good rain tires?

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OTH
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:48 pm

by OTH

Rather than Continental Grand Prix 3000, I am using Continental Grand Prix 4-Seasons. This is the tyre Continental recommend for winter and wet weather conditions. Certainly cuts down on the number of punctures I am having, and I've no problems with the handling (and they are only marginally heavier than the GP3000).

BTW here's a link to some personal reviews (and you can look at other reviews at this site): http://tinyurl.com/6a7yb
Last edited by OTH on Mon Feb 21, 2005 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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pk0r
Posts: 1059
Joined: Mon May 31, 2004 11:01 pm
Location: Germany
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by pk0r

Okay, here we go:
Just have been browsing some older issues of the Tour magazines in search for the promised rain tire test (asdf where is it) and ran across a tire shootout between the Conti Attack/Force and the Schwalbe Stelvio Evo Front/Rear, where they gave explicit numbers for the tires' adhesion in wet conditions.

Conti Attack/Force // Schwalbe Stelvio Evo Front/Rear
real width: 20.8/22.1 // 21.4/22.5
weight: 191/208 // 243/231
wall thickness: 2.6, 0.5/2.8, 0.5 // 3.2, 0.6/3.3, 0.6
rolling resistance coefficient: 0.0068/0.0064 // 0.0076/0.0064
rolling efficiency: 43W // 45.3W
rolling resistance: ***/**** // ***/****
stabbing time: 79/180 // 140/145
puncture safety: ***/***** // ****/****
adhesion factor in wet (wet adhesion, sliding friciton): 0.54, 0.43/0.58, 0.43 // 0.56, 0.5/0.57, 0.49
difference (adhesion/friction): 21%/26% // 10%/14%
Wet adhesion: ***/*** // *****/*****
wear: medium/medium // high/very high
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kkleen
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:48 pm

by kkleen

pkOr,
Thanks for the comparison between the 2 rain tires. However, its difficult to understand the numebrw and what they mean. Obvoiusly, width, weight, wall thickness, and wear are easy to figure out. I am a bit confused on the other factors and if higher or lower numbers are an advantage or not. can you translate? Thanks

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pk0r
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by pk0r

Rolling resistance based numbers: the lower the better.
The wattage number e.g. is measured at 30km/h with 7.5 bar pressure for 80kg total weight (rider+bike) and 56% of the weight on the rear wheel
Here the Conti saves 2.3Watts over the Schwalbe.

Adhesion based numbers: the higher the better.
And even more good if the numbers are close together (a low "%"-number for difference).

Those stars (*) help to clarify the results.
*** satisfying/average
**** good
***** very good
| works for an European bike manufacturer |
| "I respect the work in coloring parts but the result is stupid-monkey in silk clothes is still monkey." |

kkleen
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:48 pm

by kkleen

pkOr,
Seems like you have used the veloflex Pave's in the rain. Those schwalbe rain tires are currently backordered about 5 weeks in the 23cm size. I would try them, but i want to set up this bike right away. I would love to know if the pave's are really good in wet conditions. they are the best tire i have ever ridden in dry conditions and would love to have the confidence to ride them in the rain. Appreciate everyones opinion, but i am no longer a big fan of any conti tire, so i will not go back to the ATTACK/FORCE combo. If the scwalbe tires are that good in the rain and worth waiting for, i can deal with what i have for a month or so. any more input would be greatly appreciated on the Pave's in the rain.

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pk0r
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by pk0r

As said I am always using the Pavés resp. Blacks in the rain. For sure tires always are a compromise between grip and rolling resistance. But the Veloflex's grip is good and they also are pretty predictable. But best is they really fly on wet roads.
If you were to ride a crit, I'd perhaps go for the Schwalbe, because of the so-said best grip (haven't tried them myself). For everything else I'd be more than pleased with the Veloflex. Although their puncture safety might be argued, though I myself cannot confirm those rumors /about puncture safety) - Conti had been _much_ worse to me.
| works for an European bike manufacturer |
| "I respect the work in coloring parts but the result is stupid-monkey in silk clothes is still monkey." |

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