Sticky rubber wanted

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Alumen
Posts: 165
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by Alumen

So we'll love and praise our Conti GP's, but still I think the rubber of this tyre sometimes is not sticky enough for me on the road. Even during dry weather conditions. The Black Chili layer could be rather hard rubber. I think it is a Conti thing, since I have noticed it with my Conti car tyres as well.

What are the alternatives out there, with about the same rolling resistance, puncture protection, weight...

Thinking of the Veloflex Corsa or Michelin Power series.

Thoughts ?
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Eleven21
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by Eleven21

In my experiences the open tubular Veloflex masters are a fantastic tyre and if paired with a latex tube can give exceptional handling characteristics in dry and even wet conditions. They're not quite as resistant to cuts in the wet when compared with a slighter heavier tyre (eg: a 120tpi Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp; although that model was replaced by Vredestein a couple of years ago) so Ive only used them as 'best bike, summer tyres". But when compared with other tyres around the same performance bracket (conti GP 4000 ii's, Schwalbe ZX Ultremo's, Michelin Pro 4) for the price you pay I think the Veloflex line really can transform a bike.

Before I rode Veloflex masters (both 23mm and 25mm), most of my bikes were shod with the Conti GP 4000's or Vittoria's Open Corsa.

As you'll know the Vittoria's are very good and it might just be me, but in my experience I found them a little unpredictable in the wet (but again they were only ridden on a summer bike).
Last edited by Eleven21 on Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:58 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Eleven21
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by Eleven21

Although if you wanted something even lighter you could try the Veloflex Record model but if I recall correctly, that doesn't include a puncture belt


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Geoff
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by Geoff

Uhhhh, I have found the Black Chilli to be among the best and stickiest rubber in the tubular universe. Have you tried the Conti Comps?

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mpulsiv
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by mpulsiv

Veloflex Master is grippier and lighter but save these for sunny days. It’s my go-to race tires. In wet and cold temperatures, GP4Season is quite grippy over puddles.


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dim
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by dim

Specilaized Turbo Cotton .... grip like superglue and roll very fast
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Marin
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by Marin

Alumen wrote:sometimes is not sticky enough for me



I always wonder how people, including magazine testers*, judge the grip of a tire.

Did you crash on it? How do you know you wouldn't have crashed on other tires as well?

* except for tour magazine, the do their scooter & motorbike armour test..

dim
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by dim

Marin wrote:
Alumen wrote:sometimes is not sticky enough for me



I always wonder how people, including magazine testers*, judge the grip of a tire.

Did you crash on it? How do you know you wouldn't have crashed on other tires as well?

* except for tour magazine, the do their scooter & motorbike armour test..


you will know if the tyre grips well or not, especially if you cycle on wet or icy roads ... some tyres grip like glue ... the ones that I have used and which have impressed me are: (Vittoria Open Pave CGIII, Specialized Turbo Cotton, Challenge Criterium Open, 2017 IRC Formula Pro RBCC tubeless )
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Marin
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by Marin

dim wrote:
you will know if the tyre grips well or not,


Yes but how will l know?

racingcondor
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by racingcondor

I'm a fan of Vittoria Pave but I honestly don't think you can beat Conti's Black Chilli for grip in the wet. If you're struggling to trust tthem then ask yourself if you can lower the pressure or fit a wider version.

dim
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by dim

racingcondor wrote:I'm a fan of Vittoria Pave but I honestly don't think you can beat Conti's Black Chilli for grip in the wet. If you're struggling to trust tthem then ask yourself if you can lower the pressure or fit a wider version.


yea, but add a bit of ice/frost with the wet, and it becomes a whole new ball game 8)

I've used the GP4000sII many times but I would not use them in Winter though here in the UK .... I'm due for another set of clincher tyres for my daily commuter (40km/day) and I will be getting the IRC Aspite Pro Wet road clincher tyre (never used them before, so this will be new to me)

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bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I would agree with dim that the pave cgIII tyre is very grippy on wet greasy and slippy roads. I love the tubular version. Irc rbcc compound is similar for grip I the same conditions.

Conti competition tubulars are good though. Also there is a lot of split diesel on UK and there are not many tyres that cope with that. Even irc' slid in the last race which had diesel split on a bend. I stayed upright though, others didn't.

This time of year though is not one for turbo cottons. Schwalbe one tubeless have gatorskin clincher like grip in the wet. Oddly though the tubular gator skin is quite sticky showing the casing plays a big role in determining grip.
Last edited by bm0p700f on Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

vanillaflyweight
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by vanillaflyweight

Agreed Schwalbe Ones are ok in the dry no good in the wet (much worse than GP4000s). I recently had a low speed spill on the Ones in a location which i have been through hundreds of times on GP4000s no issue. They also slipped while going up hill occasionally whereas this was never a problem with GP4000s.

I think the age of the tyres also come into play. An older harder GP4000 may be a bit more puncture resistant but not as grippy as a brand new tyre.

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jj911c2
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by jj911c2

For dry/warm I have found the Michelin Power Competition to have great traction/road feel. It is not as good as the GP4000SII in the wet/cold....and the GP 4 season is even better in the wet.

My observations are from climbing steep hills/braking in the wet....I am not confident enough to test maximum corner speed grip of various tires ;)

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