40 mm (or so) 700c tire for rain?
06-04-20, 09:35 AM
#1
Old but slow
Thread Starter
40 mm (or so) 700c tire for rain?
TL;DR I want soft, sticky rubber
My spousal critter's new ebike (Orbea E40) needs to be about 5 mm lower at the stem to fit into her bike locker at work. I could swap the stem for a flatter one, but the simplest thing would seem to be to replace the 50 mm tires with something in the 700c X 37 to 42 mm range.
We live in Seattle, so the top priority is wet grip, followed by flat resistance and, if possible, reflective sidewall (although that can be substituted with reflective tape on the rims and/or spokes, so not critical). Tread-wear life is NOT a priority! Very happy to sacrifice that for traction in the rain. Planned use is intermittent commuting, 13 mile round trip, so it will be a LONG time before a tire gets worn down.
To be used on pavement only, so aggressive tread is not needed. OTOH, probably want some tread texture just so it *looks* like a tire. Near-slicks would probably make her distrust them based on the appearance. The Continental Contact Plus 42 mm looks about right, if they are sticky enough.
In road tires, the Conti GP 4-Season sounds good, since people say they stick in the wet and wear out quickly (I'm tempted to get a set for my road bike), but those are nowhere near wide enough. Does Conti use a similar soft rubber on any chubby tire?
What other tires in the 40 mm neighborhood are going to excel in Pacific Northwest "liquid sunshine?"
My spousal critter's new ebike (Orbea E40) needs to be about 5 mm lower at the stem to fit into her bike locker at work. I could swap the stem for a flatter one, but the simplest thing would seem to be to replace the 50 mm tires with something in the 700c X 37 to 42 mm range.
We live in Seattle, so the top priority is wet grip, followed by flat resistance and, if possible, reflective sidewall (although that can be substituted with reflective tape on the rims and/or spokes, so not critical). Tread-wear life is NOT a priority! Very happy to sacrifice that for traction in the rain. Planned use is intermittent commuting, 13 mile round trip, so it will be a LONG time before a tire gets worn down.
To be used on pavement only, so aggressive tread is not needed. OTOH, probably want some tread texture just so it *looks* like a tire. Near-slicks would probably make her distrust them based on the appearance. The Continental Contact Plus 42 mm looks about right, if they are sticky enough.
In road tires, the Conti GP 4-Season sounds good, since people say they stick in the wet and wear out quickly (I'm tempted to get a set for my road bike), but those are nowhere near wide enough. Does Conti use a similar soft rubber on any chubby tire?
What other tires in the 40 mm neighborhood are going to excel in Pacific Northwest "liquid sunshine?"
Last edited by ScrawnyKayaker; 06-04-20 at 10:21 AM.
06-04-20, 09:42 AM
#2
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Why not just remove the front wheel before putting it into the locker?
06-04-20, 10:05 AM
#3
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Thread Starter
Because she doesn't want to have to wrestle the wheel on and off every day? Duh.
The goal is to reconfigure the bike to roll in and out of the bike locker. Period.
The goal is to reconfigure the bike to roll in and out of the bike locker. Period.
06-05-20, 02:27 PM
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I have a bazillion conti tires. The 4-season is a "modern" gatorskin (a little lighter and more supple). its not too big though at 32mm (I think mine were 36mm on 22 inner width rims). If you want incredible traction and ride quality and surprising puncture resitance, the GP5000 is amazing - they are wearing about twice as fast as the 4 seasons for me.
To answer your question: get the Schwalbe G-One. Amazing tire in just about ever way (if you don't ride in mud). They are even amazing in snow, and all kinds of crappy weather. If you would rather have a slick, the Marathon family has a lot to choose from. But the G-One Allround is perfect for you. I'm gonna guess the Contact Plus is going to be a little tougher and wear longer - its more of a touring/ebike kinda tire (well, it is going on an ebike).
To answer your question: get the Schwalbe G-One. Amazing tire in just about ever way (if you don't ride in mud). They are even amazing in snow, and all kinds of crappy weather. If you would rather have a slick, the Marathon family has a lot to choose from. But the G-One Allround is perfect for you. I'm gonna guess the Contact Plus is going to be a little tougher and wear longer - its more of a touring/ebike kinda tire (well, it is going on an ebike).
