Future for tires?

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itsacarr
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by itsacarr

This is a little random but with everything going on in wheel and frame composites\aero dynamics I keep wondering where tires are headed.

I don't quite see a meeting in the middle point between clinchers and tubulars in the future but what I would love to see is a magical tire that just doesn't slip in the wet. It seems we already have very fast tires but certainly not fast and super durable.

Just kind of wondered at the top end if there was anything on the horizon of wow.

I could also just be bored with nothing to do on a saturday morning.
Just ride ..

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Sjoerd
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by Sjoerd

I'm afraid it's not in the interest of a tire company to make a really fast tire that lasts very long. We wouldn't be buying as many of them. I do wonder if it's technically possible though.

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itsacarr
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by itsacarr

Agreed.

I think my holy grail of tires would be to find something that overcomes gravity in the rain ;)
Just ride ..

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btompkins0112
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by btompkins0112

Conti 4 season is as close as I've found.....damn near as fast as the 4000s and damn near the durability of the Gatorskin.

wingguy
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by wingguy

Sjoerd wrote:I'm afraid it's not in the interest of a tire company to make a really fast tire that lasts very long. We wouldn't be buying as many of them. I do wonder if it's technically possible though.


Not really, because as tech advances the reference point will change. Whenever new rubber makes a long lasting tyre faster, it'll make a fragile tyre even faster still - it's like chasing your own tail. If you think about it, no matter what it's made of a big part of what makes a fast tyre fast is that it's light, thin and flexible. You can almost think of a TT tyre as being a three quarters worn out road tyre with the puncture protection removed, right?

Then you've got the trade of with grip. Soft rubber is grippier than hard rubber. Guess which one lasts longer?

Valbrona
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by Valbrona

itsacarr wrote:I could also just be bored with nothing to do on a saturday morning.


I get it. This is one of those threads.

eric
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by eric

Clichers are far better than when I started riding in the 80s. Everything is better- weight, rolling resistance, dry and wet grip, puncture resistance and even durability. The best clinchers now have lower rolling resistance than the best tubulars, though not by much. Handing, ride and weight are all pretty close to tubulars. And it's not like tubulars have not progressed since the 80s. Just not as fast as clinchers.

I don't see anything that would prevent tires getting even better in the future.

HillRPete
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by HillRPete

You can have fast and durable with harder rubber, but pay with grip.
btompkins0112 agreed the Conti 4 Season is a rugged hide, but if you don't absolutely have to go so heavy duty, a Vittoria (or similar) rides much better.

sawyer
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by sawyer

eric wrote: The best clinchers now have lower rolling resistance than the best tubulars, though not by much. Handing, ride and weight are all pretty close to tubulars. .


Not that the crr point is only true if the inner tube is the same material ... and that the safety aspect of that one divides opinion... many experienced riders and wheel manufacturers advise against using latex tubes in clinchers on safety grounds (at least in some conditions, and often in carbon clinchers) ... if you think there's any truth in that (which I do), then latex tubed clincher vs latex tubed tubular is not apples with apples.

Point is that having to insert butyl in a clincher swings the crr advantage to tubulars

Handling wise clinchers aren't close to tubulars - grip, ride and weight yes, but the handling benefit is a function of the round profile of tubs
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TonyM
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by TonyM

Among us, performance is easier to sell than longevity :lol:
Performance in terms of safety, speed, etc.....

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tymon_tm
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by tymon_tm

there surely is a technical possibility to create an uber-tire, but judging from car tire branch, we still have to wait for that to happen.

there are some all season car tires on the market, but they never do as well in the tests or real life as proper winter or summer tires. recently Michelin introduced CrossClimate tires, and my pal who's a car journalist and had tested them in Germany, said they're really, really good. given how much time and cash it took to develop those, I wouldn't hold my breath for something similar in bike department. IMO producers eventually will get there, but rather taking smaller steps developing what they currently sell than creating something from scratch.
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