Slick tyres and rain

RossoCorso34
RossoCorso34 Posts: 204
edited April 2017 in Road beginners
My roadie (which was bought 2nd hand) is now in need of some new tyres. It has a set of Vittoria Zaffiro tyres at the moment, and they have started to split.

The tyres I'm looking at are the Schwalbe One, but I am slightly unsure about them being slicks... As my other passion is cars, the idea of slick tyres and the rain fells me with dread! Should I have the same concerns with bike tyres? Do they need groves to displace the water, or does it not matter as the contact patch to the road is so small?

Comments

  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    They will be fine. Fill you ne'er with dread young laddie.

    Tiny contact patch and you don't go fast enough.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • RossoCorso34
    RossoCorso34 Posts: 204
    Matthewfalle wrote:
    They will be fine. Fill you ne'er with dread young laddie.

    Tiny contact patch and you don't go fast enough.

    You saying I'm slow?! :D Thanks for the reply.
  • MiddleRinger
    MiddleRinger Posts: 678
    You'll be fine. Road bike tyres don't need tread. It's nigh on impossible to aquaplane a skinny bike tyre, just take it easier in the wet as you will of course have less grip available.
    ~ ~ How fast is fast enough? ~ ~ ~ ~ Tempo Cyclist - Tasmania ~ ~
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    theboyfold wrote:
    Matthewfalle wrote:
    They will be fine. Fill you ne'er with dread young laddie.

    Tiny contact patch and you don't go fast enough.

    You saying I'm slow?! :D Thanks for the reply.

    Nae dramas young fella me lad. No land lubber is fast enough to need tread on bicycle tyres.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • ProjectObject
    ProjectObject Posts: 145
    Just need to take a bit more care in the wet. Spot hazards early then you don't need to grab handfuls of brake. That never ends well, especially in the wet.
  • the_chief15
    the_chief15 Posts: 64
    Taking the average weight of bike + rider and the size of the contact patch you need to go at somewhere around 130mph to aquaplane on a push bike.

    In the wet you just want to be a little more cautious in the corners and keep an eye on are white lines and manhole covers, which I would do whether my tyres had tread or not..
  • RossoCorso34
    RossoCorso34 Posts: 204
    Thanks for the comments. I don't see me being out in the wet too much, but it's good to know I don't have to fret about it too much
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    you do have a point but its not really the wet more the rubber compound used in the tyres, those Zaffiro you have are very low end and hard so not as grippy in the dry or wet, its a minefield out there for bike tyres but generally higher TPI and slightly lower pressure when wet is a good starting point, mind you throw in a touch of diesel on the road and all bets are off
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • RossoCorso34
    RossoCorso34 Posts: 204
    itboffin wrote:
    you do have a point but its not really the wet more the rubber compound used in the tyres, those Zaffiro you have are very low end and hard so not as grippy in the dry or wet, its a minefield out there for bike tyres but generally higher TPI and slightly lower pressure when wet is a good starting point, mind you throw in a touch of diesel on the road and all bets are off

    The Schwalbe have a TPI of 127 and the Zaffiro of (I think) 26. I'm off to research TPI to learn what it means!
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    Good start, im told by everyone in my club the​ schwalbe one are the business but im a huge fan of Vittoria and ride their pro III, tech, cx, corsa i also ride Michelin pro4 and have ridden just about everything by everyone but keep coming back to Vittoria.

    Good luck in your journey to find grip and speed
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • milemuncher1
    milemuncher1 Posts: 1,472
    Be very careful if there are painted lines, or exposed Iron work ( drains, manhole covers, cattle grids etc). That's pretty much the same advice I'd give for tyres with tread patterns as well, in the wet.

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