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A bit of a first impressions review,
My bike came with 25mm Luganos on, so I bought some 25mm Conti GP4000s ii to replace them.
Turns out they come up slightly bigger and a quite a bit lighter, pumped to 110psi they feel better, like changing wellies to trainers.
On long climbs like we have around here, they feel easier to keep on turning when it gets steep. They also soak up some of the dodgy road erosion which sometimes catches me unawares, it's a bugger when that happens into a bend on a descent.
Whenever I braked on the Luganos, I felt that they soon went into skid mode on the descents and didn't fill me with confidence. This has been rectified with the new Contis. They are definitely more sure footed.
It's no surprise that more expensive tyres turn out to be better than cheaper ones of course, but hopefully this will be of use to someone when trying to decide whether it is worth paying the extra.
Proper roadies will probably know this stuff already, but it's all a revelation to me and seemingly a genuine upgrade.
Just hope they last well as I heard of problems with the original model, but hopefully that has all been sorted.
Nice aren't they. Stick some latex tubes in and they'll be even nicer.
25mm at 110psi? How heavy are you. At 70kg I run mine about 90 - much more comfortable.
Diminishing returns on tyres but there is a lot of merit in going for something reasonable - matters even more when it is wet out.
6ft, 90kg, so as my weight comes down, as it is quite dramatically since I bought the road bike, I'll be playing with the pressures, a bit. I have the Col De La Madone on my doorstep so good tyres are well worth it to me.
Went through a phase of spending money on GP4000s, only for on and off bike incidents destroying them one after the other. Usually the sidewalls tore. Probably just bad luck, but galling as they are expensive. They rode nicely whilst I could keep them in one piece though.
At 70kg I run mine about 90
Oh yeah, and about 80 on the front and 90 on the back for me (about 70kg too). They'll feel even nicer.
Yak, that's not the updated tyre you have been blowing out is it?
I'd heard about dodgy sidewalls on the previous model, but nothing bad about the newer series 2 model
Will have to look into latex tubes, never tried them.
Oh, don't know. Was a few years ago.
No - definitely the older one. And mostly user error/ bad luck too.
Schwalbe One is cheaper, just as good and more importantly looks much better and we all know that's the most important bit.
[b][u]jonba[/u][/b] - [u]Member[/u]
25mm at 110psi? How heavy are you. At 70kg I run mine about 90 - much more comfortable.
[b][u]mrblobby[/u][/b] - [u]Member[/u]Oh yeah, and about 80 on the front and 90 on the back for me (about 70kg too). They'll feel even nicer.
Hmm, looks like I may need to make some adjustment. Being a complete roadie novice, my perception of road bike tyres is(was?) that they're supposed to be pumped up as hard as they'll go. Hence, my shiny new 23c Michelin Pro 3 Service Course have got 115 psi in them, as that's what the sidewall marking said is the maximum. I confess that on my first (and, so far, only) ride, I felt every little bump in the road and actually got a wierd 'claw' cramp about halfway round where I was struggling to release my grip on the drops to move back up to the hoods; I put this down to me not being used to the vibrations of a rigid road bike but assumed it was something I will acclimatise to and no longer suffer the cramp.
I weigh around 13 stone and the bike is a CAAD 8.
@jonba has it, same with me 75kg rider, run at about 90 front and rear, and they soak up the terrible roads here on my commute,
currently on cheap inners, but might go for latex stuff,
touching wood, p*nctures have been few and very far between
theres some interesting articles on winter tyres on road.cc if anyone want to compare....
Next time you need new ones treat yourself to some Veloflex Masters. Light weight, look great and my oh my they perform well. Loads of grip, loads of feel and are just plain fast. Bit fragile and puncture prone mind you.
I got latex tubes, ditched them as the constant re-inflation required drove me to distraction!
I get what you're saying Robdob, on my other bikes it would me as well.
The roadbike has such skinny tyres in comparison to what I'm used to so I like to check the pressures anyway.
Veloflex Masters
Got some Records on the front of the TT bike, they are paper thin! Lovely though.
I got latex tubes, ditched them as the constant re-inflation required drove me to distraction!
Really? I just pump them up before each ride. I use to check pressures before each ride anyway so not really a chore. Worth it too.