I think DP is referring to off-road use with knobbies, where a directional tread is more appropriate. I would agree that it probably won't slow you down a whole lot, but that there probably is a benefit to having the the tread facing the appropriate way for front (steering) and rear (drive).
Cheers, David "it isn't a contest. Just enjoy the ride." - Seth Vidal On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 10:27 AM, Peter Morgano <uscpeter11...@gmail.com>wrote: > I had a set of directional tires on a flip flop fixie for years. God knows > what direction they were facing one week to the other, never made a bit of > difference. > On May 17, 2014 12:17 PM, "Tim McNamara" <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > >> >> On May 16, 2014, at 1:49 PM, Deacon Patrick <lamontg...@mac.com> wrote: >> >> > Does directional tread matter more at higher speeds (aka downhill, flat >> or less uphill) or slow speed traction/climbing? >> >> No. It's marketing BS like lots of other things in bike tire land. >> >> Tread is not beneficial for traction with bike tires unless the surface >> is softer than the tire rubber (mud, soft dirt, grass). On cement, asphalt >> or wood there is no additional traction to be gained with siping or tread. >> Rolling resistance studies have indicated that blocky or knobby tread >> increases rolling resistance and reduce cornering traction (because there >> is less rubber in contact with the road, which is why racing cars on >> pavement wear slicks unless it's wet). If your tires buzz, they are >> slowing you down. >> >> Road tires for cars and trucks have tread to reduce hydroplaning due to >> the squared-off profile resulting in a rectangular contact patch with the >> road. The round profile of bike tires is enough to reduce hydroplaning >> without resorting to siping or tread. Jet aircraft likewise use treadless >> round profile tires; motorcycle road tires are mostly effectively treadless >> with wide spaces between channels. If you look at bike road tires the >> "tread" is pretty much nominal, an embossed pattern rather than real tread >> that wears off the rear tire in 1000 miles or so. The useful thing it >> provides is a visual depth gauge for how much rubber is left. >> >> Alas for the good old Avocet tires and the Michelin Super Comp HD (which >> was my favorite tire ever). >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
