while we’re talking tires…good compromise between gravel and slick?

[hozn]

Yeah, Contis are really nice. And I would say the GP4000SII with latex tubes seems like a good clincher high-water mark. Certainly that stands out as one of the nicer tires I have ridden. Though the Schwalbe Pro One tubeless are really similar feeling and have the tubeless benefits — self-repairing and letting me run lower pressure without worrying about going flatting.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Well….I needed (wanted) a new set of wheels for my gravel bike, as the stock Ovals were kinda flimsy and I plan to relegate them to winter studs duty, so I decided I might as well try tubeless. I was thinking of having Hans help me build a new set, but Nashbar was having a huge sale, so I picked up a set of Easton EA90 Road Tubeless wheels, with a set of Clement X’Plor MSO 700×36 tubeless ready tires. The bike came with the older, clincher version of the tire and I’ve been really happy with them, so I was very pleased to see them now in tubeless. In theory, I could’ve run tubeless with only the wheels and tires as-is (and indeed, I was able to get full pressure with just the wheels and tires), but I made some modifications since I don’t think the Clements have the proper rubber lining to make them fully UST compliant. I ended up swapping out the stock Easton stems for Stans (the Eastons don’t have removable cores) and used sealant to make them truly airtight and more flat-resistant. All told, setup took maybe 90 minutes, including unboxing, mounting new discs, and switching the cassette over. The hardest part was getting the last 6 inches of bead onto each tire…I think having everything tubeless ready from the outset helped avoid the seating problems that other seem to have with conversions. I plan to run them at about 50psi, but that could change.

[hozn]

Nice!! Those are some bling wheels! Soapy water (dish soap with water) helps the beads slip on, though some combos are tough. Probably they will be easier to remove/install after they have been on for a bit.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Decided that it was a good idea to make my commute my test run for the new setup…and it was fine! It was a little weird riding with such low pressure tires (about 30psi lower than my old setup), and I definitely noticed the ride was much softer, particularly on the trail in front of the Kennedy Center and on the C&O. There were quite a few times I thought I was going a bit slower than on my old wheels because of how soft the ride was, but my ride today was about 2-3 minutes faster than my usual time, so that’s obviously all in my head. Also, the new wheels don’t flex under braking like the old ones did, so that alone just about makes the switch worthwhile.

[BobCochran]

I think I want to put Compass branded wide tires on my 2016 Jamis Allegro Elite. Disc brakes, Alexrims ATD470 wheels. I’m not sure if I can get 44mm tires plus fenders on that — I’ll have to bring the bicycle to Proteus and see what they think of the project. Yes, Bicycle Quarterly is having an effect on me.

Bob

[Raymo853]

About one month ago when I needed tires for a last DC ride, I bought the non-tubless ready 32c Specialized Roubaix tires at a Bicycle Pro shop. They have been ok, but I double flatted yesterday on a tame gravel section here in Loveland, CO. It was small metal pieces that went right through the face of the tire that is designed to resist such things.

I came back to this thread to get some ideas, and ended up buying Hutchin Sectors in 32c. So happy they added 32 to the product line that used to max out at 28.

The Roub’s are going onto my bar bike with super thick tubes.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12708[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12709[/ATTACH]

[hozn]

I have been happy with the Schwalbe G-One tires (tubeless). I am using the 35mm version, only because they were on sale when I was shopping for them.

I switch back and forth between the Pro One and the G-One on the commuter. While the Pro One are certainly faster, the G-One is a fast-rolling tire and I often just leave them on even if I am only riding pavement. I haven’t had any flats on the G-One tires and have ridden a fair amount off road.

I might try out the S-One next time I replace the Pro Ones and I will probably go up to the 40mm G-One when these wear out. You can get these tires for ~$45 from the UK (e.g. Merlin Cycles).

[dkel]

Here’s a question I’d be interested in hearing people argue—I mean—people’s opinions about: what’s the best type of tire for November wet-leaves-everywhere riding? I usually switch from road tires to somewhat knobby CX tires this time of year, but on my ride home it occurred to me that traction in such conditions may be entirely about the wet leaves and have nothing to do with tire tread, and thus I’m just kidding myself that my tire choice makes a difference. Discuss.

[huskerdont]

@dkel 148750 wrote:

Here’s a question I’d be interested in hearing people argue—I mean—people’s opinions about: what’s the best type of tire for November wet-leaves-everywhere riding? I usually switch from road tires to somewhat knobby CX tires this time of year, but on my ride home it occurred to me that traction in such conditions may be entirely about the wet leaves and have nothing to do with tire tread, and thus I’m just kidding myself that my tire choice makes a difference. Discuss.

I think wider would certainly be better in wet leaves, but knobby I’m not so sure about. The knobs are good for digging into dirt and mud and maybe would be good in thick leaf piles, but with a thin layer of wet, slick leaves over pavement, it seems like they could even reduce friction points. I haven’t made a scientific study of this though using Fr = μN for both tire types (all other things being equal, which they’re not), so be kind if someone has and I’m wrong. It might just depend in the exact situation.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dkel 148750 wrote:

Here’s a question I’d be interested in hearing people argue—I mean—people’s opinions about: what’s the best type of tire for November wet-leaves-everywhere riding? I usually switch from road tires to somewhat knobby CX tires this time of year, but on my ride home it occurred to me that traction in such conditions may be entirely about the wet leaves and have nothing to do with tire tread, and thus I’m just kidding myself that my tire choice makes a difference. Discuss.

My instinct is that a wide contact patch will reduce the likelihood that you completely lose contact with the road surface, or at least allow the tire to regain grip sooner. And a mild knobby tread would help maintain contact through the surface of a leaf. For a thick coating of leaves, I think minimizing lean angle is about all you can do, but I still think wider is better, since your spreading out the pressure, which means less potential to generate concentrated pressure that leads to slippage.

[dkel]

@TwoWheelsDC 148757 wrote:

My instinct is that a wide contact patch will reduce the likelihood that you completely lose contact with the road surface, or at least allow the tire to regain grip sooner. And a mild knobby tread would help maintain contact through the surface of a leaf. For a thick coating of leaves, I think minimizing lean angle is about all you can do, but I still think wider is better, since your spreading out the pressure, which means less potential to generate concentrated pressure that leads to slippage.

My road tires are wide; I run nothing less than 35, and currently I’m on 38. The knobby tire I have is 41, and is billed as having “low, closely spaced knobs.” Here’s a pic of the tread:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12719[/ATTACH]

Mine are a bit worn, so the knobs are even lower. I can think of good arguments to go either way on this one. Riding carefully and as slowly as needed is probably more valuable than choosing one tire over the other in this case.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@dkel 148759 wrote:

Riding carefully and as slowly as needed is probably more valuable than choosing one tire over the other in this case.

I think you answered your own question!

[Emm]

@dkel 148750 wrote:

Here’s a question I’d be interested in hearing people argue—I mean—people’s opinions about: what’s the best type of tire for November wet-leaves-everywhere riding? I usually switch from road tires to somewhat knobby CX tires this time of year, but on my ride home it occurred to me that traction in such conditions may be entirely about the wet leaves and have nothing to do with tire tread, and thus I’m just kidding myself that my tire choice makes a difference. Discuss.

I asked this question at the bike shop last weekend. As other posters have indicated, they said speed and lean were more important than knobby-ness. But they did move me from 23 slick road tires (continental gator skins) to 25 vittoria rubino pro endurance g+ tires because they were wider, had better tread, and were apparently built for rain/snow/subzero conditions. They are alot grippy-er than the gatorskins but still fast, so I’m happy with the shift since I definitely feel safer in the dark and on the leaves with added grippy-ness. I’ll still eventually move to my bike with 32s and an IGH once salt goes down on the road and conditions really deteriorate since I like the wider tires, but this was a good in-between for the fall and winter before the snow comes down.

[DismalScientist]

Other than studs for ice, I don’t change tires depending on the season. Am I going to die?

[ian74]

@DismalScientist 148766 wrote:

Other than studs for ice, I don’t change tires depending on the season. Am I going to die?

Yes.

[Author]

Posts