Knobbies for pavement?

[laura*]

It sounds like you've been riding for quite a while and should have a good sense of road/path feel, so I would trust your instincts.

When I reached the bottom of the steepest part, I stopped because something just didn't feel right. I was thinking to myself: "I've been up this hill 100 times (on the old knobbies) before. Why am I scared now?"

Having said that, I would let the air out of the tires a bit to see if that helps

Hmmm, I do have the semi-slicks pumped way up for street/commute riding...

before you get rid of those tires; I noticed that you never actually DID slip. I suggest you TRY to slip, my smooth tires are very "sticky" even in the rain.

Aren't slicks and semi-slicks supposed to actually be better on pavement due to the increased surface contact?

The pavement at the location in question isn't in good condition. It has a lot of loose stuff on it. I have spun knobbies at that location before - all it takes is standing up to pedal up the hill. My fear now was not that the rear tire would slip, but that any slip would be not recoverable.

Actually, the whole paved path is in poor condition. It is covered with a lot of leaves, twigs, pebbles, sand, and the occasional mountain lion scat. Plus tree roots pushing through, cracks, areas of settlement, and patch upon patch. Many of the non-urban roads I might ride are in similar condition.

Coming down the hill (to get to the climb), the front of my bike felt light - the way that steering feels when driving on ice. I think is partly why I felt scared at the steep climb.

How skinny are the tyres?

1.9" with the slick portion in the middle being about 3/4" and then knobs on the sides.

My Dutch Commuting bike has some really sweet wide tires that have knobs on the outside but not in the middle. It works really well.

I think these are Dutch tires! (Vredestein?) They've been great for urban commute type riding.

I use WTB's All Terrainasaurus on my mtn bike for pavement and light off road use. ... They don't buzz on the pavement, have good rolling resistance, corner well but also do well in light gravel or dirt. Not sure how well they would do on wet surface because they're rated for moist surface.

Those look like they might be good for me. BTW, there's no water involved here. The last proper rain was, oh, four months ago - and none is expected for another two.