Viewing 24 posts - 1 through 24 (of 24 total)
  • what tyres for…..Road Bikes
  • Killer
    Free Member

    I’m after some new road tyres for the nice road bike. (ie non-commuting duties)

    looking on-line i can’t work out what a good tyre is supposed to look like.

    What are teh ‘faster’ road tyres? the race tyres as it were? clearly the pros can’t tolerate punctures so woudln’t run soemthign super thin and lightweight, but how does one tell the difference.

    eg . this looks a good lightweight tyre CRC – Michelin Lithion _£12.50 inc tube
    But so does this
    Michelin Pro Race 3 £15
    or for the pricer
    Michelin pro Service 4 – £23

    this is before i get onto the £85 per pair COntinental Grand Prixs.

    Help?

    LS
    Free Member

    Buy the Pro4s – they’re as tough as old boots, grippy, and very fast. I use them 12 months of the year for general duties and fast training.

    jonba
    Free Member

    Continental GP4000s They can be had for £60 a pair if you google. Light and relatively puncture resistant. Race and train on mine.

    twinklydave
    Full Member

    Veloflex Masters for lovely ride feel/low rolling resistance/light weight 🙂

    Michelin Lithion 2’s for training/”just riding”/decent tyre for much cheapness

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    I’m using scrabbly ones tubeless just now – much nicer feeling than other tyres I’ve used (hutchinson, conti gp4000s, err, …)

    Not sure that the nice feel is fast but it is “nice”

    They’re also as grippy as I need and seem to resisit flinty cuts pretty well

    (25s)

    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    Used to be a Michelin fan but my Pro 4s cut up and wore in next to no time. Went to Conti GP4000s and am happy with the grip, rolling resistance and durability. They were £25 at Ribble at the time. I did switch to latex tubes at the same time, as reviews said the Conti’s were a bit wooden feeling so the latex tubes seem to have negated that.

    Mister-P
    Free Member

    Blimey, I knew 23c was unfashionable these days but I didn’t realise how cheap they had become.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    I’m with scaredypants. The one tubeless is working well for me but mine are made by schwalbe.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    For nice race/summer bike? Get something like Vittoria Corsa CX or GP4000S. High TPI. Go for latex tubes too, you’ll notice the difference.

    clearly the pros can’t tolerate punctures so woudln’t run soemthign super thin and lightweight, but how does one tell the difference.

    Pros are usually followed by a car with a spare bike and loads of spare wheels on the roof 🙂

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    I found that the Bonti race lites cut up less than some of the other racey tyres that I have had.
    I know that’s more to do with what surfaces you ride on( and a bit of luck),and I still use Vittoria and Michelins,but it’s heartbreaking after a few rides when it looks like something has been at them with a mini blade. 🙁

    lunge
    Full Member

    If it’s for a summer/race bike get something light and fast in 25mm, Veloflex Masters are my choice, Vittoria Open Corsa’s of various varieties and Schwalbe One’s are also pretty good.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    but mine are made by schwalbe

    booo!
    fondly known as Scrabbly round my house (mostly due to NNs, which I’ve found to be scrabbly, fragile and burpy)
    The ones have really surprised me though – v good

    alanf
    Free Member

    I got some Vittoria Open Paves to do Flanders on in 27 flavour.
    I think I’m just going to keep these on as they feel lovely, and with the state of the roads round here it’s almost like the Flanders cobbles anyway!

    geetee1972
    Free Member

    Any tyre that is of the ‘open tubular’ variety will have a noticeably nicer feel to it than a regular vulcanised carcass, especially when paired with a latex inner tube.

    Open tubulars are made by Vittoria (the Open Corsa or Open Pave), Challenge, Veloflex and Clement (if you can find them).

    They are no more expensive than a high quality Conti equivalent but they will wear quite a bit faster. Expect to get maybe 1500-2000 miles out of them where you’d get double that from a conti.

    rusty90
    Free Member

    I got some Vittoria Open Paves to do Flanders on in 27 flavour.

    Challenge Paris-Roubaix 27 Open here, for similar reasons.

    theflatboy
    Free Member

    I do like GP4000s, but even on my summer only bike find they get ripped to shreds well before they wear out. Is this just the price you pay for lighter faster tyres, or are there alternatives intended for the same usage that are more resilient? I’m thinking I may switch to Gatorskins or 4 Seasons just so they last longer…

    geetee1972
    Free Member

    Is this just the price you pay for lighter faster tyres

    Pretty much.

    lunge
    Full Member

    Road tyres are all a compromise between weight, grip and durability. You’ve got something like a Schwalbe Marathon Plus at one end of the scale (heavy but bomb-proof) and then something like a Veloflex Master at the other end (light, grippy but not durable.

    The closest I’ve found to ticking all the boxes is the Vredestein Senso Xtreme, they roll well, grip is good, they’re not too heavy and they’re reasonably durable too. They do feel a bit dead though. They’re my current road bike tyre, got a lovely pair of Veloflex on the summer bike.

    geetee1972
    Free Member

    I’m currently about 1500 miles into an experiment to see if I can reduce that compromise to a minimum by running tubs.

    Currently have a set of Vittoria Pave’s mounted on some Ambrosio Nemesis wheels. The tubs have latex solution in them to reduce…well you know what I mean. 1500 miles so far and no….you know whats.

    cp
    Full Member

    I’ve had a couple of pairs of pro3 and some schwalbe ultremo recently. The schwalbes were very nicer feeling, but for 30 quid a pair, I couldn’t overlook the pro3’s. So got a couple of pairs.

    sandboy
    Full Member

    The Lithion’s are a great all round training tyre that have been around £12-15 for a few years now. Unless you are racing, there is no better tyre for the money.

    globalti
    Free Member

    Veloflex open Corsas for me with latex inners. Bliss!

    chakaping
    Free Member

    My Pro 4s have lasted really well, though they are on my “dry” bike.

    Pro 3s were good too, if you’re after 23mm tyres I’m flogging a pair which I only stopped using because I got a bike that could take 25s.

    http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-shimano-10sp-road-bits-pro-3-tyres.

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