More tyre questions!

snollup

My wife recently purchased a LaPierre Shaper 300, but is a bit shook after a minor spill today. Thankfully she is ok but is convinced that it is down to the size of the tyre & lack of grip on them that she fell and is now reluctant to get back on the bike. When she bought the bike she upgraded the tyres to Conti Gatorskins, 700 x 23 I think. I was wondering if cyclocross tyres might be the solution to her confidence issue. Would this bike take cyclocross tyres. There seems to be a fair amount of clearance between brake & wheel? She was really starting to get into the whole cycling and I really hope this may be the solution. Any advice on this would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

abcdggs

I have found gatorskins pretty slippy in the wet, i think what ever helps wiht punctures is bad for grip unfortunately. you might try putting wider slick tyres on it if she's going to be cycling on roads. The issue of tread for road cycling tyres has been covered in numerous threads, the best bet would be something slick which will give the most contact area.

Canis Lupus

For me I can't say I find gatorskins slippy if they were armadilloes I'd probably agree.

Look I can't say about changing anything but frankly if she's new to cycling it was most likely her inexperience rather than the tyres and I'd try to convince her of that first :P BUT if it's a case of she won't go near the bike till you get fatter tyres then if they'll fit go for it but hope she doesn't fall again

steinone

I have found that Schwalbe Durano(plus has more protection and is what I use) to be great in the wet.
The plus have great puncture protection and last for ages, if you can find them that is, they seem to be sold out most places at the mo.

kumate_champ07

maybe it was just a combination of 23c with very wet roads and not the actual brand/model?

paddymacsporran

You get way more grip on any tyre if you drop 10-15psi off the max recommended by the specific tyre - I'm on conti gp4000 on the winter bike and its grippy in all weathers with the pressure dropped by about 10%. Only other suggestion would be fitting 25's.

Whatever you do dont fint bontrager all weathers, they are as slippy as.......

snollup

Thanks all. Have shown her a couple of examples of cyclecross tyres and she seems keen. She sees the logic in using slicks, more surface contact & all that but admits the grips of the cycleX still appeal. All in the head & see admits it herself! Lets just hope theres enough clearance now to fit them!

Again thanks for all you advice.

kenmc

never found gators to be particularly slippy either to be honest. Leaves, manholes, luas tracks yep, they're slippy, but not gatorskins that I've noticed.

Paul Kiernan

Whole lot here about tyres for the winter. Gatorskins seems to have a particularly bad reputation in the wet! I would have thought the Ultrasport 28c's the bike came with would be pretty good (certainly a lot better than 23c gators). I don't think Cyclo tyres have any place on the road.

petethedrummer

I have the 32C version of these on my bike at the moment.

BostonB

With the leaves and a bit of rain its a bit slippy out there anyway. Avoid painted lines and metal manhole covers.

victorcarrera

I used 23mm Schwalbe luganos and stelvios for two winters and could not fault them for grip. Replaced them with gatorskins and it didn't take me long to find out for myself what others have said about them.
I found that they were slipping on wet bends and roundabouts that I would have no problem with on the Schwallbes or even other Continentals.
I think it seems to be the softer the rubber the better the grip in wet conditions. I won't buy them again as I have more or less sorted the puncture problem with modified tube protectors.
In case you haven't already done so, advise her to reduce speed, stay off the shiny tarmac and white lines in the wet, put weight on the outside leg and avoid braking on sharp bends.
+1 on reducing tyre pressure too at this time of year.

Ant

I have a cylocross bike and sometimes go off-road on it and the tyres are great for that. However, they have far less grip on the road than slicks - particularly when the road surface is wet. Fast cornering can be scary! The one time I found them useful on the road was back in January when I was cycling on packed snow.

I used to have Armadillos which were fine when it was dry but had little grip in wet weather. I'm still experimenting with different tyres and pressure settings to see which work best for me.

tunguska

I had the same problem until recently, got myself a set of these badboys and they did the trick:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18796

Savage grip, and like lightning aswell.

Planet X

..........just wait till you cycle on the frosty roads at the weekend!!! I reckon alot of people will hit the deck unfortunately.

snollup

tunguska wrote: »

I had the same problem until recently, got myself a set of these badboys and they did the trick:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18796

Savage grip, and like lightning aswell.

Use them myself on my road bike, fantastic grip alright. That said my wife can't get her head around the no grips thing!

Planet X

snollup wrote: »

Use them myself on my road bike, fantastic grip alright. That said my wife can't get her head around the slick thing!

Sorry?????
:D:D

snollup

Planet X wrote: »

Sorry?????
:D:D

I now realise my last post is a prime example of why one should read things back before clicking submit. Thanks PX for pointing that out!

.... and now to edit last post!

Canis Lupus

Early this year when London got snowed up to its eyeballs I was out on my bike on my 23c gators.

It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do in the world as it really was bad over here but I cycled at a speed that matched the conditions and was fine. I even had some fun on the quiet residential roads near me pulling skids until the roads became washboarded from car tyres in which case even cycling in a straight line was scary.

I stand by the fact that whilst a specific tyre may help a little it's rider experience that plays a much more important role in keeping the cyclist in their saddle in bad conditions.

I've 25mm gators on my commuter.

Will still be using these (on another bike) once it gets bad though. The sound of metal studs on tarmac is quite enjoyable I have to say!



http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1000,2,103,105;product=7245

seve65

snollup wrote: »

Use them myself on my road bike, fantastic grip alright. That said my wife can't get her head around the no grips thing!

yup, gp4000s great tyres had them since July on my road bike, got my first tyre cut though last week, I dont exactly treat them to beautiful tarmac though ! I had a couple of pinch flats as well hitting pot holes.

Still thinking about whether to patch the tyre cut inside with duct tape and get a few more miles out of them.

Just bought these for my mtb:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=39338
all good so far.

Penn, author of its all about the bike, also went for gp4000s as the best tyres for his bike. If you dont know he went around the world sourcing his dream parts for a practical fast road bike. The hubs he got came with a lifetime guarantee.

Black Bloc

Schwalbe x-comp. Very good hybrid style tire. I have them on a Scott in Italy. Have cyled frequently through rain showers with them. No problems. Don't know if they are in Ireland.