I have some Mavic Aksion tyres on my road bike at the mo – new bike so not ridden it is the wet yet.
I’ve not really heard great things about these – especially in the wet – ‘lethal’ seems to be a recurring term.
They have no tread pattern whatsoever.
On my previous bike I had Conti Gatorskins and in 5 years I had no issues and no punctures.
They’re on offer at the mo and Halfrauds pricematch too so very tempted to get a pair and sling them on.

Am I being over-cautious with the Mavics (hardly known for their tyre prowess) or should I stick with what I know?

Gatorskins are crap anyway…

so despite not riding something you have formed an opinion.

excellent , you will fit in well around here , i suspect thats how many opinions are formed here.

They have no tread pattern whatsoever.

🙄

Sheldon

Tread for on-road use
Bicycle tires for on-road use have no need of any sort of tread features; in fact, the best road tires are perfectly smooth, with no tread at all!
Unfortunately, most people assume that a smooth tire will be slippery, so this type of tire is difficult to sell to unsophisticated cyclists. Most tire makers cater to this by putting a very fine pattern on their tires, mainly for cosmetic and marketing reasons. If you examine a section of asphalt or concrete, you’ll see that the texture of the road itself is much “knobbier” than the tread features of a good-quality road tire. Since the tire is flexible, even a slick tire deforms as it comes into contact with the pavement, acquiring the shape of the pavement texture, only while in contact with the road.
People ask, “But don’t slick tires get slippery on wet roads, or worse yet, wet metal features such as expansion joints, paint stripes, or railroad tracks?” The answer is, yes, they do. So do tires with tread. All tires are slippery in these conditions. Tread features make no improvement in this.

Mavics (hardly known for their tyre prowess)

Made by Michelin

Try them and see how you get on. Tyre choice tends to be quite a personal thing anyway, one persons crap tyre is another persons fave. FWIW I have Conti GP 4 seasons on the winter bike and find them good in the wet (or at least in the wet I’ll rid in and on the roads I ride on and for the sort of riding I do etc.)

I have the same tyres on my cube a bit slippery at first but once I had put a few hundred miles on them and perhaps worn them in they felt much better.
Well when I say better as good as 23 mm or rubber gets….. Still feels bloody skinny after years on a mountain bike.

trail_rat – is that aimed at me?
The question is very clear…I have ridden them…just not in the wet and if they’re as bad as other people’s experiences suggest they are then I’ll be reluctant to ride them in the wet.

mrmo – define ‘crap’…if they are crap how come they get such good reviews?

I don’t need ultra-light all-singing all-dancing tyres – just a reliable all-condition tyre – my previous encounter with the Conti was a good one.

I’m open to suggestions on alternatives…

GP4000s’s seem to be tyre of choice in our club.

Tread pattern doesn’t make a difference to grip on the road. If you could put up with gatorskins you’ll be fine with the mavics.e

Thanks gar…mine’s a Cube too.
That gives me a bit more faith in them TBH…

Schwalbe Ultremo DD.

Mr mo – I’d be interested in a bit further analysis of Gatorskins. They are my first road tyre and they seem to do the job. What am I missing out on?!

gatorskins they are made of a rubber or plastic that doesnt wear – that same non wear chracteristic means that they dont grip well. Once you have used some propper grippy tires youll understand.

personally i like conti Force and attack combo , they do wear fast – but also roll fast & ride well in both wet and dry.

Cheers trail rat. It’s a steep learning curve, I shall treat myself to some new rubber. Is there a halfway house between Gatorskins and the fast wearing ones you mention for a 100 mile a week sportive (ie slowish compared to a racer) rider like me?

As trail rat puts it, they wear well, but that means they don’t grip as well as some tyres. In the summer not too much of an issue, in the winter on wet and oily roundabouts you soon find the tyres sliding around.

Currently using Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps, which seem to have a reasonable grip and life.

The Yksion Pro tyres are excellent. I’ve raced on them in the rain and felt safe. The Yksion (which I think is the tyres you have) seem to have a harder compound and no sipes. The tread won’t matter. I’d expect them to still be OK in the wet, perhaps a little less grip due to compound rather than tread.

Made by Michelin

And Vredstein.

What am I missing out on?!

Speed, grip, comfort.

I ride the following:

Kenda – Caliente, done some miles in really wet conditions, Scotland, Lakes, The Alps. Think they are very good, never had an issue of grip at speed on big descents. Confidence is high, these tyres have no tread pattern at all.
Michelin Pro contact (IIRC) – cheap tyres on winter bike, no issues. these have the cosmetic tread at the edges.
Marathon Plus 32c – hard to tell as the canti brakes on my CX bike are shit in the wet but never felt like the tyres were the problem. Big tread.

I used to run gatorskins and recently changed to GP 4000S after one too many ride feeling like I was riding on glass and it’s been something of a revelation. Grip, actual grip in the corners! Can’t really tell if they’re faster but in a straight line but as I’m not it doesn’t really matter.

Schwalbe Durano Plus.

I’ve used Conti GP4000S for the last two years through both summer and winter with no problems and only one puncture (in summer after hitting a pot-hole hard). Great grip and roll fast – only downside is they wear quite quickly.

I’ve not really heard great things about these – especially in the wet – ‘lethal’ seems to be a recurring term.

Last year I did c.8000km incident free road miles….except the 6km trip on the Aksions that came with some mavic wheels. The bike just went from under me on an off camber damp corner. An accident that left me with a separated shoulder and several weeks off the bike.

Looking at the corner now I’m not surprised the bike went but don’t think the tyres helped me out at all and I wouldn’t ride them, won’t even give em to my friends there on the garden ornament bike now.