Vittoria Zaffiro Slick tyres?

alp777
alp777 Posts: 211
edited November 2009 in Road buying advice
I have just bought some of these with the intention of using them on my winter training bike (wet roads).

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=Y0012

It says on the label attached to the tyre "Slick tread pattern ideal on dry roads".

Are they ok (safe) to use on wet winter roads?

Comments

  • brownleather
    brownleather Posts: 114
    My Zaffiros only lasted a couple of weeks on the road last winter - they seemed to provide no grip whatsoever on damp roads.
    spamspam.jpg
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    slicks are fine on wet roads, bikes can't hydroplane.

    Be wary of overinflating them though, lack of grip on road bikes nearly always comes from over-inflation rather than any inherent property of the tyre. Every half decent tyre will grip tarmac at a sensible pressure, it's things like metalwork, paint, leaves and fuel that you need to watch out for.
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • solsurf
    solsurf Posts: 489
    seriously get rid of them, rubbish rubbish rubbish, unless you like slipping all over the place :cry:
    http://www.pogu.co.uk
  • Cranks
    Cranks Posts: 129
    My partner bought hers from here £12 for 2, she commutes 12miles a day and has expressed no comments so far..trust me, she would moan if there was something :O
  • alp777
    alp777 Posts: 211
    Cranks wrote:
    My partner bought hers from here £12 for 2, she commutes 12miles a day and has expressed no comments so far..trust me, she would moan if there was something :O

    I think these are different ie. not the "slick" version, thanks anyway
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    Vittoria make great play of their DOT Com Vector Design or whatever it's called, how the tread pattern increases grip in the wet, etc.

    I assume the slick doesn't have this, is just a plain unpatterned tread, but is otherwise the same tyre ?

    I can thus understand them saying 'for use in dry only', as if they said 'use in wet or dry', they'd be saying you didn't need their DOT Com Vector Design that they're saying is so brilliant...

    But agree with poster above - roadbike tyres don't need a patterned tread for use in the wet.
    - a car tyre does, a F1 racing car tyre certainly does as it has a contact patch of 240cm² (front) and 375cm² (rear) and runs at 15psi
    - but bike tyres are 23mm and run at 100psi : didn't someone do some tests and find that they would aquaplane, yes, but at 160mph or something !?!?!

    So assuming they are the same carcasse construction and same tread rubber compound, they should work as well as 'regular' Zaffiros

    I've used them - both folding Pro's and wire version - as cheap Winter tyres for a few years now.
    - wet grip is not the best, but they have good rolling resistance, hardly wear and are very puncture resistant

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