Another fall - better tyres?

[MattDB]

I recently changed my commuter to a Giant Talon 4, I fell off my road bike after hitting a patch of oil on a busy road and even after bought some continental all season tyres I completely lost confidence so bought a mountain bike with big tyres. I've felt great for the 6 weeks I've been commuting, a lot heavier but I feel so much more stable. Until 2 weeks ago when I went under a bridge, I slowly rode over some pavement which, being under a bridge has a light covering of moss, I slipped and fell awkwardly, anyway I digress...

I'm currently using the standard knobbly 'Giant Sport, Custom Kenda K1135, 27.5x2.1" ' tyres that came with the bike. Is there anything I could change to to give me more grip? I'm not too bothered about rolling resistance, these are currently a bit hard work but I'd rather sacrifice rolling for road holding.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

[gavroche]

No tyre will protect you against oil , wet leaves or damp moss. Just watch where you ride but there will always be an element of bad luck. That life.

 

[steve50]

No tyre will protect you against oil , wet leaves or damp moss. Just watch where you ride but there will always be an element of bad luck. That life.

Itend to agree with gavroche, add to that your confidence sounds to shot to hell as well. Maybe its just bad luck on your part but I would be looking at riding a different route or at least riding the same route but giving the slippery bits a miss.

 

[fossyant]

Oil is oil. Conti 4 Seasons are the best all season road tyre bar none, and I am a Michelin fan.

You can't stay upright on oil and ice without care, or ice tyres.

 

[fossyant]

PS moss is like oil as well.

 

[Origamist]

As someone who has hit the ground after slipping on: ice, diesel, wet leaves, gravel, cobbles, painted white lines and a drain cover in the past, I'd recommend avoiding the above, as if your front wheel goes, you either catch it, or you go down.

There's probably something to be said for wider tyres at lower pressure, but not enough to persuade me to ride with MTB slicks or semi slicks on the road.

I'm now going to be wary of moss and add that to my list of hazards.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Ouch @MattDB! GWS!
Slimy moss is, well, slimy, no tyre would have saved you I think.

 

[I like Skol]

It's not what you will want to hear but it has to be said, sharpen up your observation and improve your bike handling and all will be good.

 

[RoubaixCube]

@MattDB

My good Sir,

I believe i have found you the best solution to your problem! I guarantee that you will be fully impervious from the embarrassment & the pain of taking a tumble! 100% satisfaction guaranteed!

Spoiler

 

[ColinJ]

It's not what you will want to hear but it has to be said, sharpen up your observation and improve your bike handling and all will be good.

Watching where you are going is key, but sometimes you can't see diesel or black ice. Once a front wheel slides from under you it is incredibly hard to recover from. I have recovered from many rear wheel slides but have gone down every time a front wheel lost traction.

@Origamist - add mud and sand/dust to your 'things to avoid' list!

 

[alicat]

@Origamist - and fords. DAMHIKT

 

[martint235]

I think it's more about finding tyres that you like and get along with. As others have said there's not real solution to the problem of oil, moss, bricks as a road surface (yes Faversham your town designer is going to hell) but once you're on that kind of surface you've a lot better chance of getting off it in one piece if you know the limits of what you've got and are feeling confident rather than nervous.

And I disagree about 4Seasons. Horrible tyres. Hated them.

 

[I like Skol]

I use tyres on my bike, round black ones that at the moment are as bald as I am. In fact the rear tyre has a few spots of the next layer showing through. It's yellow. Once it becomes a continuous line I might have to change them as yellow doesn't go well with the dirty dirt colour of the rest of my bike.

In my humble opinion it is not about the tyres. If you ride according to the conditions then you shouldn't fall off. In 5 yrs of commuting in ALL conditions, including the prolonged sub-zero spell we had a few years ago where it was -10 for about 3 weeks I have only fallen off due to slipping once, and that was on a dry road where the heavy gritting had left an invisible coating with the friction properties of graphite powder. Now that was a surprise. Happily riding along, dry road, check. Above freezing temperatures, check. Good tarmac, check. No leaves, moss, mud, wet cardboard, visible oil, white lines or grids/manholes, check. Turn into a mini-roundabout then next thing sliding along the tarmac at 20mph. I even walked back to the spot and took off my gloves to feel the road surface and still couldn't understand why I had dropped the bike. It was only when I turned to walk back to the roadside and I nearly landed on my backside again due to my shoes suddenly slipping on the lethal dry salt coating that I realised what had happened.

Nearly all the mentioned hazards are foreseeable and with proper anticipation and the correct approach there is no reason to fall off, regardless of tyre choice. If conditions are bad or you fear being able to ride without falling you should maybe get off and walk the bad bit.

Going back to the original post, have you reported this slippery spot to the council? I do hope you haven't just left such a dangerous situation to catch out someone else. Is it pavement or cyclepath? Should you have been there or should you have actually have been on a road at this point? This is one of the benefits of riding on busy roads. Many people complain about all the cars but I find they do a superb job of keeping the surface clear and clean for us cyclists

 

[ColinJ]

@Origamist - and fords. DAMHIKT

I came off crossing a ford because wet moss on underwater cobbles made my front wheel slide sideways and it then wedged in a gap between 2 cobblestones!

 

[MattDB]

I use tyres on my bike, round black ones that at the moment are as bald as I am. In fact the rear tyre has a few spots of the next layer showing through. It's yellow. Once it becomes a continuous line I might have to change them as yellow doesn't go well with the dirty dirt colour of the rest of my bike.

In my humble opinion it is not about the tyres. If you ride according to the conditions then you shouldn't fall off. In 5 yrs of commuting in ALL conditions, including the prolonged sub-zero spell we had a few years ago where it was -10 for about 3 weeks I have only fallen off due to slipping once, and that was on a dry road where the heavy gritting had left an invisible coating with the friction properties of graphite powder. Now that was a surprise. Happily riding along, dry road, check. Above freezing temperatures, check. Good tarmac, check. No leaves, moss, mud, wet cardboard, visible oil, white lines or grids/manholes, check. Turn into a mini-roundabout then next thing sliding along the tarmac at 20mph. I even walked back to the spot and took off my gloves to feel the road surface and still couldn't understand why I had dropped the bike. It was only when I turned to walk back to the roadside and I nearly landed on my backside again due to my shoes suddenly slipping on the lethal dry salt coating that I realised what had happened.

Nearly all the mentioned hazards are foreseeable and with proper anticipation and the correct approach there is no reason to fall off, regardless of tyre choice. If conditions are bad or you fear being able to ride without falling you should maybe get off and walk the bad bit.

Going back to the original post, have you reported this slippery spot to the council? I do hope you haven't just left such a dangerous situation to catch out someone else. Is it pavement or cyclepath? Should you have been there or should you have actually have been on a road at this point? This is one of the benefits of riding on busy roads. Many people complain about all the cars but I find they do a superb job of keeping the surface clear and clean for us cyclists

Yes I should have been here. It's a shared pedestrian and cycle path. There is a road option but it's a very busy roundabout and I haven't been on it since a car incident. I reported this to the council straight away - one of the people who came to see if I was OK while I was on the floor told me 'I've come off there a few times!'. Having looked at the moss again it's such a small amount I think it's quite hard to spot. I doubt the council will take any action based on my previous experience.