On 2017-06-29 09:33, Doug Landau wrote:
On Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 7:18:34 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-06-28 11:31, Duane wrote:
On 28/06/2017 12:49 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 7:03:26 AM UTC-7, Duane wrote:
On 27/06/2017 7:44 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 3:55:02 PM UTC-7, AMuzi
wrote:
On 6/27/2017 5:07 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 6/27/2017 12:23 PM, wrote:
You can get the latest Michelin Power Endurance tires
for only a little less than the Gatorskins. So far
the Pro4 Endurance tires have impressed the hell out
of me.
https://www.merlincycles.com/micheli...YaAlsK8P8 HAQ
What impresses me the most is that I've gotten only one
flat and it was from a goat's head thorn. The
traction is a LOT better on the road than Gatorskins
are. Though the long term wear I can't tell yet.
A serious question about traction: What sort of road
riding lets you know one make of tire has better
traction than another?
I know how to evaluate traction only by exceeding its
limit; that is by skidding when braking, or by sliding
out when cornering.
But I've hardly ever skidded when braking except when
doing parking lot exercises to teach quick stopping to
other cyclists. And one of my (only two ever) on-road
falls was a slide out, but it was due to winter road
salt. I doubt any tire would have maintained
traction.
Granted, I'm very conservative with cornering. I don't
ever look like this:
http://www.trentobike.org/Countries/...y/tiretest.jpg
So do others regularly take their cornering to the limit,
then note how the tires behave?
Harder tread compounds feel odd in corners as compared
to Michelins.
Absolute traction /in extremis/ is a different matter; I
don't know. I assume other factors outweigh tread
material at that point because pretty much any
two-wheeler can skid with normal braking force.
Personally, I have two spots where I test tire traction in
wet weather -- the chute into my garage with a tight turn
(which is smooth cement) and a short, steep section on my
way home -- going up seated and sanding. It's easy to gauge
traction at that spot because your rear tire slips out, and
moving fore-aft doesn't make a difference. Going down the
chute, you can feel how much sliding you get with hard
braking. Misjudging in both cases is fairly low
consequence, although a guy in my building crashed and
broke his him on the chute. Then they put in non-skid,
which wore off about 15 years ago. I crashed there on a
pair of early Michelin colored tires with a clay based
pigment. Downside of sale table finds. I can't tell the
difference in traction between two quality tires -- say a
Pro4 and a Conti 4000, but some sale table tires are like
riding on banana peels, even after break-in.
How do you like the Conti 4000? I usually use Specialized
Pro but my favorite LBS is dropping Specialized so I'll have
to find a replacement tire. Specialized tires don't seem to
be available online. Do they have good flat protection?
Grip? ...
Conti 4000 are wickedly expensive and prone to sidewall cuts,
IMO. Lou prefers them and can get a good deals in Europe. For
me, they are always 20-50% more than Michelins. As for ride
and grip, I think the Contis are a bit more plush feeling than
Pro4s. I have a Conti front tire on my Roubaix; its 25mm
nominal but looks and rides bigger.
Oddly enough, the Conti 4Seasons are heavier and have more
rolling resistance than the Pro4s and the 4000, but I really
liked them on my Roubaix winter bike. They're just too
expensive, so I'm using Pro4 Endurance rear tire right now --
which are good, but I don't think they are as grippy as the
regular Pro4s or the 4Seasons, but that impression could be
effected by the fact that it's easy to skid my rear wheel on
the Roubaix because the disc is so powerful.
Like I said, all the differences are subtle between the high
end tires from Michelin or Continental.
Thanks.
I think the Conti 4000s is about the same price here as the Spec
Pros that I use. I guess I'll find out shortly if I like them.
I find Michelins a bit sluggish and hard to mount. Although I
just watched a guy mounting a Conti in the pouring rain Sunday
and he didn't seem to be enjoying it. It was a sidewall cut
actually. He hit a piece of strip metal.
When I had my last side wall failure on a Conti Gatorskin I called
my wife to pick me up with her car. I could have put a chunk of
cloth in but I didn't want to go through an hour of wrestling
again. Now I switched to tires with sturdier side walls.
Conti Gatorskins are absolutely awesome. Winter commuting, two or
more flats per week, switch to gatorskins, no more flats.
They are great and also very durable. I got around 2500mi out of them on
the rear. However, the side walls are so flimsy that some failed
prematurely. I tried to ignore the first "aneurysm" for a while and then
.... *POOF*
In our area it is almost unavoidable to travel along short gravel and
dirt sections during a trip and that's where Gatorskins do not fare well
at all. In contrast, the side walls of the CST Conquistare I have on
there now still look like new after almost 1000mi. It's just that those
tires don't appear to even get remotely close to 2500mi.
On the MTB the contrast between Western and Asian tires is even more
pronounced. I switched to Vee Rubber and they not only have much tougher
side walls but they also last longer. And cost way less. I've still got
a Cheng Shin Rock Hawk to try.
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com/