Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Question about skidable tires??

Hello all,

I've een riding fixed for a few weeks now. Love it, love it. I was sadden this evening when my back tire went "POP". Now I'm in need of replacing. I was wondering if any of you have any good recommendations on some solid tires to invest for the daily skid fest. Any insight would be grand. Thank you.

I like the Soma Everwears for skidding....they hold up and they have decent grip but are slick enough to skid easily enough.

everyone has their favorite (and will tell you all about it).

mine is bontrager race lite hardcases. they're durable as ****-- you can skid them forever, they won't go flat from debris or glass and hold the ground nicely at angles. there are other bontrager hardcases, but the race lite are awesome.

http://bontrager.com/technology/hardcase/

bulletproof, period.


Soma Everwears... are slick enough to skid easily enough.

hrm.
isn't the idea not to be slick? last time i checked, i skid to stop...

tires are key, but make sure you're not skidding on 3 patches all day

8 skid patches plus specialized armadillo elite tires work fine for me

everyone has their favorite (and will tell you all about it).

mine is bontrager race lite hardcases. they're durable as ****-- you can skid them forever, they won't go flat from debris or glass and hold the ground nicely at angles. there are other bontrager hardcases, but the race lite are awesome.

http://bontrager.com/technology/hardcase/

bulletproof, period.



hrm.
isn't the idea not to be slick? last time i checked, i skid to stop...

...

Slick tires offer more grip than ones with tread on pavement. Guess why.

you should check your tire for excessive wear so you don't "POP" again.

I would say, along with many other, Gatorskins by Continental. And there's no reason why you have to skid the sh*t out of your tires besides messing around. Anyways^

...

Slick tires offer more grip than ones with tread on pavement. Guess why.

Yeah except he used the word slick to mean slippery, not to describe the tread pattern.

Continental Competition tubulars. $weet $kidding.

i like continental home trainers. :)
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/glorycycles_2009_84373928

...

Slick tires offer more grip than ones with tread on pavement. Guess why.

we're not talking about tread, bro.

grippy compound > slick compound

hardcases don't have tread.

i like continental home trainers. :)
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/glorycycles_2009_84373928
aren't those terrible for out side use? I'm confused.

Sorry to ask a question in your thread but my front tire got punctured tonight (obviously not from skidding.)

If you guys had the choice of Ultra Gatorskin or a Grand Bois what would you suggest? I'm leaning towards the UG only because the bike shop that i would buy it from is like a 2 minute walk from my house and i would have to drive out to get the GBs.

drive ? ?

Well i mean it's not a walkable distance from my house and i obviously can't bike there =p

Gatorskin up front, Randonnuer in the back.

Word, i'll keep the back tire in mind.

But sweet that you recommend the Gatorskin. It's closer and cheaper ~

http://www.swobo.com/graphics/unknown.gif

I seem to remember burning through some of these pretty fast :( Also, chunks would come off because the center piece wasn't connected with the rest of the tire, its glued on or something.

But as far as these went as a tire... they are great tires. I did a century on them and rode them two-from work for a few months before converting my bike to a fixed gear and proceeding to **** the living daylights out of them.

aren't those terrible for out side use? I'm confused.

If you want to skid(lose traction and lock up back wheel) then you pick a tire with poor road grip. Trainer tires are perfect for this as they are made of a harder rubber compound so they don't wear out so fast on a trainer.

Of course, using such a tire means cornering can be a bit sketchy.


Just buy a case of cheap tires from Performance or Nashbar.

What Gear Ratio you running?

Being an ambidextrous skidder can also make a difference

What Gear Ratio you running?

46 and 19

Thank you all for the feedback, much appreciated!

Well i mean it's not a walkable distance from my house and i obviously can't bike there =p

Patching/swapping the tube will get you to the shop unless it was a truly catastrophic puncture.

I like the Soma Everwears for skidding....they hold up and they have decent grip but are slick enough to skid easily enough.

+1, or get some $10-$12 cheep ones.
the soma ones are 5mm thick, so they will last you a while.
all of this and multiple skid spots.

no.
cheap tires = flats; unless you do all of your riding on your driveway, get something that at least claims to be puncture proof.

I try to put this in every time "another skid thread" comes up:

Huchinson Top Speed Kevlar

I have bee on a set (Front and rear) since February. Zero flats since then. I skid fairly often with 17 skid patches, not super long superpredicabletrackskidz, but I don't baby them by any means. for $19 each, I am VERY happy with them.

Patching/swapping the tube will get you to the shop unless it was a truly catastrophic puncture.

or walk or get a bus

that animated picture is a swobo, is it not?

kenda kontenders are cheap and last forever.
Going with the OE gets you best bang for the buck.
again i skid thru many many cheapo tires. but these cheapos seem to last forever.
I tried the somas but don't really like the way they roll.

Take a used up armadillo, peel off all the rubber you can from the kevlar strip, cut the bead off, dumpster dive behind shops for tire (snobby roadie shops are the best) put said tire on halfway, tuck your armadillo skin inside the dumpster tire (might have to cut it up some more) tuck a tube inside that, get all that on the rim, pump that mutha up. Go skid for blocks... for free. It rides like crap, but hey, how much did you pay for it?

How about learning to stop without skidding? I quickly looked through the thread, but no one seemed to mention that. Learn to take speed off with your legs.

Soma Everwears are garbage. Cheaply made and roll poorly. Continental Gatorskins hold up well, but roll like a hard plastic box. Not only do you need to consider puncture resistance, but TPI. I want to kick all the people in the head who have Vittoria Zaffiros because they come in all white. They have around 50 TPI while the Rubino's have a whole lot more, at the same price.

To the OP: learn to take speed off without skidding and beware of taking tire suggestion advice from people who ride very short distances. A lot of people in this subforum ride fixed exclusively and in and around their urban neighborhood, meaning they don't have much experience with more expensive tires that will hold up to high mileage on a daily basis. But, if you are just looking to skid away...

If you keep your tires properly inflated, don't skid all over the place, and watch your line, you can ride really nice tires that roll well and feel great without getting the anti-flat tank tires.

AND, stay away from Kenda tires. Worst tire I've ever ridden. As some have said, cheap tires are not worth the savings in $. Get some decent rubber!

Amen to that .... stopping without skidding is much better for your tyres and your peace of mind ... it is harder work of course and requires technique ... it also helps to know which muscles you should be using ...

but hey ... like the man said, if you wanna blow out your tyres by skidding on your fixie and argue about which tyres will last longest, have a great time ...

personally I use conti contact 28 mm ... I usually get about 5 or 6 thousand km out of the rear and well over 12 thousand out of the front ... but I don't skid much