got some mavic yikson tyres which (on mavic cc40 clincher wheels) which offer virtually no grip in the wet.
was thinking of the shwalbe ultremo zx or vittoria corsa evo?
is wider better in wet?
Larger surface area improves traction. Achieve larger surface area with wider tires/rims and lower pressure.
Corsa Evo is not a good tire in the wet. Vittoria Pave Evo is quite good (my go-to).
The Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX aren’t great in the wet either. Their Open Corsa SC is allegedly better in the wet, but I have no experience with it.
No experience with the Schwalbe, but I’ve heard good feedback.
My preference for very wet days (road racing in NM on crappy road surface - thankfully very wet is a rarity here) is a Continental 4-season. For TTing I’d take the Conti GP4000S, they handle the wet perfectly well.
For the wet you’ll probably do better with a lower pressure (if you need to hit the turns at speed), and wider will help there but it’s not necessary.
Larger surface area improves traction. Achieve larger surface area with wider tires/rims and lower pressure.
Corsa Evo is not a good tire in the wet. Vittoria Pave Evo is quite good (my go-to). Contact area inversely proportional to tyre pressure. Shape of contact patch depends on width.
Schwalbe have an aqua version with presumably softer rubber. Steer clear of Vittoria KX - for a specific wet tyre with directional tread and dual compound I found them dreadful on anything but the bonest dry of tarmac.
Why did you quote me? I said the same thing.
I’m inclined to think that in the case of cycling stickier rubber is probably going to make the biggest difference. Maybe the best thing for the wet would be to look for the fastest wearing tyre.
According to the Tour wet weather tyre test, the Continental GP4000s provides the highest level of grip in wet conditions.
Yes you can improve the level of grip further by lowering the pressure perhaps 10% over dry.
Some other brands do tout wet weather specific tyres but all i have seen pay the price in increased rolling resistance.
Also need to consider improved or class leading puncture resistance as wet weather lubricates objects which cause punctures making them far more likely to penetrate the tyre.
Check out the test material and draw your own conclusion… oh and the Conti has very good Rr and aero performance to boot… hard to go wrong really.
I’ve ridden all kinds of tires in very wet conditions and to be honest I could not tell the difference between them.
If this is a triathlon and not a crit, the speed of your bike leg is not going to win/lose you the race. And many/most triathlon bike courses are such that the corners are rarely a factor.
The thing with riding a bike in the wet is - going straight, you can ride just as hard and as fast as when it’s dry. Get on the brakes a bit earlier for the turns, and adjust speed accordingly for the turn, then get on the full gas again when you are back and running straight.
Don’t over think it!
Cheers, should have made it clear the tyres will be for road racing/crits on my road bike (not TT/Triathlons, appreciate what you are saying fleck in respect of TTs/Tri’s)
Tour wet weather tyre test - do you have a link please?
Also there is a 4000s and 4000s II - is the newer version the one to go for…