Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Racing in the wet, with corners. Which tyres (brand, width, pressure) have you raced on - rate them?

Haven't raced on road, but use them to commute in all weathers and I rate them: Conti GP4000s Black Chilli. Generally run them at 90-95psi on the rear and 5psi less on the front.

Edit: I'm 82-83kg in riding trim and have to say I'm not an eggressive cornerer especially in the wet.

I can vouch for Pro Race 3's in the torrential rain...I run lower pressures these days in everything. Never go much over 100 psi...but in the ran I would be 85-90.
Crashing in the wet doesn't hurt as much too .
Tubeless works well in the wet too but unless you are already running them you won't be changing for the day.

toolonglegs wrote:I can vouch for Pro Race 3's in the torrential rain...I run lower pressures these days in everything. Never go much over 100 psi...but in the ran I would be 85-90.

Interesting, this backs up the claim that the grooves in the tyres are cosmetic. I have raced GP4000 in the wet, they were fine. But the Vittoria Evo Corsa CX tyres I have, which are great to brilliant in the dry are dangerous in the wet. So looking for a specific wet tyre. I was thinking, Durano 25mm and running 90psi as the go.

Have heard good things about the 4seasons for wet grip, but not good for general durability.

Never raced.

However, had a few very rapid decents ( up to75km/hr+) in torrential rain on pretty ordinary road surfaces (polished smooth bitumen lanes and lumpy chip seal) on Schwalbe Ultremo R.1's, never had any 'moments' (yet ) on these in the wet or the dry but I'd recommend them for riding a spirited pace in the pouring rain.

76kg ride r 90psi front / 100psi rear

I can't remember the last tyre I had that had grooves....maybe some old training hack tyre.

toolonglegs wrote:I can't remember the last tyre I had that had grooves....maybe some old training hack tyre.

My boss' Wilier G.T. arrived (this week) with grooved tyres (herring bone pattern) I too had not seen a sports bicycle tyre with grooves like this since the 80's......

I've had Durano S and Ultremo R1 and I am more confident on the Ultremo's in the wet.

Riding both in the wet in the Adelaide Hills and there is a noticeable difference. Durano's feel even more heavy and cumbersome than usual IMO in the wet.

Only raced at Whyalla( a massive 5 times). I think they had a wet race in 2005 and only 6 or 7 showed up LOL since then all dry I think......

Oops forgot to add never tried GP4000s so cannot compare

All of the tyres I have are Conti and they all have grooves but they're so small as to be purely cosmetic, never raced them in the rain or ridden very fast in the wet on them so can't really comment.

One of my favourite things about racing in France is they never cancel races because of rain or wind... been a couple of early season races cancelled because of snow, but have also raced in snow a couple of times.
Can understand dragstrip being closed in the wet... like riding on glass .

AndrewBurns wrote:All of the tyres I have are Conti and they all have grooves....

Time to swap for GP4000s with Black Chili!

I've exceeded the maximum wet weather grip of GP4000 at Penrith Lakes. The GP4000s Chilli had noticeably better wet weather grip than the GP4000. This years race tyres are going to be Pro3race, so I guess I'll find out, but I was happy with wet weather grip of Pro2race.

Bike tyres don't need groves as they don't aquaplane and therefor slicks give better wet weather grip as they have more rubber contacting the ground.

How about the Ultremo Aqua? Never used it though.

http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/road-race/ultremo-aqua/

Very happy with my Conti 4 seasons. Last a lot better than the GP series and even in a narrow size certainly don't surrender in the wet.

I've used both Pro Race 3's and Ultremo ZR's. Happy with both.

I've used the Ultremo R1.0 and found them to be my favourite Clincher

Also used the Verdestein Tricomp which was o.k and the Conti' attack/force combination which were also good. But the Ultremo's are the best for me wet or dry. I run them at around 120psi, less when it is wet.

My fav' wet weather single is the Vittoria Corsa Evo Tech which has a little more pattern on them. Great tyre so far. http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ITTTUBA809

My ultremo r1s have been crap in the wet, don't give you much confidence. I've had a few slides in the wet even when I've taken corners easy.

Vredestein Tri Comps are great in the wet.

run the same pressure and go around the corners at almost the same speed without a problem.

jcjordan wrote:Vredestein Tri Comps are great in the wet.

run the same pressure and go around the corners at almost the same speed without a problem.

Vredestein's are really good in the wet - you should try running about 10psi less than your normal pressure in the wet. It improves grip significantly.

I'm surprised some people have recommend Ultremo's for the wet, I've found them to be a really poor wet weather tyre (compared to Vredestein Quattro or Tricomp). The Ultremo's I've used though arn't the latest version, maybe they've improved?

May I suggest that it's not simply the brand/model of tyre which keep you rubber side down or otherwise in the rain. Slips and slides / front end wash outs / big looses and fishtails etc in the wet can also be highly dependant upon the state of the surface upon which the rain or standing water is sitting upon and the skill set of the rider and due quarter given to sub optimal riding surfaces.

Most paved road surfaces contain bitumenous sealant which exudes an oily residue. Oil floats on water - when combined with a wet road, esp those shiny "mirror" sections of well worn bitumen can make for diabolically slippery conditions, especially considering what tiny contact patches road bike tyres offer.

Also, cornering skills in conditions offering sub-optimal grip from the road surface (ie some 'types' of wet bitumen roads) really come to the fore if one is to negotiate the course with any speed. Approriate tyre pressures, approriate speed, degree of lean, weight distribution, choosing safe entry, apex and exit points in corners and safe braking points are all keys to staying rubber side down when riding in the rain. As with too many car drivers, if one does not drive/ride to the conditions it makes bugger all difference which brand of tyre you are rolling on if one does not adjust to the conditions, know what signs to look for on the road and ride within one's capabilities let alone the traction capabilities of tyres on slippery surfaces.

I freely admit to being fairly obsessed with this subject as I've dropped many a motorcycle, on the race track, in the rain and hated the fact that I could never get a feel for what the front of the bike was doing before the limits of traction left me behind sliding along the grassy verges....... I simply choose the Schwalbe Ultremo R.1 tyres because they give feedback in both wet and dry and thus far have never let go without warning signs coming first.

The last time I was caught in the wet I let really let some air out of the front tyre and a little out of the rear on the roadside and despite the recent heatwave bringing oil to the road surface and this being the first rain after 5 weeks of consistand dry and heat I reckon the front tyre (at approx. 75 psi) was the main reason I got down the remainder of the decent (7.5 km to go - all downhill when the rain began) without tucking the front wheel up. I know I made at least 2 mistakes on that particular wet decent and hit one of those mirror patches fair and square just as I changed direction in a corner yet still managed to stay upright at approx 40km/hr.

My 20 cents......