Jarery

Back to the original poster.
I use specialized nimbus armadillos also. And i ride 50k a day in the pacific northwest rainforest.
Never had a problem.

Were the tires brand new when you slipped? or as others asked, painted lines or metal covers?

slvoid

Just to point out, there are a lot of variables out there that can throw the argument to either side. TDF riders also ride on one use frames and wheels that are so fragile they won't last more than 1 race, unfortunately, most dedicated commuters put their equipment through more abuse in a year than most roadies will in a life time. Having a light thread works for me, I know because there's a section of road I cross with a lot of loose grit on the street along with metal grating, I used to be all over the place on slicks and while it squirms with light thread, I'm able to at least get through it at higher speeds with a lot more stability, wet or dry; especially dry, I used to just spin out the rear tire trying to start up from a stop if I'm geared correctly when I stop for the light.

As for the OP, like I said earlier and everyone else says, if its raining, speed is not your #1 priority, so back off the pressure a little and ride slower. The armadillos are a harder compound so they're not as grippy, that's another reason why. But I really do think the only reason you're sliding is cause you're hitting paint or worse, metal, its hard to slide on asphalt unless you're really cornering it. Try to ease up on the corners too, slow way down and turn more with the handle bars and less by leaning.

Raiyn

It's not true at all. Read the stuff I quoted earlier
Which, again, is why a smooth tread is better.

Quote:

If you examine a section of asphault or concrete, you'll see that the texture of the road itself is much "knobbier" than the tread features of a good quality road tire. Since the tire is flexible, even a slick tire deforms as it comes into contact with the pavement, acquiring the shape of the pavement texture, only while incontact with the road.

Yes. They only add features to a brake pad in an attempt to reduce noise and squeege water from the rim. What actually makes contact is essentially smooth. If you were to use a textured rim with a textured block you'd tear through them much faster with absolutely no gain. In fact your braking would become less effective due to the debris caused .as your pads disintegrated

slvoid

That's a lie and you know it! Trials riders scuff their rims all the time for more braking power. You can't handle the truth!!

slagjumper

These tires rule!

I've been riding on Continetal 26X2" "Double Fighter" kevlar bead. I bought these from Krynicks Bike shop for $10 ea! They are light, nearly bald down the center and have some tread on the side. These are the fasted all-round tires I have ever used. Recently while going about 19 mph around a curve,(leaning about 45 degrees), I hit a oil slick and slid a bit, but did not go down! These tires have about 1000 miles on them but are nearly spent. I have hit 46 mph with these tires. Downside? I have had 2 rear flats caused by an infinitesimally small coal particle and a glass chard. Still worth it for the performance. I will shell out the $40 each for these if Jerry K. doesn't get anymore. There are a few conti "double fighter" tires out there this is the one I am talking about.

https://www.bikesource.com/yvs450/shopexd.asp?id=2111

Continental Double Fighter X Country Tire works for Front or Rear. Semi-Slick race tire features a shallow raised center pattern for fast roling performance and outer blocks for cornering grip. Multi compound tire design, provides superior grip on hard surfaces without effecting rolling resistance or wet weather grip. Kevlar folding bead. 26x2.0 Size. Black/Graywall.

$39.99

Raiyn

As I said they tear through pads much quicker than the average rider. It may be great for keeping the brake locked, but not it's so great as a practical application.

catatonic

Here's my take on tires.

Road: slicks. Pick width to fit your application and load. Rubber compound will make or break the tire, so be picky....for commuting, I like dual-density tires....the harder rubber center strip wears really nice, while the soft sides make for good cornering.

off-road: knobs.....pick the size of the knobs around the terrain.

hybrid: Usually, these tires are treaded, but not knobby. Compromise of trail use and road.....honestly, I find these tires a waste of cash.....inverse tread tires are better.

balto charlie

A word of caution with these (and probably most) tires. I recently broke my arm with new Schwalbes M in the rain on my morning commute. MAKE SURE you ride a few easy miles to get rid of the "mold remover" Tires molds are sprayed with this stuff to allow for easy tire removal after "cooking" the tires. They leave a slippery residue which is easily removed within a few miles of riding. I crashed into the second turn of my ride (1/3mile from home) with brand new out of the box schwalbes. It was also raining. I have taken this curve 1000's of times over the years, my first real crash ever. Been in a cast for almost 3 weeks. Easy does it first time out with rain. Charlie
PS: 4 more weeks in the cast and no bike commuting:-(

shokhead

Tread means nothing as its there so some will feel better.

Trek930

I'm with slvoid. I have inverted tread tires on my MTB commuter. Main reason: Traffic on part of my commute is 45 mph so 50-55 mph actual. Those sections I ride on the side of the road or the gravel sholder. They are short, maybe a mile total for the commute one way. With the rear tire (serfas drifter city) it has a solid center and the sides are cut. When I get on the gravel I have to tilt my bike slightly to get traction to prevent slideing on my down strokes. Scary at first but when I realized it grabbed on the tilt I am just fine rideing that way.

Bekologist

Now, THAT'S a tire! An urban assault tire, that is!!

Sure_handed

*Were the tires brand new when you slipped? or as others asked, painted lines or metal covers?*

No, the tires were about 2 month old. I put them on because one week I’d had flats 3 days out of 5. I don’t know what my tire pressure was at the time I last fell.

The exact circumstances of the last and biggest spill:
I was commuting to work in the rain on a city street. The street was cement I think, because there were seams like on a sidewalk. At one point I had to veer over a seam that was running in my direction of travel. As I crossed it, moving to the left, my tires kicked out quick and hard to the right. I found my self on a busy city street on my back, still clipped in with my bike straight up in the air. I got out of traffic fast, and then I looked over at the seam. The left edge of the seam looked slightly higher than the right maybe. The uneven seam and the slickness of the cement (and my not noticing this) and possibly the lack of grip of my tires all contributed.

The reason I think my Armadillos might have been a factor in the fall is that their surface is quite hard and smooth, compared to say the Kendras I replaced. I assume that a softer rubber would grip better in any situation, even wet pavement. Is this true? If that’s the case, I’d need a “grippier” tire that still has some puncture resistance, because LA streets have a lot of debris to cause flats.

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t realize that this would be such a complicated subject.

Dennis

shokhead

My conti 4 season work fine in wet and no flats.

dynaryder

Vittoria Randonneurs. They have puncture protection and are excellent in the wet.

Quickbeam

To the best of my knowledge it's 100% true that the minimal tread on road tires does essentially nothing for traction on typical road surfaces. It's just there to give the consumer a "warm fuzzy" when they look at it becuase they'll think they're going to get better traction. If you had a couple of beers with any bicycle tire manufacturer they'd tell you that. The bottom line is that any tire can slip when the surface is wet regardless of tread pattern. Especially if you're riding on metal expansion joints or painted surfaces and the like. You just gotta be careful in the wet!

shokhead

Thats right. Its about compound,not tread.

Jarery

Those are the ones i wanted to buy. Couldnt find them locally, so ended up with armadillo nimbus.

Conti 4 season a softer ride? They have softer compound, so supposedly better in rain. Wonder how the life is with the softer compound though.

shokhead

3K or more on mine. Biketiresdirect.com

Raiyn

You missing the the unevenness of the pavement and over correcting was the main factor in your crash. You could have run over that with sticky compound tires and still fallen
While it's true you'll replace tires much more often than you will by staying with the Nimbus and gaining experience.
I had a similar crash on mine, and it was entirely my fault. Like you I really wasn't paying attention, swerved slightly, caught the edge of the pavement and went down. Had I been paying attention I would have noticed the seam and not fallen in front of my girlfrend and her family.

CBBaron

The grip of brakes is not the same and should not be compared to tires in either way. Brake grip is sliding friction whereas a tire grip is static friction. The one thing similar to a rough rim surface does is make an imprint on the brake pads, this is similar to a knobby tire on a soft trail. A bicycle tire on the road makes no impression and so the mechanisms are not the same.
Craig

joejack951

I ride over a similar seam every day on my way home as I merge from the shoulder into the lane to make a left turn. The road surface I'm merging onto is also concrete. I've managed to avoid any issues by always hitting the seam at a decent angle (probably 10 degrees minimum). The only tire change I could see helping with the seam issue is a wide tire at low pressure. To smooth over the seam you would need a large deflection in your tire (like a car tire achieves) that would not be achievable with just a softer rubber compound. Softer rubber might deflect 0.5mm (.020"). The height of the seam that took you down was probably closer to 20mm (3/4"). But, no one wants to commute on such a big, heavy, soft tire so the only option left is to being careful on uneven pavement.

cerewa

next person to spell "tread" with an H in it is a rotten egg!

Bekologist

yes, tires have threads too. TPI is threads per inch, and is a measurement of how many strands of fiber overlay a square inch of tire. However, the denier, or width of the fiber, can vary, so TPI is slightly misleading. One directional lay of fibers in a tire is a ply. Plural plies. Made of threads.

rules of thumb. More plies, tougher. More TPI per ply, more supple tire.


But bicycle tires with tread DO leave tracks on pavement. When its wet. What's that all about?

Sure_handed

It looks like the Conti 4 season is available in 700 only, no 26". The Continental City Contact may fit the bill though.

joejack951

Can I have your old Armadillos?