Originally Posted by
steganographer
Heh; don't take yourselves too seriously - the patent part was a joke. I was merely inputing context to fuel a discussion on one of my observations: I've seen sharp angle turns with slick tires cause several accidents. I recovered before I fell last month, and I've just remembered not to go too fast on even moderately sharp angles. I was just inquiring as to why such techniques are labeled as "useless" and have "no advantage." Can any of you who have said so explain why? Thanks.
Sharp angle turns resulting in accidents aren't the fault of the tread being slick. Cornering traction, as someone else already stated, depends on contact patch area, rubber stickyness, sidewall construction, and pressure.
If you're unable to take a turn at a reasonable speed, you may have poor tires, but their shortcoming has nothing to do with the fact that they are slick. In fact, that may be the only thing they have going for them.
As for your question regarding why there is no advantage, and why it's useless to have a corner tread read on:
- Tread reduces the contact area of the tire. This reduces traction.
- Tread shifts under force. Your designed tread shifts under lateral load. This will cause a slight feel of tire squirm on hard corners. This is not desirable.
- Hydroplaning isn't an issue for bike speeds, so there's no need to try to overcome it.
If this were such a great idea, it would already exist on the top end racing tires. Instead, it already exists on low-end tires sold to people who don't know better.