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Heated Gear does NOT thwart cold tires!

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Dualsport:
I recently obtained heated gear and have been riding in weather below 20 degrees F. Heated gear bulk, generally speaking, is not conducive to going low or wanting to ride aggressively. I did 3,800 uneventful miles--THEN last week while making a left at an intersection the rear tire broke traction. Initially I thought sand, oil, etc. whatever, but it's happened two more times since. The latter two times I stopped and inspected the tires and the road for obvious causes, but could not find a cause. At this point all I can conclude is that the cold pavement and stiffer tire rubber is a lot more dangerous than I predicted it would be. In all cases the tires had been warmed as indicated by increased indicated tire pressure readings. I know about tires, tire and road conditions, and the effects of the cold on tire rubber and I'd just like to pass on that this loss of traction during even a moderately tight turn may be more of a concern and problem than one might think, so be careful in the cold ya'll.

harry76:
I have found the older a tire gets the worse it is on cold roads, they seem to get harder after being heat cycled several times.

B.D.F.:
Yeah, when it is cold (below 30F) it is easy to break the rear tire loose under even modest acceleration. Cold roads and cold tires are NOT conducive to aggressive riding. I always ride like Mary Jane Tinklepants when it is cold outside.

And as bad as asphalt roads are, cement roads are even worse. Here in the northeast US, we have a fair amount of concrete roads with dark 'stripes' of years of oil accumulation in the center of each lane and they get downright treacherous making a left hand turn through multiple lanes even on a dry, clear and sunny but cold day.

Brian


--- Quote from: Dualsport on February 16, 2018, 11:39:03 AM ---I recently obtained heated gear and have been riding in weather below 20 degrees F. Heated gear bulk, generally speaking, is not conducive to going low or wanting to ride aggressively. I did 3,800 uneventful miles--THEN last week while making a left at an intersection the rear tire broke traction. Initially I thought sand, oil, etc. whatever, but it's happened two more times since. The latter two times I stopped and inspected the tires and the road for obvious causes, but could not find a cause. At this point all I can conclude is that the cold pavement and stiffer tire rubber is a lot more dangerous than I predicted it would be. In all cases the tires had been warmed as indicated by increased indicated tire pressure readings. I know about tires, tire and road conditions, and the effects of the cold on tire rubber and I'd just like to pass on that this loss of traction during even a moderately tight turn may be more of a concern and problem than one might think, so be careful in the cold ya'll.

--- End quote ---

Dualsport:
I’m running Shinkos. Does anyone think that the “softer” “sportier” tires may just get harder in the cold than other more “all season” tires? I run Anakee III’s on my KLR 650 and I Ride it more aggressively than I do the C14 in the intersection cornering. So many differing factors between the two bikes, but it’s all unnerving enough to get me pondering...

harry76:
I have performance summer tires on my car, they warn against driving in temps below 45 degrees because the rubber gets hard, and say the rubber will actually crack  open if used below 20 degrees.
I would assume that performance bike tires are a similar rubber compound.

Summer performance tires feature tread compounds engineered to provide traction in warm to hot ambient temperatures. They were never intended to experience near- and below-freezing temperatures, nor the wintry driving conditions that often accompany them.

As ambient temperatures get colder, typically in the 40-45° Fahrenheit range, summer performance tires lose a noticeable percentage of traction as their tread compound rubber properties change from a pliable elastic to inflexible plastic. The tire industry uses the term "glass transition" to describe the temperature where a summer performance tire's grip/slip performance changes dramatically. This means the summer performance tires that provide predictable traction in warm to hot conditions will be found to be very challenging to drive in cold to freezing temperatures. This is especially true when the tires first begin to be driven or if the driver aggressively applies gas pedal pressure with today's turbocharged fours or high-torque sixes and eights. Fortunately, glass transition is a reversible condition that allows the tires' normal traction to return as the ambient temperatures climb.

If ambient temperatures drop to near- or below-freezing, driving or rolling a vehicle equipped with summer performance tires risks the possibility of tread compound cracking. Tread compound cracking is a permanent condition that requires the tires to be replaced. The other condition that can be caused by running summer performance tires in cold temperatures is the possibility of chipping away the edges of the tread blocks.

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