Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - good price/durability tire for skidding/skipping?

i'm trying to learn how to skid better (and how to skip at all) and was looking for any recommendations on tires. i know there was a thread close to this a little while ago, but more specifically i'm looking for durability. i would probably just wear this tire out learning how before i go back to a normal set. price is also a bit of an issue, in the sense of i'd rather get a couple $20 that lasts 3 weeks each than a $60 tire that lasts 6....

just go out on a wet night and practice a bunch

lubbock doesn't get many wet nights... would have better luck waiting to skid on a fine layer of dust covering everything.

look through this
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=154025

The most durable tire is the Vittoria Randonneur tire. Kicks the Armadillos butt!
I think 28 is the smallest width. They are about $23 and are double belted.
The ride is nothing great but they are very very tough.

http://www.bicycletires.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jojmemp8

REI carries them too.

tim, i've had good fortunes with conti ultrasport. they're cheap ($15), and i've gotten a couple months out of them. i don't skid that much, though.

just as important is your gear ratio. choose one that will give you many skid spots.

just as important is your gear ratio. choose one that will give you many skid spots.

i'd actually say it's more important than the tire, but yeah. either way.

this is pretty damned gutter, but when i was learning i just dumpstered some tires from behind some bike shops. if you're gonna rip the hell out of something, it might as well be something that you didn't pay for.

hell, i still pick up old stuff every now and then. the trick is to find the most hoity toity shop around town and hit that one. i've actually pulled a brand new pair of ultra 3000's out of the trash behind the trek factory store. holler.

how is gear ratio important in skidding/skipping?

how is gear ratio important in skidding/skipping?

Two reasons:

1) A lower gear ratio makes it easier to skid

2) The relative primeness of the cog and chainring dictate how many "skid spots" your tire has. For example if you are running 48x16, you have a gear ratio of exactly 3. That means that every 1 rotation of your cranks equals 3 rotations of your wheel, which means that every time you skid, you are skidding on the same part of the tire (unless you skid at multiple crank positions).

To figure out how many skid spots you have, find the greatest common factor (GCF) of your chainring and cog, and divide the cog by the GCF. Since 16 divides 48 evenly, 16 is the GCF of 48x16 and 16/16 = 1, so 1 skid spot. I run 46x16, the GCF being 2 (2 divides 46 evenly and 16 evenly, nothing else does) so I have 16/2 = 8 skid spots.

Two reasons:

To figure out how many skid spots you have, find the greatest common factor (GCF) of your chainring and cog, and divide the cog by the GCF. Since 16 divides 48 evenly, 16 is the GCF of 48x16 and 16/16 = 1, so 1 skid spot. I run 46x16, the GCF being 2 (2 divides 46 evenly and 16 evenly, nothing else does) so I have 16/2 = 8 skid spots.

so if i'm running 42x17, then the GCF is 1... so i have 17 skid spots? (yay! even distribution)

am thinking of stepping it up to a bigger ratio soon though, was just going to go down to a 16 cog, but then my ratio would be 42x16, and my GCF would be 2, and i'd have 8 skid spots.

if i stepped up to a 46 chainring instead and had 46x17 ratio, then i would still keep my 17 skid spots, right?

so overall for an even wear, a 17 tooth cog is good to go with because it's a prime number, so unless you run a 34 or 51 chainring (do they even make them?) you will always have 17 skid spots.

correct me if i'm not getting it. thanks for the replies so far you guys.

i was told there was to be no math on this exam. can i have a beer now, please?

so if i'm running 42x17, then the GCF is 1... so i have 17 skid spots? (yay! even distribution)

am thinking of stepping it up to a bigger ratio soon though, was just going to go down to a 16 cog, but then my ratio would be 42x16, and my GCF would be 2, and i'd have 8 skid spots.

if i stepped up to a 46 chainring instead and had 46x17 ratio, then i would still keep my 17 skid spots, right?

so overall for an even wear, a 17 tooth cog is good to go with because it's a prime number, so unless you run a 34 or 51 chainring (do they even make them?) you will always have 17 skid spots.

correct me if i'm not getting it. thanks for the replies so far you guys.

Yup, all that is correct.

woah,
if thats all true, I'm keeping my 17 EAI cog hoorah!
(was going to start up a new trend for hipsters and put the cog on a necklace)

you can always just take the wheel out of the chain and move it a few links with the cranks in the same position-- problem solved for the common 48x16 gear

so unless you run a 34 or 51 chainring (do they even make them?)
34t are very available for middle rings in MTBs and roadies. 51t are even more available for big rings on roadies and track cranks.

this is pretty damned gutter, but when i was learning i just dumpstered some tires from behind some bike shops. if you're gonna rip the hell out of something, it might as well be something that you didn't pay for.

hell, i still pick up old stuff every now and then. the trick is to find the most hoity toity shop around town and hit that one. i've actually pulled a brand new pair of ultra 3000's out of the trash behind the trek factory store. holler.[/QUOTE]

As a bike shop employee let me tell you how many people insist on getting new tires as soon as they get a flat. I even tell them the tire is fine its got plenty of life left but if you insist get a tire with some kind of flat protection but they never do. I have made off with many pairs of tires because people feel they are bad due to one flat. So yeah dumpster diving may work for you!

As a bike shop employee let me tell you how many people insist on getting new tires as soon as they get a flat. I even tell them the tire is fine its got plenty of life left but if you insist get a tire with some kind of flat protection but they never do. I have made off with many pairs of tires because people feel they are bad due to one flat. So yeah dumpster diving may work for you!

once when i worked in a bike shop i talked somebody out of buying a whole new wheel because they got a flat. he wanted me to change his flat, i wanted him to buy a patchkit and do it himself, and then he wanted to a buy a new wheel. i told him no.

once when i worked in a bike shop i talked somebody out of buying a whole new wheel because they got a flat. he wanted me to change his flat, i wanted him to buy a patchkit and do it himself, and then he wanted to a buy a new wheel. i told him no.

a girl i knew bought a bike at walmart (sad i know) and she RETURNED THE WHOLE BIKE because it got a flat she said "the bike was faulty"

Just out of curiosity, when do you decide to replace a tire? I got a flat yesterday, and while it seems fine (though a little smooth) I just started wondering...

a girl i knew bought a bike at walmart (sad i know) and she RETURNED THE WHOLE BIKE because it got a flat she said "the bike was faulty"

i hope that she exchanged it for a couple dale earnhardt throw rugs and some sweet nascar coasters. big ups, walmart.