Damn slippy wet london!

no i picked up a cheap kenda before really reading it, then i read it and ordered a pair of hardcases.

Today there's that weird oily wetness on the road created by light drizzle on dry roads. Horrid for cornering, but awesome for skidding fun on the way to work. Best one was up Tott court road taking advantage of the slippy white lines in the road. Gliding along, tail comes out, catches grip on the road, power out. Fun fun fun.

kam, are you riding fixed or freewheel? If I missed it, forgive me - it's 4am and I can't sleep. Eyes bit blurry.

This thread interested me cos I have had two near-spills on my new bike - an OTP charge butt plug racer. I've only had it a month, only ridden it a couple of times in the wet - we're just getting to know each other still. Now I'm used to losing the back wheel if I push into a pedal stroke when the rear is on a wet drain cover and sliding the back out a bit. But both of these were the front trying to slide away from me and gave me a hairy moment keeping the bike together. That is not something I am used to. First was on a wet drain cover which I just didn't see because the twat in a car coming the other way who wanted to turn into the same side road moved like he was going to cut me up, so I had my eye on him, not the road surface. Wet drain cover? Yeah, that one could be classed as fair. But a minute later, I turn into the industrial estate I cut through to work - it's yellowish concrete with lots of shiny round flints about the size of your finger/thumbnails for aggregate. And guess what, same thing, bike tries to slide away from me again - this time, bit more serious because there was no tarmac beyond the wet drain cover this time. Very cautious few days follow...

Now, is it the bike? Different frame shape to last two bikes - could be I need to change riding style for new bike. Shape in the corners maybe? Yeah, I do tend to corner body more upright, bike canted over between my legs more. But it's never been a problem before, old bike held corners on wet drains ok. So, maybe it's the tyres... Someone on here said the plug has shite tyres but they do differ between models and they did buy theirs a year ago, so I blanked that. After all, mine's been sweet-as in the dry... But I read this thread and it made me go "hmmm..." and I just looked up what my bike came with out of the box:

Kenda K1029 - 700x28C-60TPI WIRE BEAD

Kendas, you say you have..? Slippy in the wet, you say..? Going over shiny stones..? Never normally have a problem with losing the arse end on your bike..?

The jury is in and the verdict is guilty. Mr Kenda, you are hereby banished the fuck off my bike once the summer is over (today, by the looks of the weather). I'll be checking out the advice on this thread and getting some decent treads for my beloved forthwith. You are no longer wanted.

I think that the issue is the coefficient of friction, not the tread per se.

Just to throw a spanner in the works, part of the problem in the quoted article by sheldon and all the hifalutin terms used by physicists etc. does little to examine the properties of the rubber compound itself in the wet vs the dry - they just discuss "tyres" or general physics.

If a compound has a very fine "ribbed" surface, at a microscopic or even at molecular level, what happens is that it can draw water down those fine channels very fast, and spreads it very evenly very quickly. Some parasitic plants have a surface like this, so that in the wet the insects slide in more easily - google it if you're bored, they're fascinatingly devious little bastards. Anyway, potentially, the rubber compund itself could cause its own hydroplaning with a very limited amount of water - it's called the dispersal factor of the material, or something like that.

That would seem to hold good as a theory with the description of how the kendas handle, because the tarmac of the road has a pretty grippy spiky surface which is probably pushing through this thin layer and into the rubber, but come to something smooth like metal drains or well-worn stones where this effect is no longer happening, so the very thin water layer is now able to come between the rubber and the stone and BAM! - it's ice-skating time.

So I'd guess that whatever tread you have on the kendas may be largely irrelevant if the rubber itself is holding a thin film of water and is just waiting for something nice and smooth to come along, so it can lift off and slide your arse across the road...

Poor Tea, you really can't sleep can you?!

Switched out my Tyres over a year ago, and no major issues since. Granted you always have the occasional hairy slide but nothing serious.

For what it's worth, i think Rubino Pros are good, Hardcases very grippy (Can be a bit much in the dry) and the Gators have been serving me well.

Oh and i ride fixed :-)

no i picked up a cheap kenda before really reading it, then i read it and ordered a pair of hardcases.

Hey, you want a couple more cheap? When the all white zaffiro pros I just ordered turn up early July, I'll have two nicely-worn-in kendas available. ;-)

Any takers..? No?

kam, yeah I was awakw and bored - have had a couple hours since. :-) Now have to hustle off to Battersea in the wet - GAH!!!

FWIW, I've been using 3 yr old Armadillo 35mm MTB tyres on old bike (well well worn so the aren't very knobbly anymore), which should by rights have waaayyy less gripped than a good racing tyre. Kendas = bye bye.

Kanda's are OK if wanting to do skids.

I can recommend Conti Grand Prix 4 Seasons - great, but not cheap..... these are on my Fixed. I use Pro Race 2's on the Road bikes....

gatorskins, behave in the wet too.

^^ wut he said. front gators are your friend

gatorskins, behave in the wet too.

If by behave you mean slip and slide all over the place then I suppose you are right.

gatorskins make a horrible squeaky noise in the wet and are not as grippy as 4-seasons or gp4000s.
they are just cheap tyres that last a decent amount of time and resist punctures, the biggest difference is in the ride quality which is a bit shit compared to the 4seasons as the carcass has a low TPI, it's the ability of the carcass to deform that contributes to the level of grip.

they only squeak when they're new and covered with the wax/grease they come with, right? rough em up in with a bit of sandpaper?

agreed they're not brilliant tyres but they are decent value for money, and mostly behave themselves.

and murtle what are you doing recommending something that's not a randonneur?

it's the ability of the carcass to deform that contributes to the level of grip.

I did not know that

zaffiro pros

possibly the worst tyres in the world, especially in the wet. totally unpredictable!

^^^^ Arse biscuits. :-(