Schwalbe smart Sam, terrible on wet tarmac!

I got a pair of these recently had them in the rain today. They are rather slippy on wet pavement, fortunately it's not the washout kind as they seem to recover well from going under but still damn! A shame as they are excellent in the dry and decent grip on hardpack and also very fast for a "knobbly". Thought they would be a do all commuter but I'm going to have to be very careful in the rain, just fixed everything from my last spill. I may change the front tyre and keep the fast rolling back though

, just fixed everything from my last spill.

And what tyres did you have on for that spill ?

Strange

I run the addix 2.6" wide version and i find them good in the wet

Are you running them a bit hard maybe

Edited June 9, 20196 yr by Fat Rat

Ive been commuting with my Smart Sams for 18months come rain or shine and have never had any problems with them in the wet.

Its not just me then, curious about the OP. I also like Sams and have them on 2 bikes.

And what tyres did you have on for that spill ?

 

Vittoria booze lite, never had a problem with them before then, think the road was just greasy, the back was worn anyway so I changed them

Strange

I run the addix 2.6" wide version and i find them good in the wet

Are you running them a bit hard maybe

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I have them at 40psi like any tyre I run. Maybe a bit lower would help with these? They felt fine yesterday though, maybe where I slipped was greasy too. I've also made a conscious effort to put more of my weight to the front when I ride. See how I get on.

I have them at 40psi like any tyre I run. Maybe a bit lower would help with these? They felt fine yesterday though, maybe where I slipped was greasy too. I've also made a conscious effort to put more of my weight to the front when I ride. See how I get on.

I run mine at 30/35 just for info

As you say thou it may have been a patch in the road

Keep safe

I run mine at 30/35 just for info

As you say thou it may have been a patch in the road

Keep safe

 

Might have been, in which case these are safer as I was able to recover by throwing my weight around. On the Vittoria tyres there was no warning at all. It's dry now so I feel a bit more confidence lol

in which case these are safer as I was able to recover by throwing my weight around

The Sams are dual compound, harder in the central tread area for better road speed but less grip especially at higher pressure, I’m between 20&30 psi in the front

The Sams are dual compound, harder in the central tread area for better road speed but less grip especially at higher pressure, I’m between 20&30 psi in the front

 

Yeah I think that's it, as soon as they went sideways they recovered well. Might just put something tackier in the front as I do wet weather fairly often

I did well over 3000 miles on my Smart Sams never had a problem. I wont go out when its raining or the roads soaking wet, but living in the UK I have been caught out in the rain many times. I found the Smart Sams a good all round tire. I now have marathon pluses fitted for the puncture protection, but they are nothing like as good as the Smart Sams for off road work.

I did well over 3000 miles on my Smart Sams never had a problem. I wont go out when its raining or the roads soaking wet, but living in the UK I have been caught out in the rain many times. I found the Smart Sams a good all round tire. I now have marathon pluses fitted for the puncture protection, but they are nothing like as good as the Smart Sams for off road work.

 

Struggling to understand why I find mine so slippy. Maybe it's just "new tyre" syndrome till they bed in

Struggling to understand why I find mine so slippy. Maybe it's just "new tyre" syndrome till they bed in

When I have had new tyres fitted to motorcycles in the past I have always been told to take it easy on them for the first 80 to 100 miles or so, especially in the rain, so perhaps its the same for bicycle tyres but the bedding in period would be a lot less I would think.

Had Sams and found them OK, but changing to Kenda Small Block 8s has been an eye opener. Much better grip in all conditions. Downside of them is slightly higher rolling resistance and the whine of the blocks on tarmac.

Had Sams and found them OK, but changing to Kenda Small Block 8s has been an eye opener. Much better grip in all conditions. Downside of them is slightly higher rolling resistance and the whine of the blocks on tarmac.

Shame they don't have many wheel size options in the Kendas

Well the tyres seem a lot better now "broken in". The front does squirm unnervingly under hard braking though, as long as I don't need to emergency stop in the rain they should be ok lol

Struggling to understand why I find mine so slippy. Maybe it's just "new tyre" syndrome till they bed in

 

I’m surprised that your surprised you find them “so slippy” on wet roads. With a ‘knobbly’ tyre like this you have minimum rubber on the road. Straight line grip is going to be ok but once you start cornering/braking at speed you are on the limit.

I’m surprised that your surprised you find them “so slippy” on wet roads. With a ‘knobbly’ tyre like this you have minimum rubber on the road. Straight line grip is going to be ok but once you start cornering/braking at speed you are on the limit.

 

Had plenty of knobbly tyres and never had an issue until these, since they've done a few miles they seem normal now. Today will be the test it's soaking out there. As for minimum rubber have you seen the width of some roadie tyres? I suspect it's more to do with the compounds used or the knobs squirming under force

Well I survived, starting to feel more confidence in them now. Broke hard due to traffic and didn't die so they must just be bad when new

Different tyres have different compounds, some a bit softer then others.