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Tyres for country roads and icy starts...
I commute 20 miles each way on a Genesis Equilibrium Disc from 2014. Its 99% country roads, 1% cycle path. If I see 5 cars, it's a busy morning. As anyone whose ridden here (south-west UK) will know if it's not up, its down round here. I gain/lose near 2000ft each way. I've done it in wind, rain and sun, but not really cold yet. There is little time to react on a downhill and I'm a bit concerned about coming off on my morning commute, 6.50am, dark, 2 degs or less.
As its starting to get icy in the mornings I am considering changing out my tyres from Conti GP5000, to something a little better if these here roads are troublesome. Struggling to know what is right though - I really want something stable and that I can be confident in almost regardless of the starting temperature.
So far considered Schwalbe Marathon Plus and Ritchey Alpine JB WCS.
Does anyone have a view on something that is super helpful in the morning, but given the distance, not a total drag on the evening commute, should that be a bit drier? Ta muchly.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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37 comments
Right. That makes sense. OK, so there is some cycle path that is very leaf-littered that I cover. It sounds like if the weather is cold enough to chop out the tyre, probably worth taking a slightly longer route and avoiding that cycle path as well.
The alternative is very steep, which is a bastard isn't it....
Yeah, if the cycle path is tarmacced, leaf litter can make it pretty treacherous. IMO leaves aren't so bad on gravelled paths, but then you'd be on a mountain or gravel bike anyway....
Mountain bike tyres grip by "digging in" to soft ground. On tarmac, which doesn't give at all, you end just riding on top of the knobbly bits, with the bits in between not making any contact - they are just wasted potential grip. See this diagram. There might be some benefit to having a small tread/pattern in order to catch on small irregularities on the road surface, but a chunky tread won't help. Tread will help with mud/leaf muck as Cap Badger points out, but not black ice.
Obviously the contact surface area of a fat mountain bike tyre will be larger than a thin, slick tyre, but that's just from having a much wider tyre!
Having a look around at the Vittoria Corsa G+ Isotech. Looks like £85 for a pair of 28mm tyres. That is lumpy....
Have you ridden these in colder conditions? Say, under 3 degrees?
I did my commute a couple of times in icy conditions last winter running the Vittoria's at the front and something different (I think Michelin Power Endurance but they have since been replaced so I can't check), both in 25mm. The Vittoria on the front definitely felt more planted than the back wheel, although I appreciate that's not a very fair test! I certainly noticed the back wheel sliding about a bit and didn't have any issues with the front wheel, but there's a lot more to that than just the tyre choice.
I'll admit the reason I only did it "a couple of times" by bike was that it did feel sketchy cycling on icy roads - normally if it was icy I wimped out and took the car. I'm not entirely convinced going up to 30mm would have made sufficient difference for me to be confident about it. But YMMV...
I can't suggest a better tyre, I still use Conti GP5000s on my road bike but at this time of year I am more likely to go on the mountain bike, even on the road. It has 2.25" knobblies which I run at 40 psi, and I have never had a sketchy moment on road with it, even at -2 or -3.
My road bike can't take anything wider than 25 mm, but I probably should look into a better winter tyre that fits, will be interested to see what others suggest. I'm nervous about riding the road bike when it gets to 3 degrees or lower, I've had two crashes on ice on it. The first I got away with a long slide along the road, I was probably doing around 15 mph when I hit the ice. The second I was doing about 2-3 mph as I was trying to turn into a drive, went down hard on my wrist and broke it. I do quite like riding in the proper cold, but if you break bones it just isn't worth it.
Agreed. Broken bones to be avoided. Trouble is, the alternative for me is to buy another bike or a car - neither of which I have the pockets for at the moment. So tyres seem to be the only option...
Definitely a vote against keeping the Conti's on...!
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