Wet weather on these tyres?

[Geoff Crowther]

So ... my gorgeous new, first road bike - a Cube Peloton Pro Triple - has shiny Schwalbe Ultremo ZX tyres. They've no tread pattern at all - the shameless hussies.
Since buying the bike on Weds it's been delightful weather and, two rides in, I'm starting to get comfortable on this luscious machine.
The question is, forgive my ignorance here, what happens when the roads are wet or, heaven forbid, it's raining. Will I end up in a slithering heap in the road?
Do I need to invest in different, all weather tyres?
I should add, I have an MTB and a rugged, tourer so I could restrict the Cube to fair weather use, but, one day, it might rain unexpectedly (shock, horror, cue dramatic Hammer Horror style piano).
Please ... do tell .

BTW I'm so flippin' excited about my new bike, and the fact that next Saturday me & my pal are off on a short cycle camping tour to Scotland, that I can't sleep (no mate, NOT on the Cube, please keep up). Which is why I'm posting at 5.27 in the morning .

 

[screenman]

I have ridden near slicks and slicks for most of my cycling life and have not had a problem in the wet. A quick Google gives good reports of them in both wet and dry conditions.

 

[Geoff Crowther]

Hey, that's good to hear. Thanks for your experience mate.

 

[Eribiste]

My ride is a road bike on 700 x 23's with no tread too. I'm very conscious that I'm attached to the road by gravity and two thumbprint sized bits of smooth rubber! I do go a bit steady in the wet, but I've never had a slip or slide. The tyres seem to be much braver than I am!

 

[Geoff Crowther]

Thanks Eribiste. You sound about as "brave" as me.

 

[Cold]

I haven't had any problems with the same tyres in the rain.

 

[Broadside]

Road surfaces are not glassy smooth, if they were then you would need some tread. The reality is the imperfections in tarmac are enough to leave gaps for the water to escape from the tiny tyre contact point and so you will find plenty of grip with slick road tyres.

Obviously there is not as much grip as in the dry but there is no need to be thinking of different tyres for the wet for grip reasons.

 

[Geoff Crowther]

Thanks Broadside. That's just the kind of simple, technical info I needed to help me understand.
Cheers

 

[Shut Up Legs]

The lack of a tread pattern won't cause any problems. See here for an interesting article on tyre treads:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#tread

 

[cyberknight]

Slicks are fine on the wet as a bikes weight and speed mean you cant aquaplane , its more tyre compound that affect's grip in the wet .An example often quoted is gatorskins being sketchy in the wet although its learning how much you can push certain tyres .
Personally although ultremos are great i would not use them for all year riding as they cut up very easily and are not as puncture resistant as others but thats the trade off you pay for a fast rolling tyreso it would be ultremos for summer and something like conti 4 seasons for the winter maybe?

 

[Cycleops]

With a high pressure 23c tyre the area in contact with the road is tiny so there is no need for a tread pattern to clear water and no danger of aqua planing as in car tyres. Any skittishness you might feel in the wet is down to contamination of the road surface rather than the fault of the tyre.

 

[jack smith]

Road bike tyres are supposed to be slick, the more contact the rubber makes with the road the better the grip in theory

 

[Octet]

AVOID drain covers and be careful when going over painted road markings!

 

[Geoff Crowther]

Thank you all for very useful, informative advice.

 

[Geoff Crowther]

AVOID drain covers and be careful when going over painted road markings!

Thanks.
Just the advice I gave students when teaching CBT (compulsory basic training) on motorcycles.