Just spit balling, but an idea for winter rubber?

[Whosthedaddy]

Had me thinking the other day with the thought of winter just around the corner.

Would the use of tyre warmers over night (or maybe set on a timer just before you get up) help with the initial part of the daily commute?

We would have been living in the sticks and the commute would have started with some serious twisty bits and would having a hot set of rubber be beneficial or is a hot tyre on cold road a no go?

The second part of my quandary was the use of sports tyres in the cold dank months. I've currently got Diablo Corsas front and rear and although they do feel exceedingly planted when dry, in the damp the rear wheel has skidded a few times when down shifting and the sure footed ness of sticky rubber feels less than inspiring over the past few horrid days.
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[ram_doom]

WTD, if your tyres are in good nick, your better off having them taken off, replaced with something cheap like "contiforce", which are "ok", then riding carefully around during winter, thus keeping the diablo's fresh for warmer months.
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TL1000s, KDX200

[Kal]

I suspect the tires would have cooled off before the heat could be useful.

I'd be inclinded to gop with ram_doom on this one and get yourself a nice set of sport touring tires for the "off season."
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[killa]

Bridgestone Battlax's 014's all year round
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Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history

[h00dwink]

[veeeffarr]

This is why I use sport-touring tyres

Pilot Road2

[ram_doom]

[G]

In my experience, having good wet weather grip and being designed as an ‘all round’ tyre don’t always coincide.

Some tyres designed for all round/touring don’t have very good wet weather grip, while some tyres designed for sporty use have very good wet weather grip.

The first and most important factor in this in my experience is the tyre compound used. If a tyre is sticky from cold in the dry, it’ll probably be relatively the same in the wet.
In the past it’s been mentioned that a compound high in silica should grip well in the wet.

I have used Supercorsa race tyres on my TRX back to back with two touring tyres. The Supercorsas would have enough grip to wheelie after about a mile’s riding in damper conditions than the touring tyres. It’s not so great having loads of tread to disperse water if you don’t have grip in the first place.


After that, how quickly the tyre warms up can be important, especially when riding in cold weather. A tyre with lots of tread will allow the rubber to move around more, which will heat it up quicker. However, of course this may be counteracted by a hard compound of tyre which naturally doesn’t flex as much.

A hot set of rubber would be beneficial on cold roads. However, it’s unlikely that you’ll be riding at a level that will keep that amount of heat in the tyres. So with tyre warmers you’ll see lots of grip to start with, which will then trail off leaving you with less as you get into the riding.
In my experience this is a dangerous combination, as at the point you’re just getting into it and getting some confidence, your tyres are losing grip and becoming worse, yet your confidence is based on the hot tyres a few minutes ago.

If it was a lighter bike, I’d recommend some road-legal intermediates or wets which are popular with supermoto riders. However these would get chewed up very quickly on a heavier bike, I suspect.


In conclusion, err, ride smoother .