Tyre and pressure choice for Ice, slush and snow

[IanWood]

Hi all,

Some ice advice please.

I cycle seven miles from Hither Green into the City on a cross bike and would like some comments and advice about tyre choice and pressures.

At the moment I have 700/25 Continental GatorSkins, which are excellent in the rain.

I also have:
700/32 Specialized Borough CXs, which have minimal thread - they came with the bike.
700/35 Panaracer Cindercross which are good in mud
700/28 Continental GatorSkins from my girlfriend's bike.

I am thinking that the Panaracer Cindercross would be good if the snow was deep and relatively compacted, but not so good if icy.

The GatorSkins work very well when wet, but have no grip in the slushy stuff but still grip the road well below.

The Specialized Borough CXs have a central slick part and slight knobles on the edges, which I think would give better grip in slush.

Riding back today I was a bit nervous but didn't actully fall or slip.

I am tossing up between the 28 GatorSkins and the 32 Boroughs.

The other problem with the Boroughs is that they are not very puncture resistant.

Please advice,

Cheers

Ian

 

[HJ]

See here for advice on cycling on snow and ice. I don't recommend GatorSkins for snow and ice, they are great for the rest of the year...

 

[hackbike 666]

Aye,I wouldn't either.

 

[MacB]

having looked at this recently I've decided the only safe way is to go with studded tyres. Just fit them at the start of Winter and change again come Spring. Some good general info here:-

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

based on the write ups I'm opting for the Marathon Winter model

 

[marinyork]

Where it's superflat like London I wouldn't have thought there would be too many problems on the 35s you mention. 25s sound mad even somewhere flat. A lot of the problems are on steep descents/ascents.

 

[ColinJ]

I recommend that you let all of the air out of your tyres when there is ice on the roads so you won't be tempted to go out on your bike in icy conditions.

Don't try and ride on ice unless you have studded tyres. Well, you can if you want to, but I suggest that first you do a quick trawl through CycleChat and BikeRadar and observe the rapidly rising casualty list over the past week or so!

I learned my lesson when I crashed on ice 3 times in one hour on New Year's day a few years back. It's all very well saying "Don't brake and make sure that you ride in a straight line on ice" but it isn't much use if you are riding down a steep hill into an icy dip with a bend and a dry stone wall at the bottom! Don't brake - hit wall. Don't steer - hit wall. Brake and/or steer - fall off on ice, skid into wall!

 

[gaz]

Don't brake - hit wall. Don't steer - hit wall. Brake and/or steer - fall off on ice, skid into wall!

aaah that reminds me of the old top gear description of understeer and oversteer.

understeer is where you go around a corner, the car doesn't steer and you end up going off the road and crashing into a tree.

oversteer is where you go around the corner, the back end steps out and you spin off the road and crash into a tree.

 

[BentMikey]

Hakkapeliitta!!!

 

[IanWood]

Thanks for the replies chaps - I have opted for the 32s, just tried them on the road and they seem a lot better than the 25s.

I noticed a post on another thread
tp://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=1044528&highlight=sheldon#post1044528

to quote sheldon brown ..

"In the absence of studded tires for frozen lakes without a snow crust, slick tires are better than ones with miniature automobile tread because they give more contact surface, thereby reducing contact pressure and slip."

The 32s have quite a good slick bit and knobles on the edges. I have filled them to 60PSI and lowered my seat a little bit.

I am tempted not to take the train due to the inevitable cancelled/delayed services and being packed like a sardine and then slipping on the icy pavement on the way there anyway...

Wish me luck!

Cheers

Ian