tyres in rain

[gajo]

i am planning to ride 94.7 on a mountain bike with slicks, if its a rainy day can anyone tell me which tyres a better to ride on , knobleys or slicks.

[firefox]

It does not realy make much difference, when the road is greasy and you start to slip and slide there is pretty much only one outcome. Slicks will make your ride easier but I doubt they are much safer. 

[Hermanus Cycles]

SLICKS GRIP BETTER,RAIN OR SHINE.

KNOBS ARE STRICTLY FOR DIRT.

MANY NOVICES THINK THAT THE KNOBS WILL GRIP THE TAR ,BUT THIS IS FAR FROM TRUE.THE KNOBS ROLL OUT WHEN CORNERING FAST AND THEN YOU SEE YOUR @SS

STICK WITH SLICKS AND BE CAREFUL.

 

 

[AndreZA]

Conti Town and Country.

 

 

 

http://img.artscyclery.com/product/CTCT.JPG

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Yup. I have slicks to commute with a never had an issue. I do up to 40km/h on steep downhills with sharp conrners and lots of stops (and I mean lots of them).

[Tankman]

either one of these will do you good... even the slicks will give you enough grip in any weather condition...

 

 

 

[gajo]

I will be slogging it out there come rain or sun on slicks as per  your advise . cheers gajo 

[Hermanus Cycles]

the one on this side look like a tube.

 

oh and ask VOLO to show us which NIPPLES she uses.

 

 

[GreyOwl3.0]

Slicks...your bike does not displace as much water as your car tyre. Slicks technically put more rubber on the road in the rain.

[Tankman]

the one on this side look like a tube.oh and ask VOLO to show us which NIPPLES she uses.

 

 

 

 

she uses pink ones, she posted them on Ladies & Flesh a while ago, but some moderator was hands-on in putting them back!

[Christopher Brunsdon]

 

 

Slicks...your bike does not displace as much water as your car tyre. Slicks technically put more rubber on the road in the rain.

 

Agree

 

 

Aqua planning only happens on car tyres. Anything wider (truck) or narrower (bike) cannot aqua plane so slicks don't make you float on water (a major concern I originaly had until I was talking about rolling resistance to a physics guy and this lead to much discussion and wikipedia links).

cbrunsdon2009-11-13 07:24:23

[GreyOwl3.0]

Slicks...your bike does not displace as much water as your car tyre. Slicks technically put more rubber on the road in the rain.

Agree


Aqua planning only happens on car tyres. Anything wider (truck) or narrower (bike) cannot aqua plane so slicks don't make you float on water (a major concern I originaly had until I was talking about rolling resistance to a physics guy and this lead to much discussion and wikipedia links).

 

Funny how learned people make a lot of sense! I used to worry about the same thing...until I was given a big lecture by a bicycle tyre designer!

Slicks it is...

[Woofie]

yep.

Slicks are the way to go.

The only good of having any tread on the road is to see how far your tyre has worn down.

The tar offers far more grip from pressing into the rubber than tread will grabbing the tar.

Bikes can not aqua plain so they dont need tread like car tyres to displace the water in front of it.

 

Sheldon Brown has a nice article on the whole subject.

 

BUT remember that you will still be able to slip the same as everybody else.

And remember that your brakes will also suffer.

 

 

 

 

[Minion]

 

 

 

Aqua planning only happens on car tyres. Anything wider (truck) or narrower (bike) cannot aqua plane so slicks don't make you float on water (a major concern I originaly had until I was talking about rolling resistance to a physics guy and this lead to much discussion and wikipedia links).

Not true. If you've ever seen a jacknifed truck in wet weather, you've likely seen a result of aquaplaning.

Trucks tyres are generally less wide compared to their diameter than car tyres, and the move slower so they may be less likely to aquaplane, but it does still happen. You could even aquaplane a bicycle if you hit a deep enough puddle fast enough.

 

[Tankman]

you will probably be slipping on painted lines, road signs or man holes, not from tyres not gripping, so stay away from these in wet weather.

[Woofie]

Take a read for yourself on Sheldon Browns website.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html

 

 

Hydroplaning

Car and truck tires need tread, because these vehicles are

prone to a very dangerous condition called "hydroplaning." This happens

when driving fast in very wet conditions, which can lead to the tire

riding up onto a cushion of liquid water. When this happens, there is a

sudden and total lack of traction.

 

Cars can hydroplane because:	Bicycles canNOT hydroplane because:
A car tire has a square road contact, and the leading edge of the contact is a straight line. This makes it easier for a car tire to trap water as it rolls.	A bicycle tire has a curved road contact. Since a bicycle leans in corners, it needs a tire with a rounded contact area, which tends to push the water away to either side..
A car tire is quite wide, so water from the middle of the contact patch can have trouble escaping as the tire rolls over it, if there are not grooves to let it escape.	A bicycle tire is narrower, so not as much water is in contact with the leading edge at once.
Car tires run at much lower pressure than bicyles.	The high pressure of bicycle tires is more efficient at squeezing the water out from under.
Cars go much faster than bicycles, again leaving less time for water to escape.	At high bicycle speeds, hydroplaning is just possible for car tires, but is absolutely impossible for bicycle tires.

 

Even with automobiles, actual hydroplaning is very rare. It is a much

more real problem for aircraft landing on wet runways. The aviation

industry has studied this problem very carefully, and has come up with

a general guidline as to when hydroplaning is a risk. The formula used

in the aviation industry is:

 

 

 

Speed (in knots) = 9 X the square root of the tire pressure (in psi.)

Here's a table calculated from this formula:

 

 

Tire Pressure		Hydroplane Speed Miles per hour	Hydroplane Speed Kilometers per hour
P.S.I.	Bars
120	8.3	113	183
100	6.9	104	167
80	5.5	93	149
60	4.1	80	129
40	2.8	66	105