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From: fred@varian.UUCP (Fred Klink)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: Tire Pressure, etc.....  & Turbo R's
Message-ID: <381@varian.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 4-Oct-85 15:55:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: varian.381
Posted: Fri Oct  4 15:55:22 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Oct-85 05:51:10 EDT
References: <5490003@acf4.UUCP> <> <368@cubsvax.UUCP>
Organization: Varian, Walnut Creek, CA
Lines: 24

> >Face it, we've probably all been hoodwinked
> >by Specialized's tire tread ads, and the only reason they're
> >not recommending turbo/rs for all surfaces is because they would
> >be admitting that they've been selling us extra rubber for years.
> >
> >-Ben Leimkuhler
> 
> Ever tried them in the rain?  (I haven't, but I suspect that's where they'd
> lose it.  Just like smooth automobile tires, which have been around for 
> years, and which do hold the track better than treaded tires when it's dry.)
> -Peter S. Shenkin

It interesting to compare the Avocet and Specialized ads for smooth tires.
Avocet summarizes a magazine-conducted test of smoothies on wet pavement
that showed they are *superior* to treaded tires.  (They claim) a car tire has
a relatively large, flat surface which can hydroplane unless grooves are
provided to remove the film of water between the tire and the road.  The
bicycle tire, on the other hand, has a very small contact patch and a rounded
surface.  These combine to displace water from under the tire, therefore
its dry where tire and road are in contact.  Theory is then, a smooth tire
puts more rubber on the road than a treaded tire and is safer in the wet.
The tests seem to back them up.  Specialized doesn't show any wet weather
tests, just rolling resistance, but assert that you should *never* use 
smooth tires in wet conditions.  Who ya gonna believe?