Please advice better tyres

[forbas]

Hi Everyone.

This is my first post on this forum.

Short story: i just got into cycling. I thought this will be the best way to tackle my overweight (127kg at 180cm)

The beginnings were not so great as I started on to small 150 Tesco mountain bike with 2.25" tractor tyres

After few weeks I decided to go for the road bike as i uave no interest in MTB at all. I went for Triban 120RC with flat Bars.

Whole April I was building strengh and stamina and by the end of April/ beggining of May I was doing 20-25km with Avarage speed of 20km/h 5 days a week. For some here this is nothing but for me this was something and things were going better and better. I got hooked up. And then accident happened.

This was very forst wet day for me on this bike. My tyres were standard Decathlon (almost sleeks).

I was aproaching thebtraffic lights and slowing down, i turned left and my bike just slide. I ended up hiting pavement so badly that there was susspision of broken ribs. Couldnt move or do anything for few days. 3 weeks later I am much better and started riding again but lost the confidence and not riding as fast as before.

I have changed the tyres from oryginal to Schwalbe Marathon plus (touring) 700cx28 the comfort comparing to Decathlon is beyond my expectations but it feels like my tyres skid a it especially on pavement slabs or uneven terrain. I dont feel like they have a great grip.

I was hoping someone could recommend great tyres with the best grip ever on wet surfaces. I dont really care much about rolling resistance or weight of them as for me number 1 priority is my safety.

So if someone could recommend good tyres I would be very grateful.

Regards
Przemek

[mjr]

I was aproaching thebtraffic lights and slowing down, i turned left and my bike just slide. I ended up hiting pavement so badly that there was susspision of broken ribs. Couldnt move or do anything for few days. 3 weeks later I am much better and started riding again but lost the confidence and not riding as fast as before.

Sorry to read that. I'm glad you're back on the bike.

I'm sorry to say that the above sounds like a typical crash on an oil or diesel spill. The bad news is that tyres won't do much to help with it. The good news is that these mostly happen in the same places because I'm told many are due to inconsiderate motorists (usually large vehicles) who have unrepaired punctures high in their fuel tanks or are overfilling their tanks, so the first few times they corner after refilling, it comes out the hole or the filler. These idiots seem to be creatures of habit, so avoiding those places, or avoiding them on wet days (when the oil floats on the water, coating tyres more easily), or at least looking out for the tell-tale rainbow-pattern reflections, can mean avoiding the problem altogether.

I have changed the tyres from oryginal to Schwalbe Marathon plus (touring) 700cx28 the comfort comparing to Decathlon is beyond my expectations but it feels like my tyres skid a it especially on pavement slabs or uneven terrain. I dont feel like they have a great grip.

Yes, lots of people say that about the Marathon Plus. The compound is very hard, so it lasts well but doesn't grip brilliantly. I'm surprised you find them comfortable because the carcass is also very stiff and the rubber is thick, so people often accuse them of feeling wooden.

Schwalbe tyres made from their Active (such as the various Cruiser tyres) and Performance (such as the Kojak) compounds tend to grip better. Of other brands, people say nice things about the Continental Top Contact tyres but I've not tried them. The drawback with all these tyres is they puncture more easily: tyres always seem to be a compromise between grip, speed and resistance.

[ClappedOut]

my experience the marathons 700c x28 great on my tandem as weight. have you tried tyre pressure change? could be too hard for weight and not compliant.

Running Jack Brown Blue 700x33 which are (panaracer japan aka Panasonic) look like slicks but lot lot better than vittoria treads that scared me as too hard and perished.

Rode in the wet last weekend on the blues and felt safe and stuck to the road, I had concerns prior as basically slick with a chequered tread, unless weight behind it not convinced hard tyres & big tread grips well in wet conditions

[forbas]

I'm surprised you find them comfortable because the carcass is also very stiff and the rubber is thick, so people often accuse them of feeling wooden.

Schwalbe

Original

Perhaps because schwalbe is a lot taller tyre? There is a lot more rubber then on the original one.

Thanks for your comments. Perhaps I will give schwalbe few more kilometers before I throw them away. I thought about something crazy (at least for me)

Set of wheels for good and bad conditions. That sounds expensive;-)

Haha

[forbas]

my experience the marathons 700c x28 great on my tandem as weight. have you tried tyre pressure change? could be too hard for weight and not compliant.

Running Jack Brown Blue 700x33 which are (panaracer japan aka Panasonic) look like slicks but lot lot better than vittoria treads that scared me as too hard and perished.

Rode in the wet last weekend on the blues and felt safe and stuck to the road, I had concerns prior as basically slick with a chequered tread, unless weight behind it not convinced hard tyres & big tread grips well in wet conditions

I don't think I have a lot of space to experiment with the pressure on the Schwalbe. If I am nkt mistaken 700cx28 can be maxed at 110psi. Due to my weight I have to run them on 100psi. Do you think this extra 10psi down or up could make big diference ?

[ClappedOut]

my experience the marathons 700c x28 great on my tandem as weight. have you tried tyre pressure change? could be too hard for weight and not compliant.

Running Jack Brown Blue 700x33 which are (panaracer japan aka Panasonic) look like slicks but lot lot better than vittoria treads that scared me as too hard and perished.

Rode in the wet last weekend on the blues and felt safe and stuck to the road, I had concerns prior as basically slick with a chequered tread, unless weight behind it not convinced hard tyres & big tread grips well in wet conditions

I don't think I have a lot of space to experiment with the pressure on the Schwalbe. If I am nkt mistaken 700cx28 can be maxed at 110psi. Due to my weight I have to run them on 100psi. Do you think this extra 10psi down or up could make big diference ?

It's worth investigating tyre pressure
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/bike-tyre- ... alculator/ as a read and a wet road will show contact area vittoria something like 12mm on mine and hard as coffin nail, Jack Brown 20mm plus

[mjr]

Your picture shows a regular Marathon, which is a nicer and more comfortable tyre than the Marathon Plus IMO, less stiff but the same compound I think which is not quite as grippy as some.

But I still think your crash sounds like oil. A regular loss of grip usually feels odd as you slow. Oil tells you nothing until you turn or brake and then bang the wheels continue forwards.

[forbas]

Your picture shows a regular Marathon, which is a nicer and more comfortable tyre than the Marathon Plus IMO, less stiff but the same compound I think which is not quite as grippy as some.

But I still think your crash sounds like oil. A regular loss of grip usually feels odd as you slow. Oil tells you nothing until you turn or brake and then bang the wheels continue forwards.

My mistake, they are schwalbe Marathon, not Marathon plus. I have done few kilometers on them and I am not happy. The feeling of no grip is killing the joy of the ride.

I looked at the continental top contact 2 tyres. Oh boy they are expensive 43+ per tyre but I guess if you want quality you need to pay for it. I think I will switch back to original Decathlon for the summer as the grip on them was much better. Hopefully the weather will improve and I will avoid super wet days. For the winter Inwill get the continental ones as they jave vreat grip reviews.

With schwalbe, hmm maybe chain reaction can take them back (i doubt it) if not, oh well - no my first mistake and probably not the last one.

Cheers

[mjr]

If you list them on here or ebay as "lightly used: only X miles done" then you may get most of the cost back (but check what spa cycles are selling them for, as a reality check). They are not bad tyres, but not the grippiest if you often ride near the limit.

Good luck with the original tyres. I still suspect oil and would consider varying the route to avoid that turn if possible.

[Stevek76]

I looked at the continental top contact 2 tyres. Oh boy they are expensive 43+ per tyre but I guess if you want quality you need to pay for it.

Depends how urgently you need them. There are plenty of options for grippy supple tyres around for much less and sales happen from time to time (there's a whole thread in the archives here on Vittoria Voyager Hypers which planetx appeared to have an entire warehouse of stock of and frequently sold them for £15 each or less - sadly a tyre that's no longer made or sold).

You may also want to investigate wider tyres, I suspect you can go up a bit looking at the clearance on the fork, particularly if you will continue to have no mudguards and that will allow lower pressures and more grip. Rear clearance at the seat stays are usually the narrowest point, decathlon's site doesn't give a proper view of these unfortunately but looks like there's definitely space for 32/33mm at least.

Pressure wise you don't need to run both at the same level, the front can be run lower (for more grip, and hand comfort for that matter) as 70% or so of your weight will be on the back wheel. Even there I wonder if you need to run quite as high as 100. I'm a bit lighter than you but with a full shopping load in the rear panniers I'd figure the loading on that wheel will be similar and it's normally when it goes under 60 that I tend to get around to putting it back up to 80 or so (32mm of the above mentioned Hyper, my last sadly )

Just nosing through planetx's site (other retailers are available) they've got 35mm continental sport contact IIs for £15 and the 33mm jack brown blues (mentioned further up) are £20. I have the green variant (same but without the additional puncture protection) and while I'd like to comment on the grip, I also recently properly went over in the wet and confidence has yet to return to push it to find out. It felt a fairly grippy compound to the hand though.

[forbas]

I looked at the continental top contact 2 tyres. Oh boy they are expensive 43+ per tyre but I guess if you want quality you need to pay for it.

Depends how urgently you need them. There are plenty of options for grippy supple tyres around for much less and sales happen from time to time (there's a whole thread in the archives here on Vittoria Voyager Hypers which planetx appeared to have an entire warehouse of stock of and frequently sold them for £15 each or less - sadly a tyre that's no longer made or sold).

You may also want to investigate wider tyres, I suspect you can go up a bit looking at the clearance on the fork, particularly if you will continue to have no mudguards and that will allow lower pressures and more grip. Rear clearance at the seat stays are usually the narrowest point, decathlon's site doesn't give a proper view of these unfortunately but looks like there's definitely space for 32/33mm at least.

Pressure wise you don't need to run both at the same level, the front can be run lower (for more grip, and hand comfort for that matter) as 70% or so of your weight will be on the back wheel. Even there I wonder if you need to run quite as high as 100. I'm a bit lighter than you but with a full shopping load in the rear panniers I'd figure the loading on that wheel will be similar and it's normally when it goes under 60 that I tend to get around to putting it back up to 80 or so (32mm of the above mentioned Hyper, my last sadly )

Just nosing through planetx's site (other retailers are available) they've got 35mm continental sport contact IIs for £15 and the 33mm jack brown blues (mentioned further up) are £20. I have the green variant (same but without the additional puncture protection) and while I'd like to comment on the grip, I also recently properly went over in the wet and confidence has yet to return to push it to find out. It felt a fairly grippy compound to the hand though.

Thank you for your input. Few good points there, especially the one with lower pressure in front tyre - that makes sense. I will definately experiment here as well as try to find the sweet spot for the PSI.

It also makes sense to look into slightly wider tyres although I have seen people on Decathlon website complaining about not been able to put anything wider then 28, at the same time they were complaining about been so hard and almost impossible to change stock tyres and I had no problems with that, so who knows maybe putting wider tyres is fairly possible as well.

I am fairly new to cycling. I didn't have chance to visit planetx websitw yet. I will definately monitor their website along with others for good deals.

I thought I know what to do but after your post I think I will give the schwalbe second chance and try to play with PSI front and rear a bit.

Thanks again for all the comments.

[Stevek76]

For width you'll need to look yourself at the amount of clearance with the existing tyres (inflated) to get an idea of how much larger you could go.

I thought I know what to do but after your post I think I will give the schwalbe second chance and try to play with PSI front and rear a bit.

The amount of tyre choice around is near endless so I'm not sure anyone really knows 100% what to do as no one will have really tested them all
The Marathons are specifically designed as hard wearing tyres however & reduced grip goes with that so don't be surprised if you don't get them to a state you're happy with. I was mostly just pointing out that you don't necessarily have to go to £43 to get a softer compound grippy tyre.

[forbas]

After reading all posts here and checking reviews of the Jack Brown Tyres I have decided to purchase a pair of Jack Brown Blues 700cx33.3

My biggest concerns are: can I fit them on my rims 622x17 and how do I check have I got enough room.

I am not planning to put the mudguards as this is not commuting bike I just simply exercise on it and don't mind if I get ocassionaly little bit dirty.

Would you be able to answer my concerns by looking at the pictures ???

Or maybe this one. In 700x30
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYPAJBMM/ ... lding-tyre
should easily fit and has great frip in wet reviews as well. Not mention the price less then £15 per tyre.

[ClappedOut]

You could park a bus in there, what’s the clearance chain stay to seat tube?
Rule of thumb max 2 times if clearance so I have been told =34

But a second opinion good

[squeaker]

After reading all posts here and checking reviews of the Jack Brown Tyres I have decided to purchase a pair of Jack Brown Blues 700cx33.3

My biggest concerns are: can I fit them on my rims 622x17...

622 is the ISO size of 700c - see Sheldon Brown

Assuming that the 17 is the internal rim width in mm, then 33's should be fine (I run 54's on my mountain bike's 17mm rims.)

Final thought: how far have you ridden the Marathons? New tyres sometimes come with mould release compound (slippery) that can take a few rough miles to scrub off.

HTH