sheaffer

Been riding on my Bontrager AW2 Hard Case Lite tires. Great tire but on wet and leafy surfaces...this tire is not so great. And...because someone said too much Trek...don't suggest Bontrager brand tires. I already know what they have. Size i'm looking for is 700x32 to 38mm max. I won't be riding in the snow, so just looking for a tire with more traction and stability on cold/wet/leafy asphalt. Thanx guys.

Metieval

something soft.

Continental 4season

Continental Sport Contact II (< that might be called "contact speed" now? )


Leaves are going to be slick no matter what.

bpcyclist

As I was saying on a different but related thread, we have so much crap and debris and rocks and yuk on the roads here this time of year and onward for a few months that my pretty much entire focus with a tire becomes puncture prevention. Nobody around here who knows anything is going fast into a corner covered with leaves on fast racing tires. It would just be ridiculous. So, for a few years I guess I have used the Gator Hardshell. Is there a bit of a rolling resistance penalty? I guess, but again, with conditions the way they are here, most of the roads just aren't set up for speed, anyway, so it doesn't really matter very often. And as far as puncture resistance, this tire is the best I've personally used. I just don't get flats. Like, ever. Accidentally rode right through the remains of a broken bottle the other day. Tried to evade, but it was just too late. Right through it. No problem. Nothing. Rode another 65 miles like they did it every day. Very happy with these Continentals. I guess I could go tubeless, and I may, but for now, these are a good autumn/winter solution.

alcjphil

Leaves on the road, especially wet leaves are going to be slippery no matter what tire you have. Bare wet pavement is another matter. most tire manufacturers make tires that are designed for riding on wet roads. Dare I say it? There may be some Bontrager tires that claim to be good for wet roads. Sorry about that.
Point is, when you ride over leaves on the road, your tire is probably not making contact with the pavement. Even if the leaves are dry, traction is determined by the number of layers of leaves between your tires and the asphalt. One layer, any slip can shred the leaf and bring your tire in contact with the pavement. Two or more, the leaves form a friction free barrier between your tire ands the road.

chas58

Schwalbe G-One in 35mm size. That is my winter tire. Great traction in cold, wet, damp, and even snow.

I've used Gatorskins and 4seasons. Unless you really gotta have a slick, the G-One is better (and anything is more modern than a Gatorskin - that is a great wearing tire but its focus is not on traction or ride quality). Tubless is pretty nice when the weather is crappy - one less thing to worry about on a ride. If I had to use tubes I'd stay with the 4season. Its an updated design of the Gatorskin. The rolling resistance is fine for those unless you are competing with someone.

jpescatore

Agree that tires aren't going to change much of the danger of wet leaves - the leaves slip on the pavement. Unless you go real large and lower pressure.

Schwalbe has a lot of tires to choose from - they have a scoring scale with ratings on rolling resistance, puncture proof, durability, road traction, off road traction, etc. Someone else mentioned Schwalbe G-One, I use Schwalbe Marathon 35mm on my touring bike. It can go up to 40mm and I have a pair of 40MM Donnelly gravel tires that at 40-50 PSI at slow speeds hardly slip on anything but on pavement they are like towing a parachute!

On my road bike I went from AW3s to Continental GP5000s and like them much better on wet roads. I leave them on all winter.

Ghazmh

Would you consider Bontrager CX0’s? They come in the size range you specify, roll well on smooth and rough surfaces.

Metieval

good point on Tubeless.

The biggest reason I run Slicks in the winter is because I want to maximize surface contact on pavement.

I am tempted to run the G-one 2.35 speed , or 2.25 allround on the 29er hardtail.

bruce19

If there's snow or it's cold enough to create icy roads, I don't ride. For Fall riding I'm riding Panracer gravel tires. This is mostly on rail /trails. Seems to be working well.

Mulberry20

Vittoria Corsa Control
Pirelli P Zero 4S
Pirelli Cinturato
Panaracer Race D Evo

Not sure if they come that big.

ofajen

I’ve just switched for the season. I ride Conti Race King Protection 26x2.2 all winter long. That tread is great on trails that are soft/wet with leaves and clear mud pretty well on soft patches. Tolerable on pavement but watch out for hard braking, it will feel wiggly. There is a 700x35 version that might be worth a try.

Otto

wolfchild

Wet leaves will always be slippery no matter what type of tire you use. It's best to slow down and avoid aggressive cornering.

canklecat

On my hybrid I've ridden 700x32 Continental Sport Contact II and 700x42 (nominal, actually closer to 700x38) Conti Speed Rides. Both are very good in wet conditions.

The Sport Contact II (now called Contact Speed) have a thicker tread and puncture shield, with a fairly stiff sidewall. The file tread pattern is very shallow, not quite a slick but not much tread. The ride can be harsh at maximum pressure and jouncy and imprecise at lower pressure for comfort. They're okay. I got 'em mostly to clear some fairly narrow SKS Bluemel fenders that I already had. Very puncture resistant, never had a flat on these tires. They're comparable to Schwalbe Marathon Green Guards. I paid only $20 for the pair on blowout from the old Nashbar when they were clearing out the warehouse, and an excellent value at that price.

The Conti Speed Rides are a much better ride overall, more versatile for any pavement and dry gravel and grass, close to Conti's cyclocross tires for dry conditions. The main file tread is very versatile and durable. The side knobbies are mostly vestigial, useful only on hard cornering on dry grass. The puncture shield is thin, only about 1mm, but adequate on my roads. The sidewalls are a bit thinner, so the overall ride is much more pleasant. I usually ride 'em at 40-50 psi front, 50-60 psi rear, a little lower for gravel and grass. Highly recommended budget tire if your bike can clear a 700x38 or wider tire.

hsuBM

I used GP4k’s last winter and had a lot of little punctures plus a few full glass slashes (really grateful for the idea to keep a few dollar bills in the repair bag). How are the 5k’s? Are you having to do daily inspection/debrisectomy?

sheaffer I mostly agree with everyone else regarding slippery surfaces being slippery and that pulling a tire to swap a tube sucks when it’s cold out... I’ve got a few thousand miles on smooth Gravel King 32’s on very bottle-glassy roads and thorny trails and the only flat I’ve gotten was a pinch on a day where I left the house with close to 35psi (comfy!) and decided after work to smash some rooty rocky trails (dumb!).

I do recall back when I was on 23mm tires year-round instead of winter-only, having leaves be less trouble than when I stepped up to 32mm+ tires. I doubt a physicist would argue against that when you’re spreading the load out on a wider patch, every square mm of contact has less force pressing the rubber into whatever materials are between it and the jaggled pave surface below, and it the other way around with skinnier tires- each mm^2 is pressing into the ground with more force which leads to the malleable leaves conforming more to the pavement’s tractable surface shape. That may or may not be total BS in the real world, but I was also younger, dumber, faster, and lighter than I am now and I definitely feel more squirming under a few different 32-35mm tires than I did a decade ago- enough to sometimes wonder if leaves have gotten oilier.

Despite that, I am curious to try RH Rat Trap EL tires on my 26er on wet leaves to see if the extra flexibility is more grabby, but that probably won’t happen till next year.

GlennR

I have Bontrager AW2 TLR 32mm on my CX bike and ride in the winter and wet and find they work very well. I run 60/65psi.

jpescatore

Years ago I started routinely inspecting my tires (and wiping down my chain) after every ride - I think over the years most of my flats were on the next ride after the puncturing agent got on/in the tire. Doing so has really cut down on my flatting regardless of tire.

That said, the GP5000s definitely do seem to get more gougers than any other tire I've used, but I think that is the price to pay for "grippy" tires. The Bontrager tires never picked much up but on wet roads they were definitely more slippery on the road.

After 2 wire shard flats over last winter, no problems with the GP5000s, another 2500 miles on them and no flats and only one new gouge.

Wanderer

If you are in a snow or ice area, be very aware, that Schwalbe Marathon Supremes, do NOT like snow or ice, at all!

Don't ask me how I know.

Suffice it to say, that I used to ride all winter long, until a bad crash sent me to the emergency room to have my face repositioned.

Kapusta

In my experience, studs can cut through a thin layer of leaves.

But I would not bother running studded just for leaves.

63rickert

What keeps a bicycle upright is the rider. Tires play a part, it is still mostly the rider. Put your saddle down for winter. Lower center of gravity makes any vehicle more stable. Being notionally slower is immaterial. You travel very slowly while lying on the ground. Hospital beds are very slow indeed. Put the saddle down.

Grip is partly rubber compound. It is also the size of the tire, the flexibility of the tire and inflation pressure. Best for traction is a racing tire. A nice wide gravel racing tire at lowest imaginable psi would be best for traction. They flat a lot less than you think, though I doubt I would convince you. Anything with a stiff casing (Gatorskin, Hardcase) will be really bad. Of those mentioned so far the Gravel King would be very good and current version of the Marathon Supreme would be very good. The old Supreme with the 4mm thick goo under the tread was treacherous. Schwalbe G-One would be good too. For myself I did ten winters with Schwalbe Big Apples, zero flats. They don’t make those in a size for your bike. Decided that level of flat protection was not necessary, switched to Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass, which most would see as a racing tire. One flat in four seasons, though that was on a tire that was completely worn out. I do some miles. Wore through three sets of Big Apple am now wearing out second set of Rene Herse.

Use biggest size practical but be reasonable. Don’t force in a tire with a shoehorn. Those leaves will pack up if there is not enough clearance for them to fall away.

And use a tire that you can change. A tire that is hard to get on or off is a misery in cold weather. Wider tires and wider rims make tire changing much easier. All my tires go off and on no tools. Cold weather makes the tire stiffer and harder to manipulate. Then the tire is cold and wet and so are your hands. Flexible race tires are just way easier to work with. Although the Big Apple was easy too and those are hardly race tires. If it is a struggle to mount first time you are not getting it done in cold and wet. Spend the cabfare on better tires in first place.