Sawtooth

Was supposed to be titled : Seeking best INVERTED TREAD tire <35 mm for light ice, occaisonal snow and rain.

Moved from winter cycling: I think most of those guys ride studded tires.

Having read nearly every thread and article on winter tires I come across, I am convinced that I want to go with an inverted tread tire this winter in boise. In Boise, we get mostly black ice for roughly half the winter with clear roads or rain most of the other time. We have about 4 light snow days per year. I will keep a front wheel with my Nokian 106 mounted for really icy days but I would like to run the inverted tread tire the rest of the time.

My 700c bike will not handle more than a 35 mm tire. The article on the icebike website recommends the continental town & country but I don't think any of the continentals will meet my sizing requirements.

I am thinking about schwalbe marathons, michelin transworld cities, etc. Does anyone have recommendations for a wonder all weather inverted tread tire that comes in smaller diameters?

HardyWeinberg

TWCs go at least down to 28. Those treads should pick up enough gravel to act as studs in no time. I actually have a spare set of 32s if you want to take care of postage.

Sawtooth

WOW! How Kind! For that cost I can't see any reason why I shouldn't give them a shot. Were they giving you a lot of flats? That is the one downside I have read about them.

ontheroadid

Hey Sawtooth, I'm looking at the Vittoria Randonneur for my winter commute in Boise. Not sure if it qualifies as an inverted tread tire:

https://www.bikesomewhere.com/bikesom...268/1881/14903

Has anyone used these? Opinions?

Sawtooth

Yes, it does, although the tread is not as distinct as what I have been looking at. Would you mind shedding some light on your reasoning for why that might be the best tire around here? I ran tioga bloodhounds all winter last year and think they might be a little more knobbie than I really need.
Thanks.

I_bRAD

I find inverted knobbies tend to pack up with snow pretty fast and then they're no good anymore.

What about something like this?

https://two-wheels.michelin.com/2w/fr...150554&lang=EN

HardyWeinberg

I was getting a lot of flats. But I think I happen to have a box I can fold them up into, shoot me a PM and I will fill you in if it works.

Sawtooth

What do you think the rolling resistance would be like with these relative to the tioga bloodhound? I think you are right about the snow thing unless the inverted sections are pretty large but we really only have 3 or 4 snow days here and I could always take out my mtbs on those days.

ontheroadid

I can't run anything bigger than 32 mm (if even that), so I was looking for something that was around 28-30 that was built for all-weather commuting. A lot of cross or commuter tires run in the 32-37 range, which wouldn't work for me.

The reflective sidewalls are a nice touch, and they claim some puncture resistence as well. Other than that, I've just heard good things about Vittorias. Haven't looked at much beyond that, though. If you come up with something better, let me know.

Sawtooth

I sure will. I will probably take HardyWeinberg up on his generous offer and give the Michelins a shot. I run tire liners anyway so I am hoping the flats will not affect me so much.