Rugged tyres for road bike

[Slappybag]

Slappybag are you using the bike almost exclusively for roads?

A different schwalbe marathon tyre I'd be interested to see what people think. My 35 schwalbe marathon pluses are horrid. Clunky, impossible to put on and a heavy ride.

Pretty much on road/cycle path to work, but I want something for a canal-side which is kind of loose gravel/stone footpath.
I'm not so sure about those Schwalbe ones because of how cheap they are.
I also have no idea about which brands are more reliable.

 

[kyuss]

None of those tyres you've linked to will help grip in the wet, the reason being, like Redbike pointed out previously, is that there is less rubber in contact with the road surface therefore actually adding to you problem. This is the reason why racing cars use slick tyres as they give more grip than treaded tyres.

The only reason behind tread is to dissipate water from the road surface ahead of the tyre allowing the rubber to make contact. This is needed on wide, lower pressure car tyres (without them you would aquaplane in standing water at speed) but on bike tyres the tiny width of the tyre itself cuts through the surface water. Sheldon Brown reckons that on a tyre running at 100psi you'd need to be doing 104mph+ before you run a risk of aquaplaning.

 

[marinyork]

Well canals and trails can vary. If it's a higher quality trail then I'd think before ditching what you've got (or get something the same but higher quality).

 

[kyuss]

If it's a rough, bumpy and muddy canal path then maybe knobbly MTB tyres would help, but I doubt a shallow treaded road tyre would. I regularly ride to work along a gravel covered canal path using 23c slicks and never had a problem even in the wet.

 

[marinyork]

If it's a rough, bumpy and muddy canal path then maybe knobbly MTB tyres would help, but I doubt a shallow treaded road tyre would. I regularly ride to work along a gravel covered canal path using 23c slicks and never had a problem even in the wet.

Really on 23cs? Is that more microgravel or what?

 

[kyuss]

There's even a short section of proper off road (although very flat) that runs through a section of forest I use to go and see my nephews. I guess I'm just proper hard with astonishing bike handling skills.

 

[marinyork]

I just wondered, got no experience of using tyres that thin (just I know mine are overkill).

 

[kyuss]

Although 23's slicks are less than ideal, how much hard cornering at speed does anyone do on a gravel covered canal path? Around my way they are mostly straight and the fact they are also used by pedestrians means that speeds have to be pretty low therefore ultimate grip in those conditions isn't really a problem. I'm guessing slightly wider tyres might make things a bit more comfortable on the canal paths but to me it makes more sense to buy a tyre suited to the surfaces I ride most on. I'd quite like to try some 25 or even 28 to see the difference it would make but unfortunately the clearances on my bike mean I'm stuck to 23, but to be honest I can't see why anyone who spends most of their time on the road would need anything wider or more knobbly than a 28 slick.