Had a scary moment yesterday, doing 40+ on the road bike and the front tyre decides its going to seperate the rubber from the carcas and leave me with a 1 inch bleb in the tyre, the profile of the tyre again that caught on the forks every rotation. I had about 130psi in which may have been just over the reccommended 125 but still i wouldnt have expected that to happen.

I have just got the bike so dont know how old they are, they dont look too worn, they are specialized roubaix 700×23/25 and need to replace them with something, but what. I aint a clue when it comes to these skinny tyres so any reccommendations? It will be mostly used for jaunts out and training as oppose to commuting if that helps, oh and there on a Mavic CXP rim

Cheers

If the bike is a Spesh Roubaix, get Roubaix tyres – the tyres/frame/inserts etc are all meant to work together to make a comfortable ride, and I’ve stuck with that combination

If it’s a different bike, I’ve had a great year riding Michelin Krylion Carbons – come in 23 and 25mm flavours depending on how much comfort you want. My first pair did 3000 miles of commuting/winter riding on potholed and glass strewn streets and only got two glass punctures in that year. They are now back in stock in the UK so I have got another pair, as my back tyres has over 50 nicks and cuts in it. Expensive but worth it, I reckon

It is a roubaix, do the tyres actually make any difference to the comfort? I would have thought at bollock hard pressure nothing would make a difference?

Swadey, do i have to use Giant tyres on my roadbike? 😛

Conti gp4000s are the tyres of choice for many. You can use any tyres and you will be fine to use other brands other than specialized

conti ultra gators

I’ve just fitted the GP4000s (that’s the Black Chilli ones) to my roadie and they definitely feel faster than my older road tyres.

Are you not running Planet X tyres on your bike then?

I don’t have a Planet X bike……

‘checks stalking facts’

What you riding then?

I’m afraid the over-branding on the PX rather put me off. Jojo has one though.

Ran Ultremo’s for the majority of last year, and will be doing the same this year 🙂

oh, a focus ‘scribbles note’

they are lovely looking bikes. what wheels are they?

Those are the Aksium Race, but I’ve since replaced them with Ksyriums Elites and the GP4000s (I was feeling a bit flush). I can’t decide whether or not to keep the Aksiums or just sell them.

Not cheap but the Vittoria CX Pave 24mm tyres are great, comfy and fast rolling.
Contis cant be faulted either, but I’m a long standing fan of file tread tyres rather than cut slicks like continentals.

conti gp4000 for me, and some lightweight innertubes.

“but I’m a long standing fan of file tread tyres rather than cut slicks like continentals.”

siping or tread doesn’t really do much on a road tyre, it’s often just put there to make you think you will have more grip in the wet. it’s impossible to aquaplane a bike tyre unless you get up to about 70+mph. because the road is rougher than the tyre surface it’s the rubber compound and the high tpi carcass deforming around the road surface that gives you the grip.

sheldon brown explains it better:

http://www.everydaycycling.com/edc/news/WiseWords/wise_words_tyres.aspx

That is probably so Mrsmith, but I know what tyres I prefer when cornering hard and fast in the bunch.
Tried Pro Race tyres (totally slick) and I found they actually slipped and skidded.

Tried Pro Race tyres and I found they actually slipped and skidded. (totally slick)

Mr Smith is right.

Did it occur to you there might have been another factor?

What I’m trying to say is that when you have so many companies selling their tyres at £25 all claiming this or that all coming in at the same weight with nothing between them on paper, I’ll go for the ones that have served me well and performed the best in the past.
Saying that I was brought up on Clement Criteriums, so slicks are still up there with witchcraft as far as I’m concerned. However I did race Contis clinchers in the eighties and ninties when they were file pattern and tub like.