I’ve just replaced the original Kenda Nevegal’s on my Trance with a pair of Rocket Rons.
First ride of any length was a wet commute on Tuesday & I noticed a couple of little slips which I’ve never had before, then on the fastest downhill stretch the front tyre hooked into a small ridge in the path and I find myself biting the tarmac. Hit the ground pretty hard but luckily just lots of ripped clothing and a few minor cuts & bruises.

However it’s totally undermined my confidence in the tyres – I ride this route a lot and I’m sure must have made the same manouvre many times without any incident

Anyway…. I wondered, do new tyres need wearing in or should I expect maximum performance straight from the box? Of have I just chosen a significantly less grippy tyre than I’m used to?

have I just chosen a significantly less grippy tyre than I’m used to

this…

tyres come out of the mould/vulcanising machine with a grease on them that stops them sticking to the machine
i bet that doesnt sit happily with water for the first few km.

tarmac riding wont wear it off very quickly either i guess (not like dirt would)

Lower profile threads hook up less well on edges.

I’d reserve judgement until they’ve run in a bit more.

wwaswas – I knew the Ron’s were a compromise (I do a lot more tarmac commuting than off-road at the moment), just didn’t expect such a massive difference

Olly – hoped it might be something like this. Sounds like an excuse to go & get muddy!

yup – new oily tyres I suspect – give them a clean with detergent and maybe a little glass paper over the knobbles ?

Rons are quite a fast wearing tyre are they not? Are not just going to waste them on the commute?

Saying that, I see you are riding a Trance to work, so maybe you have an interesting commute.

Have you tried playing with pressures? Maybe need to find the optimum pressure for a different type of tyre.

Maybe fit some more road orientated tyres for the commute and save the XC race tyres for erm XC

conti race kings are bonkers good f
un on tarmac 😀

like velcro

sadly the Trance is definitley more bike than I could ever justify for my commute. The bike came before the commute & my wife won’t let me I can’t afford to get a dedicated commuter

Will give em a clean and a few more miles & see if things improve, otherwise some commuting tyres might be the answer (what road tyres for a 5″ full susser???)

Legoman – Member
sadly the Trance is definitley more bike than I could ever justify for my commute. The bike came before the commute & my wife won’t let me I can’t afford to get a dedicated commuter

Will give em a clean and a few more miles & see if things improve, otherwise some commuting tyres might be the answer (what road tyres for a 5″ full susser???

Ask your LBS if they have any cheap wheels that would be OK for commuting. I bought some from Terry Wright’s in Mkt Deeping to stick slicks on whenever I take the bike on the road. I think that including rim tape, QRs (which TW’s gave me for free), cassette, tubes and tyres it came to about £135.
Well worth it. I only decided to do this after going for a 30 mile ride on the road with my Speed Kings on and wearing a noticeable amount of the rear tyre away!

sounds like you have already misbought one set of tyres, only another two or three similar mistakes and you could have had yourself a road worthy second hand commuter

cheers Stumpy – good idea, will keep an eye on here/Fleabay for some cheapies

cheers soobalias – you’re right, I’m a chump 😉

conti ultra gator skins come in 26″ size, and are BASICLY 23c road tyres good up to 120psi

NEOWM

I’d by a cheap set of wheels and stick some tyres for commuting. You are going to get through Rocket Rons at a stupid rate and they’re not that cheap.

Not sure why you crashed. Nobbie tyres of any sort on tarmac aren’t great. I’ve ridden Rocket Rons off road a fair bit and while they aren’t the grippiest they aren’t bad and certainly fast. You do slide with those sort of race tyres but you just need to learn to slide with it a bit, crashing and slipping are not the same thing.

tell your wife that you crashed because you are having to use your nice bike to commute, does she want you to die?

conti race kings are bonkers good f
un on tarmac

like velcro

and Conti Speed Kings are the exact opposite

like Teflon coated grease covered in oil

tell your wife that you crashed because you are having to use your nice bike to commute, does she want you to die?

nice idea, however more likely it will reinforce her view that mountain biking is more suited to teenagers & it’s time I got a grown up hobby. Ideally one that doesn’t generate huge quantites of filthy clothing.