New tires on wet race day?
Moderator: robbosmans
I have a crit tomorrow morning and it's likely to be wet , light rain. My crit bike has GP4000sii tires that are pretty worn out. I have a new set of tires ready to go, but I'm wondering if it's a bad idea for brand new tires on wet tarmac for a crit. Do they need to be "scuffed" a bit or "broken in" before they're grippy, or should they be good to go right away?
Option A) Put new tires on the bike and ride it. It'll be grippy
Option B) Keep using your worn out tires for 1 more crit (~20 miles) and change them after. You'll get more grip this way.
Option A) Put new tires on the bike and ride it. It'll be grippy
Option B) Keep using your worn out tires for 1 more crit (~20 miles) and change them after. You'll get more grip this way.
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How worn out is worn out? Ie if you have arbitrarily decided that at x km you change the tyres out then a bit more won't matter. If they have cuts or are worn past the wear markers then that is a different issue. You could put the new ones on and go for a ride before racing on them? Just to scuff them up... Maybe run a slightly lower pressure and do plenty of cornering.
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Worn out as in they have some light gashes. They'd probably hold for more races without issue. The purpose of switching tires would be to improve grip possibly. If new tires won't have better grip I won't switch.modcon wrote: ↑Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:58 pmHow worn out is worn out? Ie if you have arbitrarily decided that at x km you change the tyres out then a bit more won't matter. If they have cuts or are worn past the wear markers then that is a different issue. You could put the new ones on and go for a ride before racing on them? Just to scuff them up... Maybe run a slightly lower pressure and do plenty of cornering.
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Early Bird course? I imagine it won’t make much of a difference what tires you use at 25mph on three 90ish degree corners and one sweeper.
Fair point, and yes you're right it's the Early Bird course.TobinHatesYou wrote: ↑Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:03 amEarly Bird course? I imagine it won’t make much of a difference what tires you use at 25mph on three 90ish degree corners and one sweeper.
That's the one! I'll be on a Red/Black/White S-Works Venge. Hope to see you there.icantaffordcycling wrote: ↑Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:41 amIf it is NCNCA Fremont Early bird, ill see you there tomorrow. I'll be on my dad's red trek emonda alr 5, ill come say hi if I see you
I would ride the old tires, I tried once on my brand new tires to test the grip on a touring bike with flat bar, I rode 300 meters and leaned in the corner just as i would on my race bike.... I crashed. (I think they were durano dd 23mm) I went to Mallorca on a training camp where a guy on camp had to do an emergency stop because of a car, he destroyed his tire and was lucky to meet a guy who had a brand new grand prix 4000 s II tire he could buy, I don't know who this guy were but he specifically said: "dont race down the mountain with this new tire and made sure everyone heard it" (we were on top of a mountain) I remembered my own crash with new tires
If you decide to use the brand new tire I would first give them a good wipe with alcohol and if possible go for a training ride
If you decide to use the brand new tire I would first give them a good wipe with alcohol and if possible go for a training ride
I wouldn't even go if it's raining. An early bird crit isn't worth the risk!
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I went. It was fun. Some guy in the E5 race faceplanted on the final straight...
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For reference, new tires usually have residual mold release on them, which can be extremely slippery (since it's usually some kind of silicone or teflon). Same goes for car tires.
If you really want/have to race new tires, wipe down with rubbing alcohol, acetone, or some other solvent and it wouldn't hurt to scuff them up a bit with sandpaper.
If you really want/have to race new tires, wipe down with rubbing alcohol, acetone, or some other solvent and it wouldn't hurt to scuff them up a bit with sandpaper.