I currently run GP5000 S TR. Should I be switching tires for winter riding (around and possibly below freezing)? I (finally) bought a house and I’m just a short ride from a nice long trail so I plan on doing some chilly winter rides going forward and want to be safe. I do not plan on riding when there’s snow or anything. Thanks!
I run the same as you in the summer and have the AS version for winter. Only did half of the winter season on them but spot on so far, no complaints at all.
Edit just seen you want to ride trail, no idea on that score though.
Ice is worse than snow in my experience. For general winter riding I’ve been using the GP 4 Seasons but they may no longer be available.
The 4 Seasons are still available but not in tubeless. I think the GP5K AS (All Season) is effectively the tubeless version of the 4 Seasons, although the tread pattern looks like the regular GP5K. Does seem like a great winter tyre if you still want reasonable performance though. Some of the more durable options come with quite a big rolling resistance penalty which is no issue if training on my own but really noticeable if you go out in a group with people who are still running quite racy tyres.
You should have studs for this. Black ice and even smaller ice patches are no joke, especially on road tires.
The second its around or below freezing during the night, only studs on the gravel bike.
I second this. Saw a guy hitting the deck pretty hard in a sunny beautiful day. It’s 1 sec, and no need for more than a few cm of black ice.
With that in mind, your road conditions will tell you the better tire. If you are planning to put some good miles during winter, and below freezing doesn’t mean ice, a good 4 seasons should be fine. Contis, Pirellis, etc.
If you won’t ride as much, keep the same tire. And if ice is imminent, and you’ll ride anyways, studds are mandatory.
I came down last winter on a supposedly treated road - by the time I saw the black ice, nothing I could do.
Do studs deal with ice, I always thought more compacted snow?
They’re meant to deal with ice. This last winter was terrible for bike/skiing conditions. We had rain and positive temperatures in February, everything melted and turned into a big sheet of ice everywhere. Just terrible. I rode my fatbike with the front tire studded and the rear half studded (I studded them myself, it’s a painful task, believe me, I’m planning to finish the job this winter).
It’s really impressive to ride on top of ice, the spikes really work.
In packed snow, such as salted roads with snow, cars, etc, it’s less complicated than ice, and black ice. although I don’t ride in those conditions, the salt will literally eat the bike. I just ride MTB trails.
Racing in February, look at the snow melted:
Conditions like this spikes aren’t necessary:
When I go out on the road in the winter (somewhere between -20 and 0c) I just use my normal summer tires.
But. There has to be essentially a 0% chance of ice or frost on the road. Ex: sunny day, starting in late morning once frost has melted, no patches of shade (where frost and ice will stay), no snow recently, no strong wind recently (which will cause drifts to form) and sticking to the highways (which are kept clean of snow and salted).
Otherwise, I’m only riding the road bike with studded tires on.
precise description. I stick with the fat and city trails, having studds is peace of mind. But that’s the logic
Personally, I wouldn’t ride any skinny tire bike below freezing. I ride my gravel bike in the winter when it’s like 35F+ and there is no snow/ice on the ground. Even then, I’ve went down when a shady section of road was a sheet of ice.
Maybe your bike trail is perfection smooth and dry though? If so, you don’t need special tires. I know they make 4season and all season tires but I’ve honestly never had a grip issue with Conti GPs 3000/4000/5000.
My trail is completely without shade so as long as there hasn’t been snow, there shouldn’t be any icy spots. It’s a real pleasure in the middle of summer lol. I’m tempted to pick up some GP5K AS TR, but I guess I’ll see how I handle the cold first lol.
I’m digging the Pirelli Zero Race 4 Season tires. So far they’ve been super durable for a “race” tire.
There’s no reason to change road tyres in (non icy) winter unless you start suffering more punctures.
Even less need to swap if you’re tubeless.
I find riding winter gravel quite safe on the same tires I run in the summer. Probably safer than winter road as the gravel, even frozen, provides more grip and rarely is there ice.
I think for the road the GP5000 AS (or whatever their full title is) have significantly better wet grip than anything else (according to Rolling Resistance) so I have bought a pair on that basis. But having used GP4 Seasons and other “winter” road tyres it seems they’re just thicker/sturdier/more puncture resistant and probably grip worse than summer race tyres because of that lack of flexibility. I have no idea why no one makes a road tyre with rubber that actually gets better at low temps. Like winter car tyres.
But as per the above posts, any risk of ice at all and I stay indoors, as I’ve broken my hip in an incident on black ice.
Off road, I’ve never tried studded tyres but riding in snow is fun and touch wood less consequential if you fall off.
Honestly - wet roads and slow reactions - I tend to just keep the same tyres on all year around and then only ride super fast tyres for racing.
S works turbo 2/5 front in 30, mondo 2/5 rear in 32. Remco trains in Belgium in the winter on Mondos, and I like them so far. Frankly even if they were miles slower, they are just so easy to manage (you can seat them with a hand pump) vs conti or Vittoria.
I’d only race on conti though - road, MTB or enduro.