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I have been cycling my whole life, and for about a year I have been doing 25km a day, without any problems. I got new Vittoria Rubino 23s tires a few weeks ago and I had no problems for 3 weeks since, then I have had two crashes in the last two days.

My front wheel skidded in a pretty slow corner (I wasn't leaning much in either of the cases). Fortunately, a few bruises and cuts, without any cars behind me at the time.

The tire pressure was 110psi front, 115psi back. I was just wondering whether anyone could give me some tips or share their experiences with Rubino's.

Thanks, I really appreciate any feedback.

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    I would guess that you ran into poor traction conditions -- sand, gravel, mud, or oil on the pavement. You always need to evaluate traction conditions when cornering.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 12:35
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    100psi is a hair low, but should not create a problem for a 190 pounder on 23s. (And don't you have an accurate pressure gauge?)
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 21:49
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    Drop your SPEED in wet conditions, and approach corners more cautiously. For pressure to be a problem it would have to be quite a bit lower, such that the tire is flopping sideways on turns. Having a tire with more tread helps a LITTLE in poor traction conditions, but mainly it's a matter of riding style.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Feb 13, 2015 at 13:10
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    If you're 190 pounds, you probably would be better off running 25's or 28's and dropping the pressure.
    – Batman
    Commented Feb 14, 2015 at 16:00
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    it's not (really) the tires, it's handling skills. if you overdo your front braking it'll skid, and not all pavement is the same.
    – 300D7309EF17
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 22:21

2 Answers 2

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I currently ride on Rubino Pro Slick tires, and have used various Vittoria tires for decades.

The Vittoria Rubino tires you are using have similar wet grip to what I use (dry grip will be the same). The pressures you quote are good.

I get the impression that both incidents occurred in the same corner. If that is the case then I would strongly suspect oil on the road.

When cornering with under inflated tires, they give a characteristic sickening lurch to the side, usually accompanied by a scrubbing noise, and then they let go. This kind of crash can rob your confidence. Just take it easy, be extremely careful on that corner (or avoid it), and get well soon.

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  • Thanks for such a quick reply Andy, it was a case of different corners, however they were very similar. I think that oil could be the most likely culprit, as I took much faster corners in wet and at a greater angle with the same tires. I put my old tire on the front, just in case. Thanks for your reply, again, really appreciate it.
    – Filip Nikolic
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 23:30
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    You are very welcome @Filip :-)
    – andy256
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 23:46
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    @FilipNikolic - Note that simple wet pavement does not usually result in poor traction, but the combo of water and oil can be quite treacherous. And sand or gravel or especially mud can be very bad too. (Worst traction I ever saw was a wood bridge deck in the rain, in the shade where moss had grown on the deck. You couldn't even walk across it, and one guy in our group broke his arm trying to ride across.)
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Feb 13, 2015 at 13:14
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At your weight I would size up to 25mm tires and run lower pressures. High pressure does not corner better than lower pressure especially in wet. Lower pressure permits more of the tire to engage the pavement as contact patch as does a more supple casing. I weigh 150-160 and ride 700x23 racing clinchers at 75-90 psi.

Also new tires can have a film on them. I would think 3 weeks would be sufficient to scrub it off but that's more a function of mileage than anything.

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  • I'm definanetly going to switch to 25mm soon, but what I find wierd is that I did nearly 5000km on my stock 23s and 3 weeks (250km) into the new tires, I had a slow speed, crash, two days in a row.
    – Filip Nikolic
    Commented Feb 14, 2015 at 18:01
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    were the new tires the same as the stock ones? If not, different tires have different feel. At 5000km your original tires were well worn in--they'll handle better. I never race a brand new set of tires. You need some time to break them in. Which reminds me that I need to order some so I have time to do just that.
    – Chris Cleeland
    Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 6:36
  • No, the compound feels a bit harder as well.
    – Filip Nikolic
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 19:53
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    Sounds like you may have found your problem. Harder tends to wear better, softer grips better. Many tires have gone to dual compound setups with a harder center tread and a softer outer (for cornering).
    – Chris Cleeland
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 20:57
  • I think mine has the dual compound, but I also suspect that I have not leaned a lot and the contact patch was mostly the harder compound. My tire
    – Filip Nikolic
    Commented Feb 17, 2015 at 21:06

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