FIXIE SKID TEST - TOP 3 Tires for Fixed Gear Bikes
Vložit
- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- In today's video, I test out some of the most popular tires for fixed gear riding to find out which tire is the best overall tire for riding a fixie. The three tires in the skid test are the Vittoria Randonneur, Continental Gatorskin, and the WTB Thick Slick. Fixed gear riding is similar to road biking, but has a few unique needs when it comes to tire selection: riders often rely on their tires for stopping by locking up the rear tire in a slide known as a "skid". Some riders also do tricks on their bikes. In this test, I perform a skid to see how long each tire lasts and how it feels while skidding. Next up I take the tires to a belt sander to see how they last to abrasion. Finally, I give an analysis of the tires compared to cost, overall feel, durability, longevity, and tire tread. to come up with the overall winner.
Please support your local bike shop first! If you don't have one near, use the affiliate links below to support this channel:
Vittoria Randonneur - amzn.to/3TV2thV
Continental Gatorskin - amzn.to/3HiYRPb
WTB Thick Slick - amzn.to/3TZVvrL
Get some FOAD gear:
foadgang.com/
Be sure to follow us on social:
/ foadgang
www.tiktok.com/@foadgang?lang=en
/ jacksonradshaw
#fixedgear #fixiebike #bikeskid
0:00 - INTRO
0:46 - FIRST IMPRESSIONS
3:47 - WEIGHT TEST
4:53 - SKID TEST - RANDO
7:57 - SKID TEST - GATORSKIN
9:43 - SKID TEST - THICK SLICK
11:11 - BELT SANDER TEST
12:54 - TIRE FEEL
13:59 - TIRE PROFILES
14:46 - SKID TEST RESULTS
15:35 - TIRE VALUE
17:00 - BELT SANDER TEST
17:36 - GEAR RATIOS
18:18 - CONCLUSIONS
19:48 - OUTRO - Sport
![BIKE HANDLEBARS EXPLAINED [FIXED GEAR]](/img/n.gif)
What tire should I test next?
obor mojo stamnia is super cheap but for me it lasted the longest
all the panaracers
and i mean ALL. we gotta make sure the color compounds don't alter the skid performance.
Resist Nomad vs ThickSlick for trick track…same price point and it seems (to me) similar performance for tricks. Don’t know which is more durable however.
I can't seem to be able to do any damage to my Panaracer Gravelking SS, very good allround fixed-gear tire it seems !
Fixed gear James Hoffman doing his thing
If you were skidding to stop, then the vittoria makes sense. Even though the test showed it lasted for a shorter distance, it had more grip which means you would also need to skid less of a distance to stop on this tire than any of the rest tested. So in terms of how long they last, it might match up bcos in the end, you just needed to skid less to stop on this tire.
Gatorskin HARDSHELL black edition is my favorite, seems to have great puncture protection so it lasts. But yeah, not cheap.
It was a really informative test. I'd even go so far to say - based on the end results - that the Gatorskin makes the best value tyre of the three by although having the same skid-distance per dollar as the ThickSlick but having the longest endurance because then it saves you a .4 of a tube and the time of changing the tyre and the tube until the next inner-tube burst.
thanks for putting in all the work and time!
Great! I'll stick with the thickslick then based on your results. I think they feel very comfortable and smooth to ride. Would avoid using them on rainy days though... I'll also pick up the idea to swap front and back tires. Brillant. Thank you for your good work.
This is an amazing experiment like never before! Fantastic👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I would like you try IRC METRO 28c. That is my fav recently.
This was soooo interesting! Thank you so much for this!
Great video! I always wondered about how the Gatorskins would perform in comparison to the Thickslicks 👌
Great and informative video!
Great vid!
Good fixed gear tires imo
1: Maxxis Pursuer
2: Goodyear eagle sport
3: Continental Grandsort race
1 and 3 feel about the same to me. 1 is just lighter. Both tires provide a lot of grip which is pretty important for brakeless riding.
2 is lighter than the other two. Easier to whip a skid. Wears out the fastest.
I love all them three
All of them are around USD 20-25 where I live
The 1st one is pure shit
Nice video mate, cheers to that gatorskin
would like to see panaracer rimbo test. great video.
As a scientist who has loads of experience designing experiments, I approve!! Great video and very informative. I’d love to see how Panaracer gravelkings hold up
Skid on my 33 gravels all day and they hold up great
Same, it’s been my go to for a while. But I’m curious how it holds up relative to others. Especially since they’re so damn expensive, am I wasting my money :/
@@isaacheatley7989that’s really interesting, I’ve heard the Gravelkings wear out super fast with skids. I hope he tests them!
@@isaacheatley798933 would consider a cross tire
Thank you! Are you interested in the SK or the slicks?
Nice video bro
О, спасибо за тест👍
would be really good to see vittoria corsa next in the next instalment seriously loving them atm.
Also re conti ultraposport 2 over gators any day the week if you enjoy riding gators there is a special seat in hell waiting for you. ultrasports are affordable, available in most bike shops in random back end holes you find ya self stuck in and will go almost as far in personal experiance really do think they are underrated ✌️
Next comparison needs the most underrated tire of all time, the Soma Everwear. Youll have to go down that hill 50 times to get to threads
I run gator skin on the front and thick slick on the rear 🤙🏼
I generally use the Vittoria Randonneur year round and swap it out when I see red
great video, ty
Glad you enjoyed it
very good work! I will ride thickslicks til I die, I used to think they were the best but I think everyone just finds what works best for them. For me the thickslick works best and lasts me the longest!
I wasn’t expecting thickslicks to be actually okay. Hope someone tests schwalbe marathons some day
I recomend GP5000 front and Grand Prix GT rear setup. These three tires in test have traction like garden hose in wet conditions. Black chili rules.
how about the low cost tyre like Kenda... 😅
Wkwkwkw gw tu pake kenda
org luar gapake kenda cuk
@@Lan_no1234Keras bet keras tuh ban cuma jujur tuh ban badak bngt 🤣🤣🤣
Tire*
From my experience Kenda is indestructible. It takes 2 to 3 years of daily road shredding to break them.
A less common tire for fixed gear is the Bontrager R3 or AW3. I used the R3 for a long time and did lots of skids, even got hit by a car on it, and that tire is still perfectly fine. The AW3 is meant to last even longer, so I’d be curious to hear how they compare.
17:43 "something that will make any tire you have last a lot longer..." Fully expected you to say brakes 😂. Ratio makes a ton of sense, too.
Brakes too! That's a great point.
if you live in a place with shitty roads, the gatorskins are a must at 25-30c. Used to have the Randos and got a flat a week. only really sharp glass shards go through Gators.
Another factor is different road surfaces… thickslicks lasted forever in Seattle but hardly at all in SF the inverse is true of randonneurs…
When I was getting tires for free from mash they gave me continental contact sports which slid like crazy but wore out really fast.
Ultimately the tire I found best suited fore SF was the continental super sport. Those paired with rotating the wheel every few days made them last for about a month but by that time they were on the orange all the way around…
For me the everwear latest the longest. It is a little slick at first but. Once you break the sheen off the tire, it is a very controllable skid.
In my experience Thickslicks and Gatorskins are great tyres for perfect riding quality, given you want to optimize your fixed gear bike down to even the last minor detail and the last fraction of a millimeter. Thickslicks are very close to silent. On an aluminium frameset I'd use Thickslicks and on steel both go well. Thickslicks are easier to skid, especially when you're running a bigger gear ratio, but Gatorskins stop quicker as they're really tacky (and noisier) - you definately made that point. Also found out even the standard Thickslick (Thickslick Comp) has better puncture protection (concerning those nasty 2 mm triangle shaped glass fragments, which we have a lot of in Dortmund/Germany). Slippery when wet? Naw... just don't lean into corners as you would do in dry conditions and go a bit slower, does the trick. Oh, and the Thickslick squares out on the rear quite quickly, even if you're not skidding at all.
Let's skid into it.
What's also going to be a factor with the thick slick is that you're using the flat guard which is thicker and heavier than the typical comp version. That said, it's probably not going to make *that* much of a difference as I've run both and they're honestly not too noticeable between them. Fun experiment still! I'd vote for the Vittoria Rubino Pro, GP5000, and gravel king slicks for the next tests!
Thanks for pointing this out, I didn't actually know that there are two different versions!
Michelin lithion 2 or 3 we love for hillbombing, they kinda feel smooth but also last long. from a vittoria zaffiro i also got out a ton of downhills...
Temperature could have an effect on the belt sander test. Love the video.
Great point! Thanks for watching!
Panaracer t-serv and ribmo are the best skid tyres 🙌
The everwear is also amazing
My Favorite (Good Weather)
Kenda Kontender K-196 700×26C (the green ones :) )
125 PSI they sound so nice
My Allweathertires
Continental Gatorskin
700x25C/25-622/310g/6.5-8.5 Bar
or Winter
700x28C/28-622/360g/6.5-8.5 Bar
From Time to Time i use the Wtb Thickslicks that came with the Bike, they are good for the Money.
I've used the Schwalbe Marathon on my Road Bike but for Fixed Gear they are to low on Preasure.
15 skids per dollar... :'D When you're throwing around calculations like this, you're definitely balls deep in the fixie scene. :'D Love it!
rando went through a change recently, so only the rando classic lasts any real amount of time!
Have to say that I saw that mash ac-3 scopes in the back
cant wait for the mash ac build
Thank you! Good eye ;)
I think you should have done the belt sander test with the tires mounted on the wheel and properly aired up.
tires were already popped if you didnt notice....
Please try to test Chaoyang Hippo tires
Most fixed gear riders here in Philippines uses chaoyang they say it is as thick as thickslick tires and durable for skidding.
as a brakeless rider, I tried gp5000s and never looked back. Now they're on all my bikes
I plan on running those as I also will be running a front brake. How long does your last?
I somewhat like the Gatorskins, but in my opinion they don’t have a lot of traction. I always slide out when it has rained or snowed
Nice idea for testing, becouse it takes in-field (skids) and laboratory (grinder) approaches. However, for the future tests I encourage you to develop basic statistical knowlendge to make the tests valid on the statistical level. Firstly, the basic thing is conducing the same run (trial) at least 3 times to get the average and error values. This allow you also to exclude outliers (values that are very far from average which could arise as a result of wrong boundary conditions, such as local manufacturing defect of the tire). After having the results, you can compare the outcomes. To compare it visually you can use "box and whisker plot" to see if "boxes" (quartile) are overlaping eachother. If yes, than there is a chance that there is no statistical difference between groups, thus the hypothesis about some tire being better cannot be confirmed. For quantitive evaluation you can conduct simple analysis of variance with the p-value of 0.05. I think all this can be done in Excel or some online websites. This is not so complicated as it sounds, novadays you don't really need the background knownledge about all of this becouse of software doing it for you.
Great test! I've been running thickslicks but got a slash in the front yesterday.
I'm pretty new but I have a front brake that I've used once for an emergency. I would have gone an extra foot or two before stopping and hit the car that cut me off. Curious why are brakes for this use still frowned on? Also it's nice to squeeze the brake when already stopped at a light to help lift the bike and reposition my cranks ;)
I'm keeping at least my front brake. You should always have at least 2 independent brakes on the bike so you have backup in case one fails (in the fixed gear case the two could be skidding for the rear and a front brake).
Honestly, I'm currently running two brakes because, why not lol.
I think the brakeless thing is a bleed over from track bikes. On the track, you don't really need a backup to stopping with the pedals and there's no cars trying to kill you. Some people just thought it seemed cool to run without brakes on the road as well. Brakes are light and cheap though, especially if you just have the front.
nimbus armadillo for the next test please !!! best tyre imo.
also what is the plug in the omniums ?
HAHAHAHAH dude you are brave that was funny and helpful af!!! Do you ever slide out going uphill on the thickslicks? I am. Have no idea why? Or maybe they suck? Lol.
Chaoyang Hipposkin, shark skin, and mini shark
Hi foad, watching from Philippines, what about kenda or chaoyang tire?? I use chaoyang Hippo 28c
Armadillo All Condition, beast of a tire.
Actually, I run thick slicks now and yes they feel more slippery BUT if u want more stopping power you just have to not lean as forward when you skid. When I need to stop in a dime, I just lift myself from the saddle and they do break hard. In your test you were leaning to much forward to be a real break test, obviously you didn't wanted to "break" because the test was to go down the hill, but I think, and I'm speaking from experience, you just have to adapt your skid position to your tires. I ran Continental Grand prix 4 seasons right before the thick slicks and they stopped so hard that I had to lean more forward to maintain a good skid. I prefer the thick slicks as it feels more natural to not lean as much when I skid.
I always heard the best skid tires are the ones you get cheap at the co-op or from your LBS takeoff pile.
I need this info!
What about cheaper ones? Eg. Kenda Kwest?
Once I have totaly destroyed gatorhardshell which is thicker that normal gatorskin in... ONE WEEK.. Yeah I love skids😂. My favourite I suppose is vittoria zaffiro. Cheap and longlasting.
But the most favourites are free used tires from my roadies)))
Cheap / free used tyres from bike snob buddies are the way to go!
gatorskin 4 life
I am a daily commuter on a fixed gear bike I'm also a bike mechanic me personally I f****** love dick slick 28c I can whip it get it everything this video was super informative thank you for posting these videos
I ride with brakes on my fixed gear bike and can't recommend Gatorkins for any wet weather riding. Almost slipped out doing a turn in walking speed, which IMO shouldn't happen at these speeds.
What's your gear ratio? And what's the best gear ratio for skidding?
Y’all should play bike polo in slc!!
Also make video of your experience! Please!!!!
ThickSlicks in the rain are dangerous. I'm speaking from NYC streets experience. Other places in the world idk. But I think they are made for fun and skids and tricks only. As far as riding goes. Gators all day.
Thickslick king forever
Try chao yang hippo skin super cheap has 3 layer and durability is good
I ordered some and plan to review in the next video.
Test the pirelli P zero road tire
I hate how the Gatorskin tread comes off in chunks. My only gripe about those besides the price. My go to tires for all around and trick riding are Continental Ultra Sport IIIs
Cst czar 1406
Best tyres for fixed gear bike, it's smthing cheap and thick, like kenda kriteiretum :)
Thanks for the suggestion!
Best cheapest tires/ pair
What wheelset do you use on your track bike?
This one is a custom inferno rim laced to surly hubs
17:40 - "There's something that will make any tire you have last a lot longer, and that's -just using breaks- a good gear ratio.
Brakes are great for reducing your need to skid. But if your purely looking at skidding gear ratio makes a big difference.
Could you test the gravelking at 26 mm
Gravelking slick or SK?
The sk
Chaoyong tire
how can you hold a skid so long? im having trouble holding them for more than a moment
Momentum helps, this hill is decently steep, otherwise I would have come to a complete stop.
You guys should American Tire next go around. $40 a tire, not much heavier than the big boy brands like Gravel Daddy Poop Walls
I can't believe anyone would switch back to Thickslick after Gatorskin.
how about chaoyangs?
I'm not sure we carry these in the US
ran-don-OOR
Tests have shown that bicycle tires do not need any tread.
What are the tasks of a tire tread? It's supposed to conduct water so that it doesn't build up in front of the tire while driving and then cause aquaplaning. It was calculated that even a fat bike would have to travel around 77kmh (48mph) to cause aquaplaning. A coarser tire profile is intended to ensure that the tire does not spin on or in loose surfaces but rather "works through" it, for example in snow or mud.
Or to put it the other way around, if it's slippery, it's slippery. Just think of a deserted road or wet cobblestones, no tire tread in the world will help. Which would also be illogical, positive(?) tire tread reduces the contact surface and thus promotes slipping. So if it's slippery, it would be better to have a slick that offers a little more contact surface due to less air pressure.
The Schwalbe company was once asked why they offer profiles on many tires. The answer was that the customer then feels safer.
The rubber compound will be more important, so in order to stop faster during skids, a softer tire would be an advantage.
The thick slick would then be unsuitable as a (visually cooler) front tire because it apparently has the hardest compound and therefore tends to slip more quickly.
If anyone has anything to criticize about the statements and (il)logical considerations I have read, please let me know.
..and it surprises me that the weights are metric, but the distance is imperial..and I immediately knew that 1/10 of a mile is 160m XD
poor me running on cst tires 35c
Thats not a real rando, only the classic lasts for skidding! And at least for daily street riding in SF traffic, once they break in with the red line all the way around before the threads show they offer the most control. And being able to track the wear so precisely with the 5 different layers lets you confidently run them down until you see the 3rd layer of threads without worrying about a blowout. They're definitely not fast or comfortable but they handle everything you throw at them in any weather.
I tried a gator in the fall when my $15 QBP rando stockpile ran out and initially I was loving how much faster it rolled and how little it seemed to wear. And while it skids pretty well in a longest skid competition sorta way, it feels way less responsive at the initial bite point which makes them worse on the street. And then once you hit that point where you break through the outer layer they are just done and need replacing immediately. I was still considering getting another one since it had lasted a good long while (mostly since I didnt skid as much) and are undeniably faster rolling but then the first rain storm hit and it might be the worst tire on the market outside of thickslicks on wet roads. Totally uncontrollable and a liability to wash out in the gentlest corners.
Interesting but you can also make your nice tires last a lot longer by just running a brake. GP5000 with a brake is a great fixed gear road tire. :-)
I ride Tufo hi-composite carbon 28mm tubular
Where the link to calculator
www.surplace.fr/ffgc/
i ride randonneurs all day hahahah only the rear wheel tho
Mash AC3 in the background😳🤔
If you want stopping power then you shouldn't lean forward when you skid
cheper the tyre longer it skids
Depends on the tire!
so you go downhill and need to brake but you just skid your way all the way down into the car
One way to do it.
lllll
80s Schwinn TravelerFG and 05KHS Flite 100 both built with love Mashing Gatorskins 🫡☝🏽