Tyres for wet weather?

ashleey

After a spill yesterday, I'm looking for advice on the better tyres for the autumn please?

I'm leaving my summer bike with continental grand prix 24mm until next summer after yesterday as I have lost wet weather confidence.

My alu bike has schwalbe durano s 23mm presently but I also have conti ultra race 25mm in the shed. Which would be the better of these two in the wet, and if they are both sub optimal what would be the recommendation please?

macnab

The first part of your question is very specific so I doubt you will get too many replies. But for the second part here is a quick search, good info I think.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=14556727#

chakattack

I find Conti GP4000 and Michellin Pro 3 Race to be pretty good in the wet.

I think it's important to adjust your riding style aswell. Avoid leaning into corners and cornering at speed as you would on a nice dry day.

Oh and watch out for drain covers and wet leaves.

crashoveroid

Well the first thing there is no specific tyre for the wet. But i would recomend vredestein fortezza as a tyre that seems to be good in all conditions.

rp

chakattack wrote: »

Oh and watch out for drain covers and wet leaves.

and especially beware of diesel spills on roundabouts.
I dunno if any tyres are better than any other to tell the truth, certainly, tread patterns do nothing for road-holding over slicks, which leaves the rubber compound - anyone know if there are better wet weather compounds?
I like the Durano Plus's, myself.

Lumen

crashoveroid wrote: »

Well the first thing there is no specific tyre for the wet.

Yes there is. Michelin Pro Grip, for example.

The essential tire for rainy conditions, the new Michelin Pro Grip has 60% more grip than the Pro Race on wet roads. Using a rubber compound developed especially for Moto Grand Prix and Formula 1 racing, the Pro Grip is the perfect complement to the Pro Race. Depending on the weather and road conditions, you can choose one or the other for optimal performance.

I have used them racing and non-racing, and whilst they seemed fine for both I can't say how much grippier they were since I've never lost grip with GP4000s either.

ednwireland

rp wrote: »

and especially beware of diesel spills on roundabouts.
I dunno if any tyres are better than any other to tell the truth, certainly, tread patterns do nothing for road-holding over slicks, which leaves the rubber compound - anyone know if there are better wet weather compounds?
I like the Durano Plus's, myself.

+1 on the diesel i hate seeing that on corners and roundabouts hit that an no tyre will save you (i use maxxis refuse on my commuter) dont change tyres on the road bike never have

ashleey

Thanks lads for the replies and, yes, my opener was a bit specific which is bad etiquette. I'll probably leave the durano s on for now as they seem more 'tacky' than the conti tyres which seem like a harder compound. I'll update if I come off on those as well!

As an aside, I was chatting to my naval engineer brother in law. His first response was 'I bet that it was grease form the auto greasers of a tractor. That's why the roads here get so slippery on the first rains. A few days of heavy rain and things improve by washing away. There are specific laws about their maintenance in Germany, for example' and big fines if you are caught spilling excess grease. It's not the same here...'

ednwireland

dont forget mud on the road from building sites / tractors , stones dumped everwhere from overloaded trailers driven by 16 year olds, concrete all over the roads from drivers too lazy to clean the chutes on lorries properly.

theres a house built on my route into work and they never bothered putting drains in so now the water paours across sthe road from their drive and freezes at the first frost (i always enjoy cycling on ice when there isnt a sight of it anywhere else)

anyway no point bringing laws in if they arent enforced (not that that ever stopped this gov.)

not even friday

ashleey

There are enough checkpoints. They just don't check for the dangerous stuff, just the date on your tax disc...


Is it Friday yet?

Keep_Her_Lit

For wet weather tyres, if you're prepared to sacrifice a little speed, you could try Schwalbe Marathon Supreme - they have been optimised specifically for wet weather grip.
http://www.schwalbetires.com/marathon_supreme

On the other hand, if you prefer to tone up your glutes and jaw muscles alike, fit a pair of Continental Gatorskins, which I will henceforth refer to as "Skaterskins". These are spectacularly bad in the wet and I can assure you that you will negotiate every wet corner and roundabout with butt and teeth solidly clenched.

My urgent research into better alternatives came up with the above mentioned Marathon Supremes. I've just fitted my first pair, so it's unfortunately a bit early yet to offer a confident appraisal of their performance. I'm certainly more relaxed now when riding, so that's a good start!

BostonB

I have specialized armadillos on the MTB which are meant to be woeful in the wet. BTW I'm never going that fast, or corner that fast so I've noticed them being that bad. The only time I've felt a slip is on a painted line, or manhole cover.

poochiem

well I have some hutchinson equinnox things...like feckin attaching lubricated marbles to my rims...christ above (i nearly met him yesterday) dublin city last evening in that horrendous rain storm was a very very unnerving situation

BostonB

Got a bit wet myself in that

oflahero

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

On the other hand, if you prefer to tone up your glutes and jaw muscles alike, fit a pair of Continental Gatorskins, which I will henceforth refer to as "Skaterskins". These are spectacularly bad in the wet and I can assure you that you will negotiate every wet corner and roundabout with butt and teeth solidly clenched.

Too right. While I love em for their puncture protection, I came off last night in the driving rain as I entered my apartment block's underground carpark (smooth concrete like glass). Slammed hard down on my hip. Still in denial and hobbling round avoiding the inevitable visit to A&E to have it X-rayed.

There must be a happy medium...