Winter Tyres
 

On my road bike, I currently have slick Bontrager tyres fitted that have no tread.
Now that the weather is getting cooler and rainier, I believe my tyres aren't suitable for the road-surface conditions. On a few occasions, my back-wheel has stepped-out on cornering :-/

Can you please recommend a tyre brand which manufacture great quality tyres for moist/damp road-conditions. And also good value-for-money.

Thank you so much! :thumb:

Your tyre pressure is too high. Reduce it and you won't have those cornering issues.

And, slow down a bit on the corners.

Really? Will this solve it? :-/
Thank you for your reply, I very much appreciate it, however, I'm feeling doubtful...

Don't I need winter-ised tyres with groves/tread to accommodate the surface water/damp on the road?

Grooves or tread on tires have nothing to do with traction; it's the compound the tires are made of that matters.

Personally, I've had good lucks with Conti GP 4 Seasons 700x25 or, if your bike allows, 700x28, for raining/slick roads. The Vittoria Robino Pro's are quite good as well.

vittoria rubino pro's, like 30 bucks a tire and handle great in bad weather, im from a canadian city and most of the local messengers swear by rubino's in the winter. come in 23 or 25c, i used them last winter and thought they were great.

Agreed with with dalava. Assuming you have a standard road bike that won't fit 30mm+ tires, get the widest that will fit. I use the Conti 4 seasons. Then drop the pressure a bit. Typically, a good starting point is going down 10 psi for every size you go up. This will improve traction without increasing the risk of pinch flats.

What do you weigh, what width tires do you have and what pressure do use now? And what model Bonti? I don't know their line up very well, but they probable make an all season tire of some sort.

This comes up regularly. Tread on car tires helps evacuate water from under the wheels to avoid aquaplaning; that's almost completely impossible on a bike, so a smooth tire is actually what you want - tire compound however can make a big difference. The kicker is that the stickiest tires (like say Pro4's) aren't always the most durable, and the heavy duty more puncture resistant tires tend to have less grippy compound. I really like running Michelin Krylion carbon's as a good blend of grip and durability - they have been phased out in preference to the new Pro4 endurance tire, but I'd give them a go. As others have noted, take your tire pressures down a bit, and avoid road paint, manhole covers etc that become super slick in the rain.

Edit:68 other people have said the same thing in the time it took me to tap out my post. You get the message.

It's about the sticky compound, much more important than pressure or width, which are minor if they make any difference at all, which is doubtful. Sticky tires in wet: Pro4, Conti 4000s (black only), Ultremo ZX or DD.

As mentioned, bicycle tires without a tread pattern will typically have greater contact with the pavement. The grooves in tread represent part of the tire that may not be in contact with the pavement, so you actually might have less traction with them versus slick tires without a tread pattern. The contact patch on a bicycle tire is so small you don't risk aquaplaning.

What he said.

http://www.cianperez.com/photos/d/18402-2/Tires.jpg

Do these have different rubber than Rubino Pro Tech? Because I've been down on the latter and find them horrible in the wet.