winter tyres
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winter tyres
The stock vittoria tyres on my cannondale are getting a bit skittish as winter approaches and I wondered if anybody had any good sugggestions for a decent fast rolling but grippy winter tyre????......
I would suggest people post experiences of winter tyre / rim combos. Some tyre / rim combinations are pigs to fit. Not what you want in middle of winter!
I along with a lot of Cliftonites use Open Pros and i spent first few years on Conti Gators 23mm. Just about doable in terms of getting on and off. Got a bit nervous though in wet as quite a "hard" tyre; felt as if i was crossing my fingers a bit on grids / white lines.
Switched to another Conti tyre i think an ultra sport. Not quite as hard and an easier fit folding tyre. Great value for money and used to sold in pairs for about £20. If i found the same deal again would buy another pair in a flash.
Treated myself to a pair of Vittoria Open Pave Evo CG though for my winter fixed bike. 24mm and impressions so far are v good. Just taken a look and shuddered at prices on ebay. Maybe one of local shops might be able to do you a better deal.
What i would not recommend is going out on an Audax at the end of October on your best Veloflex
I along with a lot of Cliftonites use Open Pros and i spent first few years on Conti Gators 23mm. Just about doable in terms of getting on and off. Got a bit nervous though in wet as quite a "hard" tyre; felt as if i was crossing my fingers a bit on grids / white lines.
Switched to another Conti tyre i think an ultra sport. Not quite as hard and an easier fit folding tyre. Great value for money and used to sold in pairs for about £20. If i found the same deal again would buy another pair in a flash.
Treated myself to a pair of Vittoria Open Pave Evo CG though for my winter fixed bike. 24mm and impressions so far are v good. Just taken a look and shuddered at prices on ebay. Maybe one of local shops might be able to do you a better deal.
What i would not recommend is going out on an Audax at the end of October on your best Veloflex
Grids and white lines: I think it is intolerable we just live with these as they are, suffer crashes and just say Lah-di-Dah, fact of a cyclists life! Sorry to hear. Get well soon chum!!!
It is just possible that highways, city and county council engineers have never thought about making improvements to these with the aim of getting better slip resistance: all in my view achievable. If lines and grid cycling crashes were HSE reportable it would have happened ages ago!
From my memory there have been 4 serious Clifton grid nasties in the last couple of years, but there must have been more, skids on white lines too. If you send me your own estimate of Clifton crashes caused by these I can use this as evidence to get things going with the powers that be, who are all shirking so far!
It is just possible that highways, city and county council engineers have never thought about making improvements to these with the aim of getting better slip resistance: all in my view achievable. If lines and grid cycling crashes were HSE reportable it would have happened ages ago!
From my memory there have been 4 serious Clifton grid nasties in the last couple of years, but there must have been more, skids on white lines too. If you send me your own estimate of Clifton crashes caused by these I can use this as evidence to get things going with the powers that be, who are all shirking so far!
I can't help thinking that as individuals we are more influenced by anecdote than proper evidence when choosing tyres. Is there really a huge diffenece in puncture frequency between tyres?
My instinct is in line with dan's posting - don't bother with winter tyres - just ride grippier summer tyres and accept perhaps a slight increase in puncture rate in exchange for a lower risk of skidding/crashing.
Having said this, my winter bike has Gator-skins which are in decent nick still so I'll use these until they need replacing!
My instinct is in line with dan's posting - don't bother with winter tyres - just ride grippier summer tyres and accept perhaps a slight increase in puncture rate in exchange for a lower risk of skidding/crashing.
Having said this, my winter bike has Gator-skins which are in decent nick still so I'll use these until they need replacing!
Last edited by Dr Dave on Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My (purely personal) experience (since I do most of my winter riding on my own) is that race tyres never really get up to temperature in cold weather - I've had some very spectacular slides on Michelin ProRace in the past. I've been using Conti Grand Prix 4 Season the past couple of winters and have never had any scares, tho having said that, I'm a complete wuss when descending on winter roads. I'd agree with Dr. D re p******es; it's more to do with luck and whether you run over that thorn in the road, and less to do with what's bonded into the tyre construction.
Edit:- Wheels are Mavic Ksyrium Equipes, and the GP4S's are okay to get on and off (although I reserve the right to change my mind when sat on some godforsaken roadside in the sleet...)
Edit:- Wheels are Mavic Ksyrium Equipes, and the GP4S's are okay to get on and off (although I reserve the right to change my mind when sat on some godforsaken roadside in the sleet...)
"From my memory there have been 4 serious Clifton grid nasties in the last couple of years, but there must have been more, skids on white lines too. If you send me your own estimate of Clifton crashes caused by these I can use this as evidence to get things going with the powers that be, who are all shirking so far!"
I wouldn't waste too much time on it Willy. From our experience we know of a cattle grid at Malham where the LA settled out of court but as far as I know have done nothing to remedy the grid in the 8 years since Cath was catapulted into the metalwork. Lets face it its not their money they are paying out!
As for white lines, tar banding, covers etc - just avoid riding over them especially in the wet or if you use conti tyres!
Meanwhile back to the point of the post - I've had a preference for Schwalbe Blizzards for no other reason than they are cheap, reliable and a good all round tyre (yes they are completely round). The non folding version are about a tenner but I'm not sure if they are going to be available for much longer having been surpassed by a more expensive (£15) folder. Dead easy to fit and on an open pro rim you don't even need levers to take them off.
I'm not sure about the tyre/rim issue - this is down to the tyre levers. The flat plastic Michelin tyre levers will get the tightest fitting road tyre off - I swear by them.
I wouldn't waste too much time on it Willy. From our experience we know of a cattle grid at Malham where the LA settled out of court but as far as I know have done nothing to remedy the grid in the 8 years since Cath was catapulted into the metalwork. Lets face it its not their money they are paying out!
As for white lines, tar banding, covers etc - just avoid riding over them especially in the wet or if you use conti tyres!
Meanwhile back to the point of the post - I've had a preference for Schwalbe Blizzards for no other reason than they are cheap, reliable and a good all round tyre (yes they are completely round). The non folding version are about a tenner but I'm not sure if they are going to be available for much longer having been surpassed by a more expensive (£15) folder. Dead easy to fit and on an open pro rim you don't even need levers to take them off.
I'm not sure about the tyre/rim issue - this is down to the tyre levers. The flat plastic Michelin tyre levers will get the tightest fitting road tyre off - I swear by them.