Winter road bike tyres?

No, I know how to ride a bike properly, Gatorskins have terrible grip in the wet, aside from feeling like you’re riding on solid tires.
I use Continental GP4 Seasons for commuting and wet weather riding or Vredestein Fortezza TriComp Quattro for late autumn/ winter/ spring riding.

I have 4 Seasons on my commuter all the time, and 4000s on my road bike. I was thinking about getting some 4 Seasons for the road bike as well but the 4000s are going strong so far.

Reinventing the Wheel: The 25mm Revolution

http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/download_files/TyreTests/RoadBike_winter_test_02_11.pdf

A bit confused by all this talk of sliding, pitching off etc while using Gatorskins. Do you (as in those complaining) try and corner in winter like you would on a warm summers eve or are you just a bit gung-ho?

They slipped on a manhole cover last week at around 5mph…

http://www.cyclingactive.com/bikesgear/7-of-the-best-premium-winter-tyres

Buyer’s guide: winter tyres

http://bike.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-pro4-service-course

They slipped on a manhole cover last week at around 5mph

TBF most tyres will let go if you twitch sideways on greasy or wet metal this time of year, Same with painted lines there are all sorts of changes in road surface that will catch out just about any tyre.

Anyone know if those Bonty “Hardcase” jobs linked earlier are actually any good at resisting cuts? I like the price but only if it means a reduction in flats, otherwise I’ll probably be getting some marathons for the commuter.

The only difference between a UK summer and a UK winter is temperature, so I’ve always ridden the same tyres for both. GP 4000s are the best wearing tyre I’ve ever used in 25 years of road riding, and last for ages.

Hey Macavity, thanks for all those links, seems answer all my questions, tempted by the Michelin’s but think I’ll go with the Conti’s

Michelins any I have pro 3s on at he moment, never understood this “Winter” tyre lark.

I’ve done thousands of miles on Bontrager Hardcase tyres over the last few years. In all that time I’ve had one slow puncture that I didn’t notice until the next day and one actual puncture that had to put a new tube in by the side of the road. That was on the Hellfire Corner ride last November and if any of you were on that ride you’ll know what the conditions were like!

I think the grip is pretty good too and they have not let go on me at all on wet roads in the way that a Conti Gatorskin has. Cheap as chips as well and I leave them on my training bike all year round because I ride a lot at night as well so can’t face changing tubes in the dark.

Only downside is the carcase is very stiff but that’s down to the puncture protection layer which to my mind is a positive. I’ve dug some very big flints out of these tyres at times as well so the puncture protection layer really does its job.