I’ve just started commuting a couple of times a week on my old roadie. It’s great fun, and probably good training too.

However.

In the wet, the lack of grip is, quite frankly, horrifying. I’ve got used to both tyres skipping all over the place when I hit bumps, that’s fine, but it feels like it’s about to break loose all the time in the rain. White lines and turning right at mini roundabouts feel like I’m taking my life into my hands every time.

So, though I’m not expecting MTB levels of grip… What’s a good road tyre for wetness and winter?

(Sorry for the thinly veiled tyre thread).

Conti GP4Season in 28mm. Not cheap but good enough.

Don’t ride over mini roundabouts/white lines? Watch a road race for the carnage they cause.

Find my GP 4 Seasons as grippy as I’d expect a 23c tyre to be in the wet. It’s a bit lively, but you adjust your ‘lines’ accordingly.

Is it actually losing grip or does it just feel like its going to?

Road bikes do feel different, it may just be a case of getting used to it.

Halo Twin Rail Courier here 24mm so fit most frames, extra bit of puncture protection helps, oh and shocking pink on the front and lime green on the rear…

White lines – don’t do it!

Fatal things when wet.

White lines and wet drain covers are a complete no no 😯

You’ll get used to it, just adapt your style a bit for the road bike.

Conti GP 4 Seasons will also help, 23c rear and 25c on the front works for me, around 110psi.

it’s quite astounding the difference the wet makes to road tyres – in the dry they just seem to hold on forever and I’ve never felt like they would let go.

in the wet, they will never be that good. a bit like car tyres really.

I’ve had to make major adjustments to the speed I take into the first corner coming home from work in the past couple of weeks.

I do mostly avoid white lines, but even just going round mini roundabouts (ie. not over them!) is scary. It’s definitely stepped then regripped a couple of times, just on normal road.

I think maybe I do need to adjust a bit more, my fear is that as I get more confident I’ll get faster then end up sliding under a bus!

Hmm.. what pressures you got? I wonder if it’s your riding position that’s making you feel unstable? Too far forwards perhaps? It shouldn’t be that bad.

Do you have enough air in them?

Anything less than 90psi mine feel horrible, 110psi and they only lose grip over white lines or manholes.

In the wet, the lack of grip is, quite frankly, horrifying

Funny but roadies I know who’ve got mtbs say exactly the same when they go off road 🙂

Avoid white lines, same as you’d avoid other obstacles when mtbing.

Some OEM tyres are really crap though – it may be that a change to pretty much any decent tyre will improve things.

About 110psi both ends, much less feels a bit too sluggish (I weigh about 14st with all my kit). I am still playing with the riding position, the saddle needs to go back a wee bit but I’ve swapped to a shorter stem which makes it feel much better. I think I need to roll the bars back a tad too.

The bike’s about a 4 year old (I think) Carrera Virtuoso, and probably still on the original tyres, which may explain a bit.

MTFU 🙂

Cheap tyres are rubbish. I had some Hutchinson jobbies that were utter toss. They’d spin on climbs if you thought about getting out of the saddle, and were all over the place if it was wet. 4 Seasons are pricy, but really work.

i use Vitorria Open Pave

not cheap but bl00dy excellent in the wet and slippy stuff

The only time I’ve crashed on the road in the last 5 years was on a white line, in the wet, on my mountain bike. I find knobby tyres have much less grip than the pro race 3’s on my road bike. Best to stay away from the white lines in general I reckon. Strange that you’re finding so little grip I reckon…

I don’t mind paying a bit if it’s going to give me a bit more stability. Being clipped in and not being able to dab doesn’t help either 😉

Not managed to spin up on a climb yet, I can’t be trying hard enough

It might be terrifying because you’re terrified? Are you a bit stiff and overgripped?

The bike’s about a 4 year old (I think) Carrera Virtuoso, and probably still on the original tyres, which may explain a bit.

Replace the tyres. I think you may have hit the nail on the head there.

I’ll add my support to Conti tyres. My Specialized came shod with OEM Mondos, seemed to attract road debris and possibly made from Bakelite. Binned after the first damp ride.

Conti UltraGator Duraskins my personal faves.

Yeah, having the bars rolled forwards doesn’t help security.. also you don’t want your weight too far forwards. Also try raising the stem.

My tyres are something Vittoria, kevlar with a red stripe around the side. Nice, but no tyres I’ve had have been as bad as you are reporting.

Also let 15 or 20psi out of the tyres.

I suspect it’s probably a mix of bad technique and crappy tyres. Though I am quite good at staying loose on the bike, it’s all fine until there’s that disconcerting twitch from one end or the other. I shall play with position some more and maybe invest in some better rubber.

Also keep your eyes and nose open for diesel spillage on roundabouts, particularly near petrol stations, that’ll have you off in an instant.

I’ve just started commuting a couple of times a week on my old roadie…

However.

…the lack of grip is, quite frankly, horrifying… What’s a good road tyre for wetness and winter?…

new ones?

Cheap tyres are rubbish

Yeah, it’s worth paying a bit of money for something decent. I bought a pair of Michelin Speedium folders for £11.98 – cheap but no bargain, they were very troubling in the wet.

cheap tyres are rubbish but equally if you’re used to mainly mtb riding it’s a bit of a culture change. my regular bike buddy has the full complement of mad skills on his mtb but gets genuinely nervey on a road bike, laughably so in the wet. he hates the position, the brakes, the tyres but he’s persevering. slowly, but persevering.

In fairness to the OP, my old MTB with 1.5″ slicks copes much better with wet leaves, manhole covers etc than either of my road bikes. Whilst some road bike tyres are better than others, none of them are going to be great in the situations described.

Don’t lean over too much esp on roundabouts (esp as they often have diesel spill on them) as said above and also cross white lines and rail tracks at 90 degrees not at an angle – they are my best tips for commuting 🙂

Its been years since I rode with v brakes in the wet.
Today was the day. Aaaaaagh. Thank god for discs.

gets genuinely nervey on a road bike, laughably so in the wet. he hates the position

No excuse for that. There’s no one ‘position’ you have to fiddle with it til you get it the way you want it. There are a dozen variables and you have to sit in it for a long time so you need to get it right. If he hates it, it’s wrong, so he needs to get it right. He WILL be able to make himself comfortable and secure eventually – took me about 18 months to get it properly dialled, a second stem, a second set of bars (which I didn’t end up keeping on) and a fair bit of bar tape.

if you old bike has old tyres…. then get some new ones.. only things touching the ground so get some gooduns

Conti 4 seasons or Michelin Pro 3 – have the latter on at the mo and nice grippy tyre

Reeto. New tyres are on the list – those Continentals sound good. I expected some adjustment time, and I’ve spent a good while faffing with the cockpit and saddle… I’m getting there!

You lack finesse.

Got my GP 4 seasons from Wiggle – seem to be cheapest around and come with tubes.

I’d be interested to know how much better you’d fair with MTB tyres. I don’t see any reason why they’d offer you more grip on a smooth slippery surface like wet painted lines or wet manhole covers.

I think a lot of it psychological, due to the different position of a road bike which certainly makes you feel more vulnerable. Also, it’s easier to go faster, so you’re more likely to get yourself into trouble in the first place.

Hee hee…

Spend some time on a road bike, going quick, in the rain, and it will make you a much better cyclist all round. You actually get to feel what the bike and the tyres are doing instead of being isolated by big fat tyres and suspension.

Race on a road bike, in the rain, on super slick foreign streets and you will be a riding god…

schwalbe do a rain tyre.
and lower your pressure for rain,don’t raise it.that and wider tyres.

now a folding bike with those unpuncturable marathons,going downhill in the rain.that’s twitchy.

The tyres that came on my Carrera were also bad in the wet. Too hard.

I used to use schwalbe marathon tyres in the wet, for commuting.

molgrips – Member

Yeah, having the bars rolled forwards doesn’t help security.. also you don’t want your weight too far forwards. Also try raising the stem.

oooh, you’ll have the stw ‘slammed stem’ police after you! 😆