> > > - *“Negative” treads*, that just cut grooves into the tire, apparently > are inspired by car tires, where they help prevent hydroplaning. But even > very wide bicycle tires are too narrow for hydroplaning (and our speeds > are > too low, too). Perhaps a fatbike with slick tires at 50 mph could > hydroplane… > > I have not done the research so my account is personal. It sounds like you haven't done research on this yet either though?
I just switched from the folding version of the fatty rumpkins (one of the slowest, most long lasting tires you can buy at 650x42) to a pair of worn in BSPs. Switching from one of the harder, more durable, slower tires you can buy to a pair of worn in BSPs provided a drastic comparison. My heavy steel bike feels like it's gliding. Climbing and descents on roads both seem faster and are more fun either way. The BSPs are essentially useless in mud or wet sloppy gravel however. The rumpkins not only felt better going over tough roots, but they held far better traction than the BSPs. Climbing in and out of the saddle were really no problem with the rumpkins over the same course. Perhaps a negative tread pattern like the rumpkins does have some benefits other than being inspired by car tires? Some possible advantages: Allows for more long lasting tread on longer tours, but the the cutouts allow the thicker tread to be more flexible and slightly lighter (drillium rubber!). Allows for a non-trivial amount of grip in muddy, loose conditions without providing a rough road ride or negatively impacting cornering on roads in the way knobs would. The only experiment I can think of would be to ride up the same muddy hill on the same day in the same gear with several sets of tires a statistically relevant number of times while timing the rides and counting slippages. Expensive and time consuming. Either way I'm probably now a BSP lifelong customer even if I switch them out for certain rides. On Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 6:19:06 AM UTC-8, Jan Heine wrote: > > Sometimes, it seems that tire tread is just about "design", but there > actually are real reasons why some tires stick better than others, > especially in the wet... > > https://janheine.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/why-slick-tires-dont-stick-well/ > > Jan Heine > Compass Bicycles Ltd. > www.compasscycle.com > -- 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 https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
