Originally Posted by
noglider
It strikes me odd that people talk about how good a tire's grip is. I can't imagine how you can do that without being at the limit of grip as the tire begins to give way. Presumably, you change your stance so you don't wipe out, and that's fine, but isn't that a little reckless on a two-wheel machine?
I don't know how other people talk about grip, but that's not how I'd describe my experience. I don't ride aggressively really at all, for lots of reasons but mostly it just hurts. Because I commute the same 25 miles every day, I don't really have recovery time between rides so slow and easy wins the race for me. So when I perceive loss of traction, it's usually going from one surface condition to another, or in some cases just riding on wet roads in general, especially when turning. It's hard to give a brief synopsis of all the tires I've used in all conditions, but generally speaking the ones that rolled the fastest and had best grip on dry roads didn't do so well on wet roads or when dealing with things like loose sand and gravel, which I see a little of every day, and more sand in the winter. I may be harder to please with tires because as I travel pretty much exclusively by bike, commuting around town for errands and stuff is a completely different environment than being out on the open road. Sometimes it feels like my life is one big long bike tour punctuated by work and family life.
Side note: I had a real nice set of old 28mm skinwalls with a file tread that came on a used bike I bought - they were the fastest tire I'd ever ridden and pretty comfortable and had good grip on wet and dry pavement but zilch on sand or dirt or grass. I couldn't avoid a sharp rock on my ride home one day that destroyed the sidewall on the rear tire. I weighed them after I replaced them, 300g/pc. But even being the fastest tire I'd ever ridden, my average commute time wasn't consistently or appreciably shorter - i.e. made zero difference. However many watts I save by going with lighter tires I end up giving back to the wind anyway. On the other hand, a tire too heavy and slow and the cumulative effects of fatigue start to set in after several days. I don't mind changing flats, but if somebody makes a tire that lasts a long time and doesn't puncture as much and rolls nearly as well as a lighter tire at the same price point - may as well also not puncture? I guess that's the logic I'm exploring.