Topic starter
I've a friend who's got her first (Sprint) triathlon coming up. She's got a basic-ish gravel bike, and wants some road tyres for it.
700x30/32. Not tubeless. Ideally folding bead. Doesn't need to be a race tyre. Doesn't need to be a commuter tyre with bomb-proof puncture protection. Just averagely fast, averagely robust.
Ideally no more than £20ish each.
I've used Continental Gran Sort (I think) for similar in the past. Anything else to consider?
Posted : 14/04/2025 9:04 pm
I've just got a Continental Ultra Sport iii as a replacement for a Roubaix Pro. Can't tell the difference so far and they get very good reviews and have very low rolling resistance.
Posted : 14/04/2025 9:14 pm
goodyear eagle sport
Posted : 14/04/2025 9:33 pm
I'm a fan of Rubinos:
Currently going for £16 an end at Banana industries.
Posted : 14/04/2025 11:01 pm
chakaping reacted
+1 for Rubino Pros. Fast rolling. Fairly puncture free. The only times mine have punctured were a humungous thorn and when I badly mistimed hopping a kerb and thumped it at speed with the back wheel.
And cheap.
Posted : 15/04/2025 7:22 am
came here to say Rubinos, only had a couple of rides on mine but fast and tough enough for me
Posted : 15/04/2025 7:33 am
Rubino or Zaffiro. I have Zaffiros on both vintage road bikes - they roll well enough, and they handle crappy back roads (grit and pot holes) well. Only 25c mind, no tractor tyres.
Posted : 15/04/2025 7:54 am
Another vote for Rubino here.
Posted : 15/04/2025 9:36 am
I'd normally say the Conti Ultra-Sport or Grand Sport depending on budget, but the newer 25c ultra-sports on my road bike have been a bit of a puncture fest this winter. Whereas the older 28c one on my commuter hasn't had one in years (other than a pinch flat when it was slammed into a pothole and buckled the rim). Might be down to relative mileages and luck but that must be at least 1 puncture a week or 1 per tyre per ~200miles.
Careful with Vittoria, I got some 23C tyres for the track bike in the CRC fire sale thinking they were going to be the mid range racy tyres but turned out to be some super heavy cheap ones. They make good tyres, just make sure you check the exact model you're buying.
And TBH I wouldn't worry too much about wire beads on a Tri. It's not like she'll be in a bunch having to constantly accelerate.
Posted : 15/04/2025 11:09 am
Bought Goodyear Eagle Sports for my bike in 30mm flavour, basically because I wanted tan walls for my black bike but didn't wanna spend stupid money. They're actually fantastic! Feel very fast and whilst I bought them just before the recent dry spell and haven't tested them in the wet, they feel very grippy. They were like £25 each from Tweeks which is about a quarter of the price of a GP5000 from some places.
I'd advise getting them in 32mm though if width is wanted - the 30mm ones measure up at 28mm on my Fulcrum 66 rims. Bugger to fit as well for some reason. I think they have a puncture strip in them as well so should do quite well for robustness.
Posted : 15/04/2025 4:54 pm
I was gonna say to get on Banana Industries, they seem to specialise in unremarkable tyres for low prices.
Or grab some OE tyres that someone has taken off a new bike from eBay?
Posted : 16/04/2025 2:07 pm
