rick458

I picked up my Domane, a month or so. It comes with Bontrager R1 tires, with no tread.
I want to upgrade tires do to the wet weather and lots of clay on the streets where I ride.
looking at Conti GP 4000 sII in a 28.
Is there anything better for traction, and wet weather riding, that keeps the puncture resistance?

zymphad

I don't change tires for dry, wet or snow. Conti GP 4000 S 23mm right now. Next tires will be Kenda Endurance Kriterium 25mm.

Elvo

If you need traction in the clay, you'll need knobbies

rick458

They are doing pipeline work on all 3 of the east west roads I ride on, so gumbo, and sandy clay gets on the asphault, making a pretty slick surface.
I intend to keep the Contis (or whichever I decide on) year round.

Raiden

The GP4000S/SII is a lightweight/thin race tire, they make the GP 4 Season for exactly what you're describing. It's a few grams heavier, with flat protection and a hint of tread.

Edit: They claim the black chili compound is supposed to work well in wet weather, but I haven't found it to work very well- at best, it's better than older models, which were really awful in the wet. I ride 23mm GP4-seasons year-round (the worst weather we get around here is windy cold-ish rain) and feel secure on them.

zymphad

I find the need for traction with bumps on the tires to be highly overrated. I haven't had a situation where I thought, I wish I had more tread yet.

K.Katso

Agree. I'm not sure it actually helps much, if at all. The contact patches aren't that wide to start with, so trading some contact area for channeling water/dirt might not be such a good tradeoff. I ride more carefully in the wet anyway.

revchuck 

+1 for the Conti Four Seasons. I've been really pleased with Michelin Pro4 Endurance tires in 700x25, which measure ~27mm on a 19mm wide rim. The Michelins do not have any tread pattern, though, so that might be a deal-breaker for you.

If you don't mind using a different bike company's brand, the new version of Specialized's All Condition Armadillo Elite got a favorable review here. I'll probably switch to these when I wear out my stock of Pro4 Endurance tires.

Bike Gremlin

4 seasons are softer riding, but just as fast and quite puncture resistant (road debris, small sharp chunks of glass etc). Talking about 28 mm wide 4 seasons.

achoo

Tread is just about useless on road bike tires. The tire pressure is high enough and the contact patch is small enough that you'd have to go 80-100 miles per hour to hydroplane.

If there's enough dirt/mud/clay on the road to matter, the tread pattern of a narrow road bike tire isn't going to help you at all either.

bonz50

pretty much this.

a1penguin

There are some interesting posts in the blogs: Tires | Off The Beaten Path. A friend recommends Compass Bicycles: 700C Tires which are a bit pricey, but since I get replace tires every couple of years, trying them once isn't that much of an investment. I had never heard of Grand Bois Cerf Blue. Note that they are 26mm width.

chaadster

Count me in the camp that thinks, out in the real world where road surfaces are highly irregular, that a light file type tread helps with traction and feel. I've used both slicks and treaded for my winter/rain bike, and while not a huge deal different, I do believe the tread is a bit better feeling through turns, and otherwise imperceptible.

Sipes and grooves don't impress or even make sense to me, though I have those too, in the form of old Vittoria Randonneur Pro tires on my utility bike. I like the tire, but the grooved tread doesn't seem to be a factor.

I just put Panaracer GravelKings on my winter bike, and while I've only got the first trio of rides done, one in the wet, one dirt road, they're coming off as pretty nice and may be worth looking into. 127tpi casing, and recently on sale at Excel for $37, so pretty much painless to give whirl.

ConGrUenCy

I use the same tire (Michelin Pro4 SC) year round, and I just knock off 15-20psi in wet weather.

timmbo

Get the Bontrager AW3! They are fabulous. I have over 3000 miles on mine and I am ready to replace them. Had the first flat about 200 miles ago.