Tyre upgrade?

magibob

I have a Btwin 500 with original tyres, Hutchinson Equinox 23 C. Had my first fall yesterday... (I'm fine, thank you for asking. )

I have a question. The fall came on a damp morning as I turned off a road with some mud on it, and there was a zebra crossing, Bang! My wheels both at the same time, just slid from under me. I wasn't going fast, or accelerating hard, or leaned over into the turn very much. I am aware that mud, damp and painted lines is a tricky combination, but it was a shock at how easily the wheels slid. I've done about 500 miles on the bike from new, and this is the first time either of the tyres have lost grip at all. The pressures were 80 PSI, and I'm a heavy guy, so I think they were about as low as they should have been. I have had the last 5 years or so, of riding a hybrid, and never came close to sliding off in all that time, so I'm looking at the tyres as being the difference.

So a question, would a different set of tyres make much difference to the level of grip?

Where I live, I am pretty much limited to decathlon to shop from and I am told that the widest tyres I can fit on this bike are 25s. I'm looking at maybe http://www.decathlon.co.uk/700x25-resis ... 42354.html.

Would these make much difference in grip, and are there others that I can get from decathlon that would be better, but without spending too much.

imposter2.0

Magibob wrote:

So a question, would a different set of tyres make much difference to the level of grip?

Different tyres do offer different levels of grip, but any other tyre would almost certainly have also lost grip in the same circumstances, so the answer to your specific question is probably no. There are many other reasons to swap tyres though, but it is unlikely that any other tyres would have kept you upright at that point.

nuclearred955

I'd recommend something like Michelin Pro4 Endurance - they will cost a bit more than cheapo Deca own-brands but the difference in ride quality, durability & puncture resistance is worth it, IMO.

I would agree that the fall you took sounds more like a consequence of the surface & conditions and likely would have happened regardless of rubber, though.

OnTheRopes

White paint is notoriously slippery in the wet, couple that with greasy roads this time of year and as others have said any tyre may have lost it. I nearly lost it on a roundabout last weekend and blame a cheap mavic tyre I had on, though in all honesty cannot say.
Personally I use Continental GP4000s2 and find them a fast, not easily punctured but sticky tyre. Either way personally I believe good tyres are worth paying for.

cougie

Another vote for the gps4000. Can you get a 25Mm on?

No guarantees out there mind you. It is v slippy out there.

myideal

There was some black ice around yesterday as well as know a few people who had a fall. Reading this and seeing stories about people falling makes me glad this year I've decided to indoor train in Zwift.

I guess some compound of rubber would work - however you need a tyre expect to work out that science for you.

ForumNewbie

Magibob wrote:

Where I live, I am pretty much limited to decathlon to shop from

Why not shop on the internet to give you more choice of tyres?

For winter riding I find Continental Gatorskins are good tyres.

magibob

ForumNewbie wrote:

Magibob wrote:

Where I live, I am pretty much limited to decathlon to shop from

Why not shop on the internet to give you more choice of tyres?

For winter riding I find Continental Gatorskins are good tyres.

Good point, but, I live in Mallorca, and anything takes at least a week to get here, without paying stoopid amounts of postage, and we have good weather forecast that I don't want to miss. *

Also, Decathlon have 15 models of tyre in the size I want, including Micheline and Continental, so to be honest, they should have something suitable.

cheers

Andy.

* Of course, with good weather, the wet weather performance shouldn't matter.

giropaul

Magibob wrote:

ForumNewbie wrote:

Magibob wrote:

Where I live, I am pretty much limited to decathlon to shop from

Why not shop on the internet to give you more choice of tyres?

For winter riding I find Continental Gatorskins are good tyres.

Good point, but, I live in Mallorca, and anything takes at least a week to get here, without paying stoopid amounts of postage, and we have good weather forecast that I don't want to miss. *

Also, Decathlon have 15 models of tyre in the size I want, including Micheline and Continental, so to be honest, they should have something suitable.

cheers

Andy.

* Of course, with good weather, the wet weather performance shouldn't matter.

I can't think of anywhere in Mallorca that is more than a short ride from a decent bike shop

peat

The stock tyres that came on my Trek were dreadful in the cold/wet. Very unforgiving, riding over a drain cover was brown-trousers o'clock. I switched to GP4000's and couldn't believe the difference.
I am running Michelin PRO4 Endurance this winter (I find the GP4000's get cut to ribbons this time of year) and am reasonably pleased with them. Bought from Decathlon, no less.

drshoe

another vote for GP4000 over here, served me well.

Secteur

Magibob wrote:

The pressures were 80 PSI, and I'm a heavy guy,

Without wanting to open *that* particular variety of canned worms again, that seems low.

I'm 6ft tall but slim (68-72kg ish, depending on current diet!) so not a heavy guy in the sense you probably are, and always run my tyres at 100psi and have never had an issue BUT I think that's less to do with my tyres (GP4000s in the summer, GP4S in the winter) and more to do with being extra extra extra-ordinarily careful with mud/leaves/white lines/wetness. I don't care if going at 3mph on particular corners affects my average times - I'd rather stay upright.

As someone alluded to above, I don't think changing tyres makes a massive difference in the way you intend but that said, a good pair of conti's will have the best puncture protection and build quality for your buck, and is worth it for that in my mind.

Obviously if you're a racer then none of this applies.

So my advice is, bad luck today but next time just be super careful, read the road ahead, and keep your tyres till they wear out, at which point get some conti's.

MikeBrew

Magibob wrote:

I have a Btwin 500 with original tyres, Hutchinson Equinox 23 C. Had my first fall yesterday... (I'm fine, thank you for asking. )

I have a question. The fall came on a damp morning as I turned off a road with some mud on it, and there was a Zebra crossing, Bang! My wheels both at the same time, just slid from under me. I wasn't going fast, or accelerating hard, or leaned over into the turn very much. .

Are you sure it wasn't simply the shock of seeing non-indigenous wildlife on the road ? Are you sure that's what you saw, or are you just having a Giraffe with us ?...(mind whirs furiously, trying to work Gator-skins into the narrative, but fails miserably)

Bobbinogs

Magibob wrote:

...The fall came on a damp morning as I turned off a road with some mud on it...

OP, this is why you fell. Riding through a skim of mud would have left a residue on the tyre walls (whereas the damp centre would have probably been fine). As soon as you turned you would have put the weight through the off-centre of the tyres, picking up more of the sidewall where the damp mud was sitting...and that was about it. I don't think any particular brand/model of standard road tyre would have made any difference...or the pressure/width. As posted above somewhere, you just have to back off at this time of year and try and feel where the edge of grip is. When you feel either wheel stepping out then you need to be able to gently adjust but that can be easier said than done, particularly if you are going too fast and on a camber going the wrong way.

Gatorskins are not known for the their 4 season grip, more a case of durable tyres that offer a good balance between puncture protection and rideability (sort of somewhere between GP4000sII and Marathons!) so they are not going to be the answer except to a different question.

BTW, I am riding Schwalbe Ones at the moment, lovely grippy yet fast tyres even in the wet. I also lost it big time back in the spring when I hit a spread of mud on a corner and did a "Bambi on ice" impression (fortunately for the group I was with I was at the front and acted like a pilot fish). Felt peeved but I do accept that falling off is an occupational risk with cycling.

Glad to hear you are ok and able to learn from the experience.

ZMC888

Sorry to hear about your fall.
The truth: It's the nature of the beast; road biking. In short; you give up grip for speed.

I can knee-down motorcycles and almost bar/pedal drag a mountain bike at a 50 degree plus angle, yet a recently wetted cold road and a white line can have me kissing the bitumen quicker than Charlie Sheen in ski resort, it's not you, it's the nature of going fast.

Best deal with it by being careful in shite conditions, and if you do fall, hunch up like a surfer that's been wiped out, don't try to stick out an arm to break your fall (or collarbone break likely), instead try to take the hit with your shoulder or knee. Or just think 'brace brace brace'.

hsiaolc

Magibob wrote:

I have a Btwin 500 with original tyres, Hutchinson Equinox 23 C. Had my first fall yesterday... (I'm fine, thank you for asking. )

I have a question. The fall came on a damp morning as I turned off a road with some mud on it, and there was a zebra crossing, Bang! My wheels both at the same time, just slid from under me. I wasn't going fast, or accelerating hard, or leaned over into the turn very much. I am aware that mud, damp and painted lines is a tricky combination, but it was a shock at how easily the wheels slid. I've done about 500 miles on the bike from new, and this is the first time either of the tyres have lost grip at all. The pressures were 80 PSI, and I'm a heavy guy, so I think they were about as low as they should have been. I have had the last 5 years or so, of riding a hybrid, and never came close to sliding off in all that time, so I'm looking at the tyres as being the difference.

So a question, would a different set of tyres make much difference to the level of grip?

Where I live, I am pretty much limited to decathlon to shop from and I am told that the widest tyres I can fit on this bike are 25s. I'm looking at maybe http://www.decathlon.co.uk/700x25-resis ... 42354.html.

Would these make much difference in grip, and are there others that I can get from decathlon that would be better, but without spending too much.

Yesterday and today morning there were quite a lot of ice on the road. My car was skidding both in the morning and late afternoon. I went out with my bike too and I nearly lost it as well. I doubt any tyre will make any difference on road of that kind of conditions.

If I knew there is a lot of ice or black ice on local roads then I normally wouldn't ride.