which made me wonder if it was the tyres. To compound things mine are quite a few years old so maybe a bit vulcanised. When I corner hard in the dry and I get onto the shoulders they make a "screee" noise which suggests they gone a bit hard

I might swap to one of the others recommended and see if I get an improvement.

[navier_stokes]

Tyre pressure will make a huge difference to grip levels, try lowering it a bit.

[angusc43]

navier_stokes said:

Tyre pressure will make a huge difference to grip levels, try lowering it a bit.

Good point - although I'm only running 45/55 psi f/r

[anonymous-user]

Make ysure you don't reduce the PSI too much as it will be dangerous, the sidewall will deform and you'll end up with a very unstable bike.

As I said you need the combination of something that will take high psi and maintain a good contact patch when leaning over.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 7th September 12:35

[A - W]

angusc43 said:

navier_stokes said:

Tyre pressure will make a huge difference to grip levels, try lowering it a bit.

Good point - although I'm only running 45/55 psi f/r

I run around 110/120 psi.

[pdV6]

A - W said:

angusc43 said:

navier_stokes said:

Tyre pressure will make a huge difference to grip levels, try lowering it a bit.

Good point - although I'm only running 45/55 psi f/r

I run around 110/120 psi.

Beware, though - the OP is running 26" MTB wheels by the sound of it. The rims themselves are probably only rated to 60psi or so.

[angusc43]

pdV6 said:

A - W said:

angusc43 said:

navier_stokes said:

Tyre pressure will make a huge difference to grip levels, try lowering it a bit.

Good point - although I'm only running 45/55 psi f/r

I run around 110/120 psi.

Beware, though - the OP is running 26" MTB wheels by the sound of it. The rims themselves are probably only rated to 60psi or so.

Yeah - and the tyres are only rated to 75psi or something. 45 front and 55 rear is about right to me - beyond that the ride on London roads becomes pertty applalling.

[BOR]

I use a 26x2.0 Schwalbe Kojak slick. No problems on wet roads so far*.

I run them at about 60psi. Seems like a good compromise between grip and speed.

• This kind of post is inevitably followed by a "I just low-sided my bike in the rain and broke all my bones" kind of post.

[angusc43]

BOR said:

I use a 26x2.0 Schwalbe Kojak slick. No problems on wet roads so far*.

I run them at about 60psi. Seems like a good compromise between grip and speed.

• This kind of post is inevitably followed by a "I just low-sided my bike in the rain and broke all my bones" kind of post.

So far so good then.....

Or did you break your fingers and/or laptop in the crash?