Hi all, having never really ridden a road bike but many around me doing so I am taking the plunge. Pretty much decided on the new 2013 Trek 1.2 having ridden one at the weekend.
BUT my LBS said I might want to consider upgrading the tyres for something more puncture proof (Conti gatorskins) for £20. What do our resident roadies think? Stick with the standard Bonty T1’s or spend £20 on the upgrade?
EDIT
I will be riding mainly country roads and quite a lot of riding in the wet

Depends what the roads are like around you really. I’ve only had one road puncture in the last two years and that was with a “puncture resistant” tyre on (to be fair, it was a massive pothole and my lack of attention, but lets blame the tyre). Even with standard tyres, I’ve not had problems but I DO run fairly resistant ones on my bikes anyway.

thanks atlaz, you beat me to my edit! Probably not great quality roads – I don’t like cycling on main roads so lots of back country lanes.

Personally just give the one’s on the bike a go – if you start having probs then change.
Don’t forget to pump them up hard!!

I wouldn’t bother unless there are a lot of thorns (country) or glass (town).

On this subject (sort off) just got a road bike, I can’t get my park tool track pump to get up to the required 110psi for the tyres, goes to about 80 and pump head actually blows off the valve (Presta) and iv to finish them off with my wee hand pump.

Surely a park tool track pump should do it ok?

You have unscrewed the top of the valve havent you?

Yep, run Presta on the other bikes with no problem.

Seems to the pump struggling to get above 80psi?

I’d stick with the stock tyres for now, but like with a mountain bike, road bike tyres make a significant difference to things like ride quality, rolling resistance, grip etc. I’m constantly amazed at how big that difference can be.

After a recommendation from Strada I recently fitted a pair of Vittoria Open Paves and they really lovely. The bike rides better, feeling like there is less resistance and greater comfort, sort of like the difference between a set of clinchers versus a good set of tubulars.

The Open Paves are the clincher version of the tubular tyre that is designed for use in things like the Paris-Roubaix, i.e. cobbles, mud etc, so they have some puncture proofing also built in. They aren’t cheap mind, but they are quality.

cheers geetee1972, the tyres look great but a bit expensive for me, if I get into road riding properly maybe in the future but they are too expensive to warranty buying now! Maybe I will ask the LBS about better wet weather tyres (mrs nacho came off today on a wet corner)

what about these? good reviews and not a bad price?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=31765

Conti GP4000s. Expensive (£26 from ribble) but very good in the wet and as puncture proof as your going to get. Buy once and forget about them for a few thousand miles. The Tyre of choice around these parts and in our local club for a reason.

I have a set of Michelin Kyrilion to use when my current Schwalbe tyres go off. At the very least they’ll go on next spring when the weather improves

Been using these since my return to the ‘dark side’ over the Summer…

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/tyres-tubes/road-tyres-tubes/vittoria-road-tyres/vittoria-rubino-pro-3-folding-tyre.html

Scottish borders roads, grippy in the wet, no cuts or punctures after 1,200 miles and the ToT Sportive.

there is always a compromise to be made with tyres, in the wet you want more grip (rubber) –but they wear a lot quicker, i prefer to have the grip myself,but go for a mid price job.

I used to use Gatorskins, they’re very slippy in the wet, to the point that I would get a bit of wheelspin when pulling away from lights. Had some VERY near falls too.

Now using Conti GP4Seasons which are stickier, but don’t seem to be slower.

Bonty Race Lites have the puncture proof in the middle they are great.Run your tyres at 100psi should be fine.When it gets to winter alot of wet leaves on the road etc best to get some tyres with good tread on them and save the slicks for spring.Trek 1 series 2013 is amazing price they are last years 2series frames £500 frame.

tyres with good tread on them

Um, no.
‘Tread’ on road tyres is there to sell tyres, it makes little difference to grip.

Conti race ultra 23’s and spech armadilloe 25’s for winter, never had puncture problems with either and I’m a chubber…..

‘Tread’ on road tyres is there to sell tyres, it makes little difference to grip.

+0.5

Sometimes it’s there for aero reasons, but rarely/never for grip.

I fine it helps abit of tread on them in the winter over slicks.Specially over alot of farmers mud they bring onto the lanes.Everybody to there own.

cheers all, most of my riding will be in the winter so thinking of seeing if I can get the LBS to swap/upgrade for contiGP4000’s or buy some of the cheap(ish) vittoria’s and e-bay the stock tyres. I nearly came off going round a corner on the test ride, not used to these skinny tyres!!!

Keep the stock tyres and use them on the turbo in the winter – I doubt you’d get much for them and if they’re wire beaded the’ll be a pain to post

Another vote for Conti GP4000s – only had one puncture and that was hitting a pot hole. Significant improvement on the Conti Ultra Sport that came with my bike.