Winter tyres?

bandsawman
bandsawman Posts: 39
edited November 2011 in Road beginners
I'm commuting on my road bike and want to continue right through the winter.
I'm currently riding on Vittoria Pro Team Action HSD20 Kevlar tyres - 700 x 20C.

These are slick in the middle, file tread pattern on the edges, and 20mm wide.

I've been told that these will be ok for anything other than ice (or mud) - is this true?
Or will I need to change to something with more width and deeper tread?

Comments

  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,697
    20C is very thin! I assume you mean 23 to 28? 23/25C are more typical road tyre sizes

    But otherwise yes, they ll be fine, ice and mud excepted.
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • bandsawman
    bandsawman Posts: 39
    No, they are indeed 20C - 20mm wide.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    These are very narrow tyres for winter use - go up to 23C or ideally 25C to stave off the pun%ture fairy .....
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Even for summer use you'd find 23mm a better bet for you. Much better cornering on them, as the profile is rounder.

    20mm profile is almost square.

    I ride 25mm in winter and 38mm on the cross bike. Potholes arent so much of a problem on that.

    Go bigger and you have more air to cushion you, and more rubber in contact with the road.
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    20 is unusually thin and will probably mean you're running very high pressures unless you're extremely light (more a comfort issue than anything else). I tend to stick with Conti GP4000S (23) in the winter and Pro3's (also a 23) in the summer.

    You should be fine on those tyres in theory though. The only thing I'd question is how well they grip in the wet (but that's just because some tyres are a lot better than others).
  • bandsawman
    bandsawman Posts: 39
    Ok, that's relieved my anxiety a bit.
    Thanks guys. :D

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