Tyres again. Leaves, road, mud on Hybrid

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adiwillow

New Member
Hi all, after coming a cropper recently on my Big Ben Plus, i need something that is good for a commute, mix of canal towpath (often very muddy), tarmac, and also slippy wet leaves covered tarmac. This is basically what my average daily ride is. There area LOT of leaves as i often ride through a tunnel of tree covered paths. The mud is concern too as i recently nearly ended up in the canal.

Any suggestions? Bike is just a typical carrera hybrid, 26" tyres.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Schwalbe Land Cruiser. They come in 26x2 and 26x1.75

Just fitted some to my MTB for the canal commute. Roll quite well due to central ridge, with knobbly grip at the sides for mud. Seem to be fairly thorn resistant. £26 off eBay with two tubes.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
Problem is that anything knobbly will just fill up with mud, particularly if it's that thick sticky stuff, so you're probably better off sticking with something with road type tread pattern run at lower pressure. Better over slippery stuff too.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
I don't think something narrower will necessarily give better grip. The Land Cruisers suggested might provide some advantage but I think experimenting with lower pressures might give you more grip.
 
Thanks:smile: Are thinner 1.75 tyres likely to give better overall grip?

All other things being equal, more grip is achieved when there is a greater area of contact between the ground and the tyre. So reducing the pressure of the tyres you're currently using is certainly worth trying in order to improve adhesion, but mud in quantity and/or depth is a different matter entirely.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I think whatever tyres you use, mud and wet leaves on tarmac are always going to be a bit dodgy!

I crashed my mountain bike on a descent when I hit a patch of wet leaves on a cobbled bend. I made the mistake of going in 'too hot' and dabbed the brakes. Straight down - BANG! I got away with minor cuts and bruises, but I scratched my bike, and ripped a new cycling jacket.

A former colleague was not so lucky. He was WALKING his bike towards the entrance to a railway station and slipped on wet leaves. He broke a hip or his pelvis (I can't remember which - it was about 20 years ago).
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Problem is that anything knobbly will just fill up with mud, particularly if it's that thick sticky stuff, so you're probably better off sticking with something with road type tread pattern run at lower pressure. Better over slippery stuff too.
Knob lies don't fill with mud. Never had that problem.
 
I think whatever tyres you use, mud and wet leaves on tarmac are always going to be a bit dodgy!

I crashed my mountain bike on a descent when I hit a patch of wet leaves on a cobbled bend. I made the mistake of going in 'too hot' and dabbed the brakes. Straight down - BANG! I got away with minor cuts and bruises, but I scratched my bike, and ripped a new cycling jacket.

A former colleague was not so lucky. He was WALKING his bike towards the entrance to a railway station and slipped on wet leaves. He broke a hip or his pelvis (I can't remember which - it was about 20 years ago).

According to the railway managements, wet leaves even stop trains so what hope ordinary people have, whether on foot or on bikes, of progressing safely forward, is probably minimal! I once slipped on A SINGLE wet leaf when the entire yard had been swept (almost) clean; fortunately I landed bum-first in a pile of fresh horse-dung!
 
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