Winter Cycling - Seeking best inverted tread (< 35mm) tire for rain, light ice, occaisional snow

Having read nearly every thread and article on winter tires I come across, I am convinced that I want to go with an inverted tread tire this winter in boise. In Boise, we get mostly black ice for roughly half the winter with clear roads or rain most of the other time. We have about 4 light snow days per year. I will keep a front wheel with my Nokian 106 mounted for really icy days but I would like to run the inverted tread tire the rest of the time.

My 700c bike will not handle more than a 35 mm tire. The article on the icebike website recommends the continental town & country but I don't think any of the continentals will meet my sizing requirements.

I am thinking about schwalbe marathons, michelin transworld cities, etc. Does anyone have recommendations for a wonder all weather inverted tread tire that comes in smaller diameters?

I don't want to sound stupid, but what is an "inverted tread" tire?

That is an asinine idea.

I don't want to sound stupid, but what is an "inverted tread" tire?

An inverted tread tire does not have knobbies that stick up so much as recesses that afford traction.

That is an asinine idea.

Since your coment indicates that you clearly know more about winter on-road tires than this guy... http://www.icebike.com/Equipment/tires.htm ... would you mind sharing more than your opinion? Perhaps some facts, experience, research or anything of value other than a strongly held opinion. Believing something strongly does not make it true.

Having read nearly every thread and article on winter tires I come across, I am convinced that I want to go with an inverted tread tire this winter in boise. In Boise, we get mostly black ice for roughly half the winter with clear roads or rain most of the other time. We have about 4 light snow days per year. I will keep a front wheel with my Nokian 106 mounted for really icy days but I would like to run the inverted tread tire the rest of the time.

My 700c bike will not handle more than a 35 mm tire. The article on the icebike website recommends the continental town & country but I don't think any of the continentals will meet my sizing requirements.

I am thinking about schwalbe marathons, michelin transworld cities, etc. Does anyone have recommendations for a wonder all weather inverted tread tire that comes in smaller diameters?

You indicate that you have black ice for "roughly half the winter." It is my opinion that running a semi slick like the continental town and country is asenine. I should know I own 6 of these very tires and love them to death, but I can assure you I won't be running them on ANY kind of ice regardless of front or back.

Ice + bicycle = bad news. Studded tires (front and back) are the only way to go when you have ANY form of ice.

Try the Michelin Jet cyclocross tire (700c x 30); I'm looking to run the Conti top contact winter on my own ride, but that's a 37c tire.

You indicate that you have black ice for "roughly half the winter." It is my opinion that running a semi slick like the continental town and country is asenine. I should know I own 6 of these very tires and love them to death, but I can assure you I won't be running them on ANY kind of ice regardless of front or back.

Ice + bicycle = bad news. Studded tires (front and back) are the only way to go when you have ANY form of ice.

Now we're talking! Thanks.

I got a fractured hip from 10 seconds worth of black ice last january.

dang, jarery ,sorry to hear that. Femoral neck fracture? Join the club.

to the OP: there's not a lot of narrow, inverted tread 700c tires out there. add to that, inverted tread are not any better for grip on ice, as already mentioned.

Stay away from the Michelin Transworld cities, those tires are debris magnets. Marathons are nice tires, I wouldn't necessarily call them 'inverted tread' though. maybe they are?


for narrow 700c tires, how about IRC Redstorms, or a Vittoria Diamante Rain, or Michelin ProGrip? all grippier than the average road tire.

get good at countersteering turns is my advice for when you're not running studded tires.

Having read nearly every thread and article on winter tires I come across, I am convinced that I want to go with an inverted tread tire this winter in boise. In Boise, we get mostly black ice for roughly half the winter with clear roads or rain most of the other time. We have about 4 light snow days per year. I will keep a front wheel with my Nokian 106 mounted for really icy days but I would like to run the inverted tread tire the rest of the time.

My 700c bike will not handle more than a 35 mm tire. The article on the icebike website recommends the continental town & country but I don't think any of the continentals will meet my sizing requirements.

I am thinking about schwalbe marathons, michelin transworld cities, etc. Does anyone have recommendations for a wonder all weather inverted tread tire that comes in smaller diameters?

I don't think that the inverted type of tread on the town and country will help with black ice. It will probably be usefull for soft packed snow or shallow powder. You might look at the Specialized Infinity. It is available in 700c x32, 35, 38,45 widths. It has a nice continuous center bead and enough tread to deal with some snowy conditions. Probably better than the Town and Country.

Also, there is the Continental Top Contact Winter which is specifically designed for winter with fine grit in the rubber to help grip on black ice. It has a wide center bead for fast rolling. This is my pick for the best non studded fast rolling winter tire. But only available in 700c x 37 size I think.

Top Contact-

700x28 (28-622 ISO, 415g wire bead, 85 max. psi)
700x32 (32-622 ISO, 465g wire bead, 85 max. psi)
700x37 (37-622 ISO, 720g wire bead, 550g folding, 85 max. psi)
700x42 (42-622 ISO, 750g wire bead, 605g folding, 85 max. psi)
700x47 (47-622 ISO, 880g wire bead, 735g folding, 58 max. psi)
26x1.9" (50-559 ISO, 860g wire, 695g folding, 65 max. psi)

There are several versions of the "Top Contact". The winter version is not available in as many sizes as the others as far as I can tell.

My Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are no better or worse in winter than any other inverted tread tire. All of the sacrifice snow and ice traction for low rolling resistance. I just switch over to Nokians in December and keep them on until March. They are a few mph slower than the Marathons, but who cares? After four seasons of daily use, they are still perfectly good.

Paul

I certainly agree with others who have said that inverted tread tires won't help when riding on ice. I've hit small patches of ice and had bikes go out from under me before I had a chance to react - kinda like the train hitting the coyote in roadrunner cartoons.

However, I do like the Avocet Cross Tires. They are available from Harris Cyclery in 700 x 28 size.

I'll second Portis' reasoning. They're heavy, but the whole reason I run a set of the Nokians on my CX bike is for security on otherwise nice days. Seems to me that's when the ice is slickest and easiest to miss a patch.