Tires
 

So I have the stock tires that came on my GT, everything online says Kenda Kiniption but they seem to be Kenda Kwest:

http://www.kendausa.com/en/home/bicy...ter/kwest.aspx

http://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/...A78A4B9011.jpg

Max PSI 90, min 58. 700c x 32

I'm a road commuter primarily but I've gone through some pretty horrible mud on these, broken stone, over sticks, etc. Anything else recommended for the streets, but maybe with a bit better bite over mud? Or is it all a trade-off, i.e. the "Smooth center ridge" tires aren't good enough for anything or whatnot?

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/987...214marylan.jpg

Was here today.

that's more tread that I run! Continental Sport Ultras here. Perhaps it would be better to avoid the mud, sticks and stones? WTF! That's not a road?!

http://www.gwynnsfallstrail.org/imag...TMapForWeb.pdf

See page 3, the map, it ends at I-70? The red part is paved, the orange part is ... where I was. That big orange stretch that goes north and comes back down.. where it hooks out to go meet with it is an intersection, and I can ride along this really narrow road for another mile or 1.25 miles or such, then have to lift my bike over a barrier (or slide it under) to get back on the path. The road is very narrow and curvy, with a lot of blind curves, and nowhere to pull off; passing is extremely dangerous for motorists, who are likely to be passing in the opposing lane of traffic with about 50-100 feet of visibility around a curve.

Motorists are idiots and I've had them try to pass me (me in a car) at 40mph (the speed limit's 25) in the wrong lane around a HUGE blind hairpin curve. On the outside, meaning they're going 40mph and just barely outpacing me at 25, because my stretch of road is a lot shorter. I don't want to share the road with these people in a car, much less on a bike; they're crazy. There's one stop sign at a 3-way intersection that people run from BEHIND me, because I stop and I'm going 25-30 and they want to go 40-50, so they pass me as I stop.

Mind you it's not that bad on a bike, really; although sometimes I have to pull off the road and wait or else traffic starts queuing horribly (at least most people aren't crazy enough to try to just pass; but plenty are). And by "wait," I mean "Wait in the 6 inch wide gutter." But still, it's not a high-visibility road; it's lots of fun, completely blind, ungodly tight curves, and I've spun out on it (and watched people spin out on it) in a car (I was pacing someone when I spun; other people were whipping the curves on a 300 foot long stretch that was covered in a half inch thick sheet of ice at the time, fun to see coming right toward you sideways....).

So, sometimes I take the path up. :)

Hmm. Michelin Pilot Tracker looks interesting...

http://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/...3C4902E3C1.jpg

No experience but this might be a bit better --
http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ducts_id=12271

Hmm. How so?

The Michelin, at a glance, looks like it's got a good amount of bite along the tread, but supplies a somewhat smooth raised surface; the Kenda doesn't seem to supply as much bite, but supplies a smoother surface because it's actually continuous.

These Sunlite tires also don't look much like they have a lot of bite, though they might roll more smoothly than the Michelin tires because the surface looks more continuous.

But I've got more experience with automobile tires; I'm not sure on bicycle tires. I mean it's easily possible that compression of the surface on those Michelin tires would cause the tread features to come to constant odds with the road surface, creating a bumpier ride and more rolling resistance; this is not a problem on automobile tires because you have to get into really hard core offroading tread before it actually makes a difference.

So I have no idea how to evaluate things. I wonder if there's a guide somewhere...

Maybe my problem is I'm trying to get a road bike to do mountain biking. :P

Hmm, these look interesting. Lots of channeling and features for removing water... good rain road tires?

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_ti..._tires/tougher

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Schwalbe tires yet. I don't have a need to run uber tough tires; I typically flat less than 1/1000 miles so I don't run them, but I've heard great things on this forum about them.

Well it's not so much flatting... I don't think the terrain can flat me. I've got Stop Flats2 tire liners anyway, but that's just additional insurance (and I did it for the broken glass on the streets).

I'm riding mainly over mud off pavement, and I don't want to slip off. Though, honestly that hasn't been much of a problem anyway; I slipped today on a wet wooden bridge, hit pretty hard but eh. Striking the ground repeatedly is good for you, builds character... and causes microfractures throughout the bones that get repaired by bone cells excreting even harder bone material, making your bones more resistant to damage overall.

I am a big fan of Vittoria Rando tires. I ride the Hypers, never tried the Cross.
But that's what I would get if I was dealing with your situation.

I've got a pair of 37mm WTB All-Terrains on my monstercross bike, and I've taken it out on some moderate local MTB trails. I also ride them on a 34mi r/t commute, all roads. They're similar to those Michelins (above), and I found them online for only $12.00

Wow lots of options. Guess I'll worry about it when my tires burn out.

I think something with an inverse tread like the Continental town and country might work. Or something with a smooth center tread and slight knobs on the outside might work.

However, how long is this path you follow? If your commute is 5 miles, and only 500 yards on on this path, would getting new tires be worth it? Also, does the path always stay like this or is it like this after a few days of rain?

The rubber compound used in the tire is just as important as the tread. I do not like the cheap commuter oriented michelins in the wet.
I have had good luck with continental contacts. It's been a while since I use schwalbes, but I remember them being good in slick conditions as well.

~8 miles of commuting, and through that path there's a lot of downhill run-off, so it's muddy like that after rain for a week or two. Doesn't dry out easily. There's even a couple drainage channels for water to run downhill. It's about a mile of mountain though.

No Michellins then.

A good way to try out tires is by just changing the front. You should be able to tell right away if the traction and stopping in the wet will be better.

I would read this- it will tell you everything you need to know about tires
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html

Good read. I'm probably best off sticking with road tires then, I guess. *shrug*

Not necessarily, you'd be surprised how much variation there is in grippiness of different tires with similar tread. Since those are bargain basement kendas on your bike right now, it wouldn't hurt to just try one new tire up front. The front tire is really the most important, you can use the front kenda you take off on the rear once the rear's worn out.
I think if you research you'll find many recommendations for grippier tires. Schwalbe's website rates their tires based on grippiness in certain conditions- http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires
I think Continental does too.

I'm running the same tires on my Vaya right now. I was surprised at how well they roll for the aggressive tread pattern. I can ride along at 17-18 on the pavement and they fly down gravel/dirt paths.

Here they are on the bike

http://www.watsonfx.com/vaya_patrol.jpg

I am using the Pro 32c, kevlar, seem pretty good so far.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...700C+Tire.aspx

Have you used those ritchey on wet asphalt? I ask because the similar Michelin transworld sprint is terrible.

Sharp looking setup. I've taken my rig out on a local 20mi MTB loop twice so far, first time in very muddy conditions and yesterday in slightly muddy conditions. Yesterday was probably a better test of traction than the first day because there was shallow slick mud over hardpack, and slick mud/moss/horsecrap on concrete bridges. I was trying to keep it right at the edge of control most of the ride, and things were slipping at the front end in the slicker tight turns, but I was really hammering to get to that point; and when the tire would meet back up with the edge of the mud/packed trail, grip was immediately back. In part, I was running them a little on the hard side for a trail, at 60psi. Last time in the deep mud I was running them closer to 50psi, but then my worry was pinch flats when hopping curbs at the road crossings.

I found similar results with the Kenda Smallblock 8 cross tires in 35c. I loved those so much, I actually stripped the bike down last Summer into more svelte "fun cross" mode:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=199644

I have been using schwalbe marathon hs 410 700 x 32. Roll very nice and excellent traction. Smoothe ride. Very pleased, but hard to install--like a car tire.

interesting. I've had my eyes on these lately:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=24539

Thinking about wet ground traction a lot.