Winter Cycling - Another "what tires?" question

I have a winter road bike that takes up to 700x28 tires. My flat-resistant tires seem to have very poor wet and cold pavement traction.

What suggestions do winter riders have? I'll be on cold & damp pavement or dry & frozen pavement but will not be on snow or ice 99% of the time.

Michael

lol, assumably the Continental "4 Season" tires would do the trick. ;-) They're definitely expensive though (a near-race tire).

If you're looking for something cheaper, but Panaracer TServ Messenger tires have so far done nicely in the wet. They're a lot cheaper. The Panaracer Pasela TG (make sure to get the TG or Tourguard) are likely similar for $10/tire less.

I've consistently heard bad things about the Continental Gatorskins wet weather performance, so I would avoid those.

Oh boy, I get to recommend my tires to you! Vittoria Randonneurs 700 X 37mm is what I use....in all conditions, last 1.5 years for 30 mile round trip, pavement commute. No flats, no slide outs.

My old armadillos were tough as nails, but I did slide out on leaves once and wet wooden bridges another time.

get the some tires with a soft compound and some good puncture protection.

panaracer pasela is a good choice, but so is any training tire, like conti GP4000.

GP4seasons are very good for grip. I've used them year round, including on ice and snow. Much better wet road grip than paselas or marathons. They have some grip on ice - some being very very little, but better than paselas and better than ordinary shoes. Have become disillusioned with them due to dramatic falloff in puncture resistance once there is some tyre wear.

Michelin Kryllion Carbons are very good on wet roads, possibly more puncture-resistant than GP4S. Should perform similarly on ice and snow.

Vittoria Zaffiro pro slick is similar in grip to Kryllions, but poor puncture resistance. Less than half the price, tho.

Continental "4 Season" tires would do the trick


GP4seasons are very good for grip. I've used them year round, including on ice and snow.

And a trifecta for Continental Grand Prix 4-Seasons.

I liked them so much on my commuter I'm putting them on all my bikes as the old tires wear out.

I have a winter road bike that takes up to 700x28 tires. My flat-resistant tires seem to have very poor wet and cold pavement traction.

What suggestions do winter riders have? I'll be on cold & damp pavement or dry & frozen pavement but will not be on snow or ice 99% of the time.

Michael

I have had the best luck with Stop Flat 2 tire liners. With them you can choose any tire that works well for traction. They also seem to have less effect on the rolling resistance of the tire and are reasonably light. They have worked better for me than the kevlar puncture resistant tires. I would not recommend some of the other brands of tire liners though. I say find the tires that you think will work for your winter conditions and riding style then get the stop flat 2 tires liners if you need them.