radial tyres from Vittoria

[willcee]

Just bought a pair from a UKsupplier at 20 quid !!radial, and fitted them today, not ridden them yet or fitted the wheels to my winter steed.. whaddya think guys , radials on a bike!!! i thought they were radial anyway ,not cross ply like we drove back in the 60's on Triumph Heralds etc.. SEE HERE .. will
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -12-45916/

[BigFoz]

I hated them. Great in the dry. Squirelly in the damp. As I currently live in the West of Scotland I see more of the latter than the former...
Went back to Rubino Pro-tech, waiting for a good offer on Open Paves as they recently got very expensive - more expensive than the tyres on my car!

[willcee]

Big Foz, i'm west of you in very north part of Ulster, in fact we can see your coast , mull of Kintyre & Islay, i think so we know wet roads as well, when you write squirrelly do you mean they slide or had you them rock hard and they were twitchy, some say don't inflate too much, i run gators at 80 and 90 and mavics at 85 and 95, mich pro 3 ,25's at 75/80and 85/90, pro 4 at 85 and 95/100.. never had a flat along the road or problem with sliding in the last 10 years.. so i look forward to the initial outing with interest.. will

[BigFoz]

At 100+KG, plus pannier etc I run rears at 110psi-125psi depending on conditions and fronts at 95. In the dry these were great, when the roads were damp or wet they felt very vague and confidence killing. I could feel the rear moving around as I pedalled and the front felt like it was going to tuck on every corner. In contrast the Diamante Pro-Tech they replace are rock solid feeling, and the Open Paves I prefer when I can afford them are both rock steady and comfy as an old sofa.

Only think I can compare it to was the feeling of putting cheap "Cheng Shin" tyres on my motorbike in teh '70s; never sure if it was going to stay under you or look for a hedge to jump into.

[willcee]

BigFoz et allia, out this morning and in inclement conditions, damp, cold 6deg and less with wind chill from sharp WNW wind at 20mph gusting, out with 90 front 100 rear after several miles dropped to 80 and 90 later to 65/70 and guessing maybe 80 rear, no issues, felt lively handling, no squirrel feeling at all, rode well and fast despite the lowest inflation pressure, i'm 210lbs, you couldn't see the tyre bulging out at the bottom the way they would at these pressures in a crossply michelin pro race for example, if you cornered sharply i could feel a roll on the rear at rear, however i wouldn't worry on that, the radial was squirming on the rim the way it does on a car tyre when cornered sharply and underinflated, so more trials at 85 rear and 75 front.. happy with 220 tpi, supple.. and punctures.. my cycle buddy and I have had less than 10 punctures while out on the highways in last 10 years, using high quality michelins, gators or schwalbes so not concerned over that..will

[BigFoz]

Wonder if mine were simply too hard then? Anyone else had any experience? Can the radials run lower pressures without pinch flats?

[Mr_average]

This from Sheldon Brown:

Radial tires have been tried for bicycles, but they tend to be too floppy from side to side. This floppiness feels quite unpleasant in actual riding--much like the feel of a grossly underinflated tire.

Anything changed?

[willcee]

certainly NOT the impression i gained, i think pressure has much to do with the feel, more certainly a lot more comfort that is felt and while a normal race tyre of 23/25 section would be dour or dead feeling when inflated at the weight on my tyres sunday past , i didn't feel any slowing or dourness in the ride ,i have a good feel in my backside either on a bike or a race car.. i would guess that radials from a leading manufacturer like Vittoria have come on some since Sheldons days..will

[willcee]

foz et allia... another 26.5 miles in 2deg, damp, cold light wind from NE ..only that we hadn't been out for 10 days drove us to cycle Boxing day around our beautiful North Antrim Coast,....[ same route in the other direction that the Giro used back in equally horrid weather in May] anyway with accurate pressure readings set off with 80 rear and 70 front , no issues at all in varied tarmac, to be honest i felt as if i was on Michelin prorace 4's at max pressure, lively yet handling the rough chip and seal surface on secondary roads admirably and flew on good smooth tarmac.. guess i'll try a couple more when better weather arrives for my fair weather machinery.. Pressure checked this morning at 78 and 68.. will

[Mick F]

Bias tire (or cross ply) construction utilizes body ply cords that extend diagonally from bead to bead, usually at angles in the range of 30 to 40 degrees, with successive plies laid at opposing angles forming a crisscross pattern to which the tread is applied. The design allows the entire tire body to flex easily, providing the main advantage of this construction, a smooth ride on rough surfaces.

This cushioning characteristic also causes the major disadvantages of a bias tire: increased rolling resistance and less control and traction at higher speeds.

Radial tire construction utilizes body ply cords extending from the beads and across the tread so that the cords are laid at approximately right angles to the centerline of the tread, and parallel to each other, as well as stabilizer belts directly beneath the tread. The belts may be cord or steel. The advantages of this construction include longer tread life, better steering control, and lower rolling resistance.

Disadvantages of the radial tire include a harder ride at low speeds on rough roads and in the context of off-roading, decreased "self-cleaning" ability and lower grip ability at low speeds.

Given the choice on a bike, I'll stick with bias rather than radial.

Back in the old days, I had a Humber Sceptre with cross-plys. The car was wonderful and smooth/comfortable.
I was given a set of new wheels with radial on for a trial.
Awful!
I replaced the cross-plys asap. The car suspension was designed for cross-ply tyres, so that's what was best.

[willcee]

MICK, YEAH, CROSS PLYS one of my friend's dad had a 3500 V8 Rover which AFAIK was the first British car in the 60's developed for Radials, The man had a friend who was removing tyres from a J4 van because it was damaged, tyres all ok, so my mates dad had them fitted to his Rover, christ what a wrong way to go.. it was hard enough controlling on wet roads , I was changing employers at the time, and this guy took me 12 miles on a snowy night to collect a company car, he couldn't drive at the best of times, it was a sat nite tea time and he had a couple of jars in the afternoon, and it was a white knuckle ride especially in a high powered auto and on crossplys.. Your Humber, my dad had one, would have steered easier on the crossplys as they didn't steer well [heavy] on Radials without PAS.. will

[Brucey]

There may be one or two cars that work better (most of the time in 'normal use') on cross-plies but that group is absolutely overwhelmed by the huge number of older chassis types that were developed on cross-plies but just work ten times better on radials. Honestly, if you have tried both there is usually just no comparison.

Motorcycles are now commonly fitted with radial tyres; when they were first available the things that were said about them (feel etc) were very similar to those said about radial bicycle tyres. But ultimately they just work better, more of the time, for many purposes. Only time will tell if similar benefits are there to be had on bicycles or not.

cheers