Winter Commuting Tyres

[Foghat]

My take on winter commuting tyres, based on a long rural commute via lanes that are poorly surfaced, never gritted, and frequently covered in mud, gravel, leaves, hedge cuttings and ice etc:

winter commuting tyres

 

[Ajax Bay]

@EasyPeez asked "And how does tyre width play into this? All my instincts are telling me that it's time I changed my (Slick) 28mm 4seasons for my (treaded) 35mm marathon deluxe in order to reduce my chances of slip as the roads become wetter/icier, but am I actually better off sticking to the contis?"

That is a very good question and what's good for the good is not good for the gander. Cars being goose and bikes being gander, that is.

Lots is known about tyre width, particularly wrt racing cars. Racer cars like F1 have wide tyres so that they can get reasonable life out of them and also so that the heat generated during acceleration, cornering and braking can be extracted/;spread over a larger surface. The same amount of heat is generated whether the tyre is wide or narrow, but if there is more tyre, there is better air cooling and less sudden heat build-up during say a session of hard braking.

Yet, width does affect bicycle tyres too. Firstly, a wider tyre has less rolling resistance than a narrow one. The biggest reason, I think, is because the rubber deforms less and has less energy losses (hysterisis) when the tyre is wider. But don't think you can go on making it wider and wider. The sweet spot is probably around 28mm if you stick to a thin, non-armoured, non-armadillo type tyre. Puncture protection just adds thickness which adds hystererisis.

The second reason I think a wider tyre is slightly better is because it may grip better under certain conditions. Note that I'm not saying that there is a difference in the total amount of friction available in a narrow or wider tyre of the same compound and structure. Friction - therefore cornering ability or stopping distance remains exactly the same for wide and narrow. But, if you have a contact patch of 200mm^2 on your 28mm (wide) tyre and a contact patch of 150mm^2 on your 20mm wide tyre and you corner over a tiny slick of oil of 100mm^2, you will have 100mm^2 in reserve on the large tyre and just 50mm^2 on the narrow tyre. Should the 50mm^2 thus just not be enough to keep traction, you will slide on the narrow tyre but not the wider tyre.

But have a careful look at the scenario. It is pretty unlikely and probably far-fetched. Also note that the relationship between tyre width and contact patch size is not linear with the increase in tyre width. A 40mm tyre doesn't have a contact patch twice the size of a 20mm tyre. The increase is quite a bit less than doubling.

You may or may not be better off sticking to your Conti's. The wider tyre will NOT give you better traction unless the road is softer than the tyre. That's not the case in city commuting. Wider tyres give you benefits such as pinch-protection and comfort, which narrow ones don't.

YS's quote above from the 'I came off' thread. A 50kg load on a tyre at 110psi with mean a contact area of circa one square inch (or 645mm^2). At 75psi the contact area is about 50% greater (942mm^2). These two pressures are representative of 20 versus 28 width tyres, to align with the hypothetical scenario above. So actually (unless I have the math wrong) a tiny oil slick (NB 1cm x 1cm) should not cause traction loss in either tyre. But the wider tyre, because being run at the lower pressure (NB (same quality tyre) with lower rolling resistance), will have an extra ~300mm^2 surface area in contact with non-slicked road. Enough to keep traction even with a larger slick)? Possibly.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I didn't measure the actual widths of my tyres

the-right-tyre-width-on-the-right-rim-width

 

[mjr]

My take on winter commuting tyres, based on a long rural commute via lanes that are poorly surfaced, never gritted, and frequently covered in mud, gravel, leaves, hedge cuttings and ice etc:

winter commuting tyres

So... Continentals most of the time. Despite riding similar-sounding lanes, I might as well wrap my inner tubes with cheese, given how well they don't cope with local flints! The best tyres vary with conditions.

 

[dim]

I think you are exaggerating about the Gatorskins in the wet. What is your experience and what other tyre can be demonstrated to be better under the same circumstances?

well, I'll tell you what I think.... based on my own experience

gator skin hardshell are not good in the wet .... they slip and slide ... good for dry but roll slow and feel like hosepipes (in other words, they are shite)

Durano Plus .... excellent for puncture resistance (has a rating of 6 by Schwalbe .. the same rating as marathon Plus) .... roll ok and grip very well in the wet

Continental four seasons .... currently on one of my bikes .... never had a puncture (yet) .... done loads of miles and they still look good ... grip well and I'm well pleased ... I'm still getting PB's on Strava with these

Durano Plus was my favourite, so not sure what will be my next tyres for winter .... I'm currently leaning towards the Continental

If puncture resistance was the main feature, Durano Plus would be my choice

 

[Ajax Bay]

Durano
GP 4 Seasons
Michelin Pro 4 SC
All high in puncture resistance stakes, but Durano lowest, and highest Crr and weight.
Once my set of GP 4 Seasons wear out (two sets most recently and like you no punctures except snakebites, both my fault (in 10,000km)) I have a pair of the Michelins to try out.
Have a look at the comparison here.