Experience in tires for fixed gear bikes for urban riding?

I was wondering to hear everyone's opinion on their favorite tires for riding a fixie around the city. I'm especially curious if anyone uses those thick slicks I have been seeing around lately? Is it easier to skid sideways on them, what's their rolling resistance, traction-wise? I imagine they won't stop so easily if they are slicker and offer lower traction, but speed will be maintained more easily on them, am I correct here? I appreciate all opinions and experiences being shared.

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Permalink Reply by S on July 21, 2013 at 3:22pm

Frankly, you probably don't need to know or worry about rolling resistance. The difference in power at urban speeds are small enough that it doesn't make a difference one way or another.  And braking power/traction is dependent on coefficient of static friction (normally) or kinetic friction (if skidding) and not rolling resistance.  

Permalink Reply by Michael A on July 21, 2013 at 4:26pm

My favorite clincher at the moment is Veloflex Corsa 700x25 with a latex tube mounted to 23mm wide rims.

I think the appeal to the thickslick is the thick rubber used to make them allowing many more skids before you get through to the inner tube.

At 470 gms for a 700x25 tire, probably mounted to deep v rims, rolling resistance is the least of what is slowing you down.

On paved roads tread patterns do very little for grip unless it is in the rain when then they can channel some of the water away. 

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 22, 2013 at 3:20am

 When I was riding a fixed gear (before it was stolen) I always liked Gatorskins.  These days, I have a pair of Michelin City tires on the bike I've used most for commuting.  They are what came on the bike, and have worked okay.  I probably would return to Gatorskins if replacing them, especially considering they are now available in 28mm widths.

Permalink Reply by Eli on July 22, 2013 at 3:24am

Thickslicks are heavy and the fact that durability and tread thickness are emphasized in the marketing makes me think that the sidewalls are probably not very supple at all, so I would not expect these to be fast tires, but I do think they probably have pretty good traction on pavement--there is no reason a slick tire on pavement would have lower traction than a tire with a tread pattern and some good reasons to think it would actually be better.

I ride another totally slick tire, the Schwalbe Kojak in the 700x35c (nominal) size. The traction is excellent on the streets, even in the rain. It's not great on loose sand or gravel and it is really bad on mud (when the sand blown onto the LFP gets wet it becomes fairly terrifying to ride on these tires).

Permalink Reply by Jose Zayas on July 22, 2013 at 3:31am

Honestly, I ride fixed gear/brakeless around the city, and my tire of choice for anything is Vittoria Randonneur. When it comes to city riding in my mind, it's all about how many potholes and broken streets can I ride in without having a flat, and these tires work like magic! I have fallen in many potholes where I thought "shit, there goes the tube", but no, haven't had a flat in 10 months, and I ride everyday. They might not be the fastest or the easiest to skid in, but for my preference they're my favorite.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 22, 2013 at 3:40am

Speaking of flats, it looks like Stan's sealant is popular among the crowd out west who have problems with goathead thorns. I'm going to try some in my tubulars, and on my city bikes to hopefully allow me to run with something more "plush" than the typical flat-resistant tires.  Anyone here have any direct experience with it?

Permalink Reply by Michael A on July 22, 2013 at 4:37am

I use this in all my tubulars, the only tip is to always only open your valve and fill it with air when it is at the 12 o"clock position

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-components/2013-effetto-m...

I guess you could use it in innertubes if they have a removable core

Permalink Reply by nowuz on July 22, 2013 at 5:49am

I have a fixie riding friend who swears by Soma everwear tires for lots of speed, grippy skiding and long lasting city toughness. I'm loving my Fyxation session 700's for their toughness and versatility (and cool looks), but I only flip my flop to fixed about a third of the time, and I don't ride breakless.

Permalink Reply by Thedutchtouch on July 22, 2013 at 7:54am
Gatorskins. But I also run dual brakes and hardly ever skid. They are great for alley glass and potholes though.
Permalink Reply by Ivo Iliev on July 22, 2013 at 9:30am

Thanks for all the feedback - this has been a great place to learn some new things and to start my research! Currently I ride Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23 on my fixie - I like their speed, decent traction both on dry and wet surfaces, but they seem to wear out a lot as I don't use breaks. I try not to skid a lot (as locking the wheel is not the most efficient way to stop), but it is just too much fun doing it.

Since I am new to riding a fixie I was really wondering how important and efficient is the skidding technique in urban style riding (I heard its being compared to skiing especially on wet pavement), or is it just some cool B.S.? I once rode behind a guy on Milwaukee Ave who had the thick slicks and he seemed to be enjoying skidding so much and doing it with such an ease, so I was just wondering what a rider gives up in terms of speed and reliability for the increase in ease of skidding on thick slicks.

As far as gatorskins, I have a pair of 700 x 25 on my other bike and am not too impressed by the feel of the ride although I have never had a flat on them. And my rode bike runs on Vittoria Evo Open Corsa but I feel that they will last only about a week on my fixie, lol....

Permalink Reply by Ivo Iliev on July 22, 2013 at 10:01am

Front brake is the smart way to go, but I use mine only for emergencies, which amounted to about 2 occasions in the last month of riding a fixie

Sam Wing said:

I'll vote again for gators. I made the switch from slick bontragers and really have noticed an improvement in ride quality (rides softer and smoother overall).

I ride with a front brake (highly recommended!) so my 2 cents may be of no value to you. 

Permalink Reply by Vitaliy on July 23, 2013 at 4:02pm

You dont have to skid to stop, you can always run a rear brake; do not follow a fad. Consider your capabilities and if you really want to commit to skidding as your preferred mode of braking. I say ThickSlicks all the way. I have been using the Elite edition which are the sturdiest and thickest tires that Freedom produces. I have been running one of these on my rear for almost a year now and have a third order shipping. I have only gotten one flat on them, but I speculate wet conditions had something to do with it. Ease of skidding merely depends on how easily you can lock you rear wheel. Essentially how strong your legs are; so you arent really giving anything up unless you consider traction, which doesnt affect skidding at all. One downfall of TSs is the lack of traction on wet roads, if you make a sharp enough turn you can wipe out; this is where traction lingers on ThickSlicks.

Cheers

Here is the Freedom website: http://www.freedombicycle.com/project/thickslick/

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