aw thats probably why my thickslick was pretty slippery at first...maybe it just hadn't had the time to break in + it being cold/wet out.

but is this thought that no-tread slicks are better than treaded tires based on them being used on very flat, perfect asphalt or whatever race tracks are made of? what about less than perfect roads that are permeated with lots of cracks/tiny rocks/etc that treads would grab onto more....

im just speculating.

For any smooth flat surfaces, there is no real need for any tread pattern. When you start getting really rocky, as in mountain biking, you'll start to need tires with more tread for better grip on the loose rocks and dirt. If you're roads are generally really rough then yeah you might notice a difference between the slicks and the treaded tires. But what you're probably noticing is more of the difference in construction, material compound and weight between the tires.

Obviously if you prefer the treaded over slicks, then by all means go for it. Riding is all about personal comfort and what works for one person isn't going to be the best for another. Just from a physics view, on a flat surface such as a road, the tread on a bike tire won't give you any advantages over a slick in almost any condition.

It is definitely more than just tread that affects traction, it's a function of how sticky/grippy the rubber is. If you had a slick that was made with the same rubber the fyxations are, you'd probably find the thickslick grippier in corners.

Water dispersion isn't really an issue for bicycle tires, the pressure of the tire on the road is much greater for bicycles than it is for cars because the contact area is so small. I think sheldon says that to hydroplane on a bike you'd have to be doing something like 200mph. MTB tires are knobby so that the nubs can penetrate loosely packed material to gain a hold, not to disperse water.

FWIW, I find my Krylion Carbons way more grippier than my Gatorskin in the wet.

I think a lot of it has to do with the rubber compound and thread count but not so much tread patterns (or lack thereof).

EDIT:Beaten by 5 minutes...i type too slow bro

Not that I'm disagreeing. But I don't understand the tendency to take everything Sheldon ever said as gospel. He was not a scientist, and I think sometimes was just saying whatever random **** he happened to believe. Take the whole "it's near impossible to cut through a rim because of the force of the spokes, pinching the blade". I'm sure by now we've all seen the video of the guy cutting through a rim and tire with ease. Sheldon probably had no empirical reason to believe what he said, it just made sense to him.

Also, if the pressure on the road of a bike tire is so much higher than that of a car tire, does that mean that getting your foot run over by a bike tire would cause more damage than if a car ran over your foot? (I've always wondered what that felt like)

ive had my foot ranover by a 1997 toyota camry, on purpose. it didnt hurt at all.

Got it... for a while I had no idea what the difference was!

I don't think we're taking Sheldon's reference as 'gospel' per se, since a lot of what he talks about is just physics. Sheldon's stuff is just a quick, easy, and generally very reliable resource to turn to.

Either way, everyone has already said it a dozen times now: rubber compound, weight, etc. are all much more important factors in road tires than tread.

mine seems to be working as advertised

Seem really heavy. If I wanted a durable urban tire, I think I'll go with Gators or Armadillos.

I don't get it. Seems like the RiBMos offer equal performance and puncture resistance for the same price, and are a lot lighter.

But they don't look as cool.

They're sending me a new one to replace the one that has bulges.

Like jessesv said, I don't take everything Sheldon said as gospel and I don't recommend you do either. But he does talk sense, most of the time. And yeah, there really is less pressure under a car tire than a bike tire. There's even less pressure under a tank's treads than there is under a car tire, it's simply a function of mass and contact area.

must resist urge to put my foot under a car tire. . .

Yeah, I guess it really doesn't matter if you're running an Aerospoke up front.

Truth.

As a sidenote, after giving my 725 a good cleaning this morning I accidentally put my Aerospoke on backwards (for those who may not know, the spokes do have a asymmetric shape and are wider in the front) before I went out riding. Noticed it about a half hour in so I stopped, flipped it and actually noticed a pretty substantial difference when going fast.

Is it dangerous or just more/less aero?

It's not dangerous and until I rode with it backwards, I never would have thought it would make any sort of noticeable difference.

I'm running 700 X 25c tires, can I run 28's without new rims?

Most likely. Which rims?

I've got a 28 on an H+Son Formation Face with no issues.

Good to know!

What inner tubes are you guys using?

Cheapo Kendas for me. A tube is a tube.

As an update on the ThickSlicks - I've put over 200 miles on them in the past week and they're perfect. I think I may even be in love with them.

I do need to keep my 28c rear 10-15 lbs over recommended psi though or my bike feels like a slug.

Dude, I'm buying because of you! haha. You are so in love with them, they must be good!
& The logo makes me want them!

I was asking because I worrying about the valve being potentially too short?
I don't even have wheels yet, so idk what I'm talking about.

I was looking at these though:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

yay or nay?