hermanchauw

Hi, i am looking to replace my tires (Michelin City 26x1.85) which performs great dry but terrible on wet smooth concrete. Slid a few times during rain. Any recommendations of good (fast) wet and dry ones which are inexpensive (no Schwalbe please)? I am looking for a continuous strip(s) with grooves at the side.

I am looking at these. Any comments?

Innova Bombtrack 26x2.0.

Bontrager 26x2.35

Kenda K90 26x1.95

Kenda K130A 26x2.125

fietsbob

What's the thing against Schwalbe, big apple, & etc. ? Fatty | Schwalbe North America.


buy and try . its Just Shopping

hermanchauw

Expensive.

fietsbob

Buy cheap and figure it out for yourself ..

dprayvd

Bontrager H2.

I ride over myriad shyte daily and am quite pleased.

They come carcassed in regular and full-protection versions.

As far as traction, that's down to you.

nfmisso

Kenda K838 https://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Bicycle-...ires+26+x+1.95

If you have to have that wide a tire. I use Kenda Kwest 40-559 100 psi tires, great wet and dry.
https://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Commuter...P31PB4P6KWHYNF


And here is a reasonably priced Marathon:
Amazon.com : Schwalbe Marathon GG RLX Wire Bead Tire : Bike Tires : Sports & Outdoors

Needles

I have the Kendas on my cruiser. So far, so good. I can't really speak to their wet weather performance, though.

fietsbob

the Suomi Nokian black tires have a very long wearing High durometer rubber.

I have used studded and non studded tires from the Finnish company.

Kenda and the others are easier to find at your LBS.

Petroleum leaked from cars onto the pavement is always going to be a greasy Traction Problem

no matter what tire You Use unless its wide [flat, Big contact Patch with lots of Siping]

and you have at least 3 wheels.

catgita

Don't judge a tire by "continuous strips". Good traction on pavement is largely determined by rubber compound. The go-to, low price, high performance tire of choice is the Panaracer Pasela.

salek

I would fill the lake with tears over the apparent demise of the Avocet Cross K series. My all time favorite tire for both of my non-sport bikes. I once had them on the Grand Touring and MTB. Great on the road. Good enough off. I truly miss them.
Right now, with the Grand Tour about to be melted down, all of the bicycles in this family (4) are running an identical, cheap, "truck" tire. It does not have a name, but a symbol that appears to be "GT". 15$ each, cheap. They do well enough on pavement and well enough on dirt. Basically, the bike equivalent of the truck tire that I would put on a "cummins dually" that would go down county dirt roads.

EllDC

It's Schwalb, but Kojaks can be had in 26" sizes.

Standalone 

Continental Town and Country 2.1" tires are on my commuter. They roll fast for what they are -- thin sidewall and fat smooth tread. The rear tire usually starts getting flats after three school years of commuting in harsh industrial/urban/post-industrial conditions with lots and lots of broken glass. That is about average as far as mileage and dependability. They make a 16 mile trip home into quite a nice ride, and have been awesome in the rain. I did slip on some serious black ice, but I should have known better and had my Schwalbe winter tires on....

canklecat

I really like the overall handling of the Specialized Hemispheres that came with my bike. Great dry or wet, on pavement, dirt path or grass, including cornering on patches of loose sand/gravel. The Hemispheres even handle angling off 2" jolts in pavement, and minor ruts in bad roads, without problem. Best overall tires I've tried. Most of my riding is for errands, with the bike loaded up to 30 lbs or more, and occasional pleasure rides.

But the previous owner appeared to have set the brake pads too close to the tires and there's some sidewall abrasion. And I was a little worried about the loose tire/rim fit - the tire, tube and rim strip will roll right off when uninflated. So I shopped around for replacements. I'll keep the Hemispheres for backups since the tread is still fine.

Only one local shop carries Specialized tires in stock and I was about to buy a pair, but a tire sale on Nashbar tempted to into a set of Michelin Protek Max Cross City tires, which have a similar all-terrain tread like the Hemispheres. I'll write back with impressions after trying 'em for a week or two. I almost bought the Michelin City tires but decided against those after reading several reports of being a bit sketchy when cornering on wet pavement.

I'm hoping the Michelin tire/rim fit will be slightly tighter, without needing too much effort from tire levers. Mostly I want tires that will hold the rims when uninflated in case I need to roll the bike home on a flat. Can't do that with the Hemispheres on these rims.

Gareth

26 X 2.1 Continental Town & Country with the inverted "Y" tread pattern are the best all-round tyres I have had fitted to one of my bikes. I got around 13,000 miles wear out of them before I sold the bike on, and was sorely tempted to remove the tyres and fit them to another bike, but at that time all my other personal steeds were all on 700c's.
The T&C's were ridden daily on road and in an off road stone chip and mill ballast track conditions on my commute to work and back in all weathers. Traction and braking was superb, as was ride quality with a very low rolling resistance. You cycle on a smooth semi slick that keeps you in control on the road and hard surfaces, and when the going gets soft the sunken Y tread will get you out of most situations with out too much effort or bother. However, they are not an out-and-out off-roading tyre.

canklecat

After two months on the Michelin Protek Cross Max tires (700x40) I can highly recommend them for utility and all around riding. These tires do everything I want so well, I'll begin with the two minor drawbacks rather than listing all of the positive attributes:

• -They're heavy.
  At 1,100 gr for the 700x40 they're approaching fat bike tire weight. That 5mm thick puncture resistant shield works, but it ain't lightweight. Not a problem for my purposes, and I've even added heavier puncture resistant sealant filled tubes. But it took a bit more physical conditioning before I didn't notice the weight. At the time I swapped tires I'd been riding again only two months. Since then my physical condition has improved and I don't really notice the weight now.
• -They're stiff.
  My previous Specialized Hemispheres offered a comfortable ride even at 90 psi. The Michelins transmit more road jolt. My bike's simple spring suspension front fork absorbs jolts well enough, so that's no problem. I've found 60 psi on the rear to be a reasonable compromise for my weight (165 lbs), riding style, tire grip and riding comfort. For off road riding I'll occasionally reduce the pressure to 50 psi. Michelin recommends up to 76 psi for my weight but at 75-85 psi the rigidity becomes a bit tiresome on bumpy roads. Riders without chronic back and neck pain probably won't be so picky.

Other than that, the Michelins have been perfect for my riding on a 30+ lb comfort/hybrid, which includes weekly grocery trips hauling around 30 lbs on a rear rack mounted bag. I've ridden in rain, on smooth and rough pavement, unpaved decent trails, construction project roads with rough gravel, mowed fields, and unpaved shoulders of rural roads. These are remarkably versatile all terrain tires.

If I rode mostly good pavement I'd prefer lighter rolling tires. But for my all purpose riding these are excellent.

Incidentally, some user reviews of Michelin bicycle tires indicated the tires may have remained coated with a tenacious mold release residue that may have hindered road adhesion. They are very hard feeling tires, even after two months, and don't feel as soft to the touch as the Specialized Hemispheres. It took several rides to feel confident with cornering at speed. However that may have been due as much to the tread design as the mold release coating. The Protek Cross Max tread has a sharp edged shoulder and felt a bit squirmy cornering at speed compared with the Hemispheres. But I'm accustomed to the feel now and haven't experienced any problems on dry or wet roads.

So far I've encountered only one surface the tires can't handle - climbing steep unpaved hills of damp black gumbo soil. The tires just slip predictably. But they offer a very confident feel on gravel, unpaved trails and grass. That's helpful because one of my occasional grocery runs involves a shortcut of around 1/4 mile across a mix of unpaved trail. Good to have a secure feel when the bike is loaded down with groceries, especially because I use a rather tipsy top mounted rear rack bag rather than panniers.