Better grip than schwalbe marathon slick?

[yoxi]

Hello there

I've got a folding bike kitted out with a Heinzmann electric system. The tyres it came with, Schwalbe Marathon Slicks (35-406) are absolutely lethal in wet weather, as they have no side grip at all, so cornering is terrifying. With 20" wheels, there's less tyre on the road anyway, and with the extra weight distribution on the bike (I'm a tall man, so me and the bike together weigh about 100Kg!) I desperately want to fit some tyres that give more grip in the wet, and more grip generally.

There isn't much to choose from at 20", but does anyone have suggestions for tyres of that size with better grip? The ones I've found so far are:
Schwalbe Marathon
Schwalbe Marathon Slick
Schwalbe Stelvio
Schwalbe City Jet
Continental Grand Prix
Continental Top Touring 2000

Thanks in advance for your time...

- yoxi

 

[bfd]

"yoxi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Hello there
>
> I've got a folding bike kitted out with a Heinzmann electric system.
> The tyres it came with, Schwalbe Marathon Slicks (35-406) are
> absolutely lethal in wet weather, as they have no side grip at all, so
> cornering is terrifying. With 20" wheels, there's less tyre on the road
> anyway, and with the extra weight distribution on the bike (I'm a tall
> man, so me and the bike together weigh about 100Kg!) I desperately want
> to fit some tyres that give more grip in the wet, and more grip
> generally.
>
> There isn't much to choose from at 20", but does anyone have
> suggestions for tyres of that size with better grip? The ones I've
> found so far are:
> Schwalbe Marathon
> Schwalbe Marathon Slick
> Schwalbe Stelvio
> Schwalbe City Jet
> Continental Grand Prix
> Continental Top Touring 2000
>
Check out Avocet Fasgrip, Sheldon Brown has them:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/406.html

 

[bfd]

bfd wrote:
> "yoxi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Hello there
> >
> > I've got a folding bike kitted out with a Heinzmann electric
system.
> > The tyres it came with, Schwalbe Marathon Slicks (35-406) are
> > absolutely lethal in wet weather, as they have no side grip at all,
so
> > cornering is terrifying. With 20" wheels, there's less tyre on the
road
> > anyway, and with the extra weight distribution on the bike (I'm a
tall
> > man, so me and the bike together weigh about 100Kg!) I desperately
want
> > to fit some tyres that give more grip in the wet, and more grip
> > generally.
> >
> > There isn't much to choose from at 20", but does anyone have
> > suggestions for tyres of that size with better grip? The ones I've
> > found so far are:
> > Schwalbe Marathon
> > Schwalbe Marathon Slick
> > Schwalbe Stelvio
> > Schwalbe City Jet
> > Continental Grand Prix
> > Continental Top Touring 2000
> >
> Check out Avocet Fasgrip, Sheldon Brown has them:
>
> http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/406.html

Further, although I have no experience with Schwalbe tires, just
because its a "slick" does not mean it has less traction:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/slicks.html

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

yoxi wrote:

> Hello there
>
> I've got a folding bike kitted out with a Heinzmann electric system.
> The tyres it came with, Schwalbe Marathon Slicks (35-406) are
> absolutely lethal in wet weather, as they have no side grip at all, so
> cornering is terrifying. With 20" wheels, there's less tyre on the road
> anyway, and with the extra weight distribution on the bike (I'm a tall
> man, so me and the bike together weigh about 100Kg!) I desperately want
> to fit some tyres that give more grip in the wet, and more grip
> generally.
>
> There isn't much to choose from at 20", but does anyone have
> suggestions for tyres of that size with better grip? The ones I've
> found so far are:
> Schwalbe Marathon
> Schwalbe Marathon Slick
> Schwalbe Stelvio
> Schwalbe City Jet
> Continental Grand Prix
> Continental Top Touring 2000

You need Vredestein S-Licks. No tread to speak of (it's useless on
asphalt anyway) but the soft rubber compound gives superb grip. And
yes, they come in 20".

 

[LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m]

yoxi wrote:

> with the extra weight distribution on the bike (I'm a tall
> man, so me and the bike together weigh about 100Kg!) I
> desperately want to fit some tyres that give more grip in
> the wet, and more grip generally.

I weigh over 100kg sans bike, and I like the 20-inch Schwalbe tyres on
my folding bike: Spezial [like City Jet] front, Big Apple rear.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

 

[bfd]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> yoxi wrote:
>
> > Hello there
> >
> > I've got a folding bike kitted out with a Heinzmann electric
system.
> > The tyres it came with, Schwalbe Marathon Slicks (35-406) are
> > absolutely lethal in wet weather, as they have no side grip at all,
so
> > cornering is terrifying. With 20" wheels, there's less tyre on the
road
> > anyway, and with the extra weight distribution on the bike (I'm a
tall
> > man, so me and the bike together weigh about 100Kg!) I desperately
want
> > to fit some tyres that give more grip in the wet, and more grip
> > generally.
> >
> > There isn't much to choose from at 20", but does anyone have
> > suggestions for tyres of that size with better grip? The ones I've
> > found so far are:
> > Schwalbe Marathon
> > Schwalbe Marathon Slick
> > Schwalbe Stelvio
> > Schwalbe City Jet
> > Continental Grand Prix
> > Continental Top Touring 2000
>
> You need Vredestein S-Licks. No tread to speak of (it's useless on
> asphalt anyway) but the soft rubber compound gives superb grip. And
> yes, they come in 20".

Interesting, according to the following the Vredestein S-Licks has a
tread (Gaerlan calls it grooves):

http://www.gaerlan.com/bikeparts/parts/406wheel/wheelbmx.html

In comparison, only the Avocet and Tioga appear to offer *true* slick
tires with no tread or grooves.

 

[Tom Sherman]

bfd wrote:

> ...
> Check out Avocet Fasgrip, Sheldon Brown has them:
>
> http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/406.html

The 44-406 Avocets have the best wet traction of any ISO 406 tire I have
tried (with the 37-406 Primo Comet being one of the poorest wet traction
tires). The Avocets also have a round cross-section that provides better
handling during hard cornering than the Tioga Comp Pool which has a
sharp shoulder molded into the tread.

--
Tom Sherman - Rock Island County Illinois
Tetrahedral carbon lattices are not forever.