Tires feel slick in rain

[bguth33]

I have the T 32 Bridgestones on my bike and the last time I road on damp roads it feels like you are riding on ice. Like its going to drop at any moment. Anyone else experience this?  Is it more in your head than actually slick?  The bike is not falling over or scooting around but it is not confidence inspiring lol.  I am needing a tire fixed and Saturday looks like rain.  


 

[betoney]

1 hour ago, bguth33 said:

I have the T 32 Bridgestones on my bike and the last time I road on damp roads it feels like you are riding on ice. Like its going to drop at any moment. Anyone else experience this?  Is it more in your head than actually slick?  The bike is not falling over or scooting around but it is not confidence inspiring lol.  I am needing a tire fixed and Saturday looks like rain. 

A few questions-  Is this a recent development with this bike?  Do you have this feeling with other tire brands or just this specific tire?  How worn are the tires? and what are your tire pressures? 

What is the purpose of getting the tire repaired, could it be related to this issue?  Give us some specifics to your situation, this is a very knowledgeable group and we can usually help when provided with the proper info. 

[draco_1967]

How old are the tires? 

I never had that feeling on my T32s. They always felt very good in the wet. Where are you located? Some places use different road surfaces that get very slick in the rain. I lived in Jordan for a couple of months, and it rained once. The roads felt like ice rinks! 

[jthayer09]

9 minutes ago, draco_1967 said:

How old are the tires? 

I never had that feeling on my T32s. They always felt very good in the wet. Where are you located? Some places use different road surfaces that get very slick in the rain. I lived in Jordan for a couple of months, and it rained once. The roads felt like ice rinks! 

Adding to this: do the roads you ride have agricultural/industrial equipment driven on them regularly? Rain will spread oils that normally pool in one spot.

I'd be very surprised if the tires are the issue, the Bridgestone's T3x series is pretty universally loved.

[Garz747]

I have found the same with these tires.  Unsafe at anything below 15C. Slipping and a slidin on cottage roads where I ride.  Will be replacing with Michelin or Pirelli soon.

[OldBikers]

I had no problems with the T32s in the wet and I have been in several downpours.  I did find that a light or fresh rain makes the roads slipperier but with continued rain the tires hold well.  I am on Michelin Road 6 now because my dealer had them in stock and didn't have any T32s.  As far as I can tell the wet performance is about the same.

[Ride365]

Tar snakes on wet roads, not sure any tire works well........from my experience, and here in OHIO we have many roads like that.

[quaxum]

On 5/2/2024 at 9:37 PM, bguth33 said:

I have the T 32 Bridgestones on my bike and the last time I road on damp roads it feels like you are riding on ice. Like its going to drop at any moment. Anyone else experience this?  Is it more in your head than actually slick?  The bike is not falling over or scooting around but it is not confidence inspiring lol.  I am needing a tire fixed and Saturday looks like rain.  


 

Are these the T32s that came with the T9GT?

If they are, it is widely documented (Can refer to this) that the tyres are inferior quality compared to those bought off the shelves.

I hope this helps.

[jthayer09]

3 hours ago, quaxum said:

Are these the T32s that came with the T9GT?

If they are, it is widely documented (Can refer to this) that the tyres are inferior quality compared to those bought off the shelves.

I hope this helps.

This can be the case but isn't always; will vary by market, bike model, and manufacturer. Also, the inferior factor should primarily be tread depth rather than performance. Unless the contracted producer is just completely disregarding compound formulation supplied by the designer. Otherwise you'd risk losing customers, like this thread lol 😆

Rule of thumb should be to always check the sidewall of a new bike to see country of origin, plant code, and then look up the part # to see if you get the complete version of the tire or a reduced version shipped with new bikes.

Examples:
Bridgestone P/N 11450 & 11502 are the same S22 tire, one is the aftermarket and the other is the OE that ships on bikes.

I think Dunlop tires have "OE" in the part number to designate that it's specifically made to ship with new bikes. Coincidentally, in my experience Dunlop OE tires are absolute trash and they are probably the worst offender at this due to the sheer volume of new bikes that come equipped with their rubber.

[betoney]

13 minutes ago, jthayer09 said:

I think Dunlop tires have "OE" in the part number to designate that it's specifically made to ship with new bikes. Coincidentally, in my experience Dunlop OE tires are absolute trash and they are probably the worst offender at this due to the sheer volume of new bikes that come equipped with their rubber.

The  FJ09 OE tires were Dunlop 222 and they were well acknowledged as not being very good, they were the only tire that had my bike stepping out on damp pavement when accelerating out of a corner.  They were replaced around 4,000 miles and I have used Bridgestone exclusively (S20, S21, S22, T30, T31 and T32) for the past 80,000 miles since. 

[draco_1967]

Interesting. I rode the T32s frequently at temps below 0C/32F, and never felt slippery. I ride unless the white stuff has recently fallen, or there is lots of snow melt on the roads at below freezing temps.

Tire pressure issue? Age of tire or storage problem? Road surface differences? 

[betoney]

34 minutes ago, draco_1967 said:

Interesting. I rode the T32s frequently at temps below 0C/32F, and never felt slippery. I ride unless the white stuff has recently fallen, or there is lots of snow melt on the roads at below freezing temps.

Tire pressure issue? Age of tire or storage problem? Road surface differences? 

I agree, there are a lot of variables that can attribute to this, not every region uses the same road treatments or has the same tarmac surface.

I frequently ride in colder temps as well but if the road surface is even remotely wet, I completely change my riding style concerning braking, throttle input and keeping the bike more upright when cornering.

[Ride365]

OE tires and the same make/model off the rack are not the same......as jthayer09 mentioned. On another note, I fully tested my Dunlop Roadsmart 3's over the weekend riding in much rain on some of the best roads West Virginia has, and they performed absolutely stellar.