Tyres

SteveR_100Milers

Have been using mostly Vredestain Fortezza Tricomps on both winter and summer bikes for the last 12 months or so, like them for the reason that you can inflate them to pretty high pressures, and they grip well in the wet and dry. problem is they dont last very long, I get through a rear every 600-700 miles or so.
I have also used michelin pro-race II's which seem to wear better at some expense of wet weather grip.
I have put some conti gatorskins on my winter bike, but need some new rubber for the shiny new fulcrum 3's that are taunting me into use. Anything better value for money than either of the above, bearing in mind im not a light rider?
Puncture resistance and wear would be preferable to outright grip as they will be mostly used for TT's and a few sportives (i.e. no road racing where falling off usually has more seriously embarassing consequences).

robbarker

I found the same thng with tricomps - very good but wore out very quickly. I am running pro 2 race at the moment but they are fairly shot, so I'm lookking forward to receiving my pre-ordered prorace 3s any day now. I have come to the conclusion that Michelin roll as well as any but have a good combination of light weight, p*nct^re resistance and longevity.

Smokin Joe

Same here with the Tricomps, my rear tyre was down to the canvas after one summer. I still bought another as they are cheap and perform beautifully.

oldwelshman

well having ridden behind you I would suggest you fit pneumatic tyres 8)

Smokin Joe

oldwelshman wrote:

well having ridden behind you I would suggest you fit pneumatic tyres 8)

Where can I buy some new Matic tyres then? I've never heard of them.

SteveR_100Milers

oldwelshman wrote:

well having ridden behind you I would suggest you fit pneumatic tyres 8)

better start getting used to that concept buddy

Bought some tricomps found then at £14 online, cheapest race 2's were £20

Garybee

I use Vittoria Rubinos on the training bike. They're a bit heavy to be racing on, don't roll too well either, but are fine for training. The rear did over 7000 miles before showing the canvas with no more than 3 or 4 p******es.

Lagavulin

I like the Fortezza Tricomps. I've got them on both my good wheels - and my winter wheels now that the roads seem to be cleaning up - but I know what you mean about the wear rate.

Providing they've got decent puncture resistance I'm willing to trade off some longevity for good grip (and I only solo ride for pleasure and fitness) and its the grip in both varying conditions that has impressed me with the Tricomps.

Haven't tried Pro Race 2's but I was very impressed with the protection and longevity of the 23C Krylion Carbons I ran for a couple of months (and in some awful conditons).

When it comes to spec'ing my new bike I'm think I'm going to try some MIchelin Pro Race 2's or some Schwalbe Ultremos.

I also intend to give Conti GP4000/4000S a second chance once I've got two road bikes. I've £85 worth of virtually untouched Conti's lying around which with hindsight I feel I was a bit harsh on (they're too good for the turbo).

Mettan

I use Rubino Pro's (folding) - good mid-range tyre - can get them on Wiggle for £15 - obviously you can get better for 24/25 quid and worse for 7/8 quid, but as an affordable mid-range tyre they're competent enough.

fluff.

How are the Rubino Pro's in the wet? Just replacing some Michelin Lithions which were an impulse buy in Sept, only to find they are *lethal* in the wet, the front end has disappeared on me twice in two months... not good.

ninjaslim

If you like high pressure 160? recommended

try Vittoria Diamonte Pro light's they came on a bike I bought and i gave them a couple of hundred miles, but they were well rugged saw off a 350 mile week in france and plenty more close to home, still going strong and they are about 100g less than your Michelin Pro 2 / open corsa CX etc.

unbelivable have alook around online probikefit had them a little while ago arounf 20quid a piece

Mettan

fluff. wrote:

How are the Rubino Pro's in the wet? Just replacing some Michelin Lithions which were an impulse buy in Sept, only to find they are *lethal* in the wet, the front end has disappeared on me twice in two months... not good.

I've found them reasonably "ok" Fluff - having said that, I try and keep cornering and front wheel breaking reasonably conservative in the wet so I can't really overstate the recomendation - looking at the Lithions I'd suspect the Rubino Pro's are a better tyre, but again though, I'd describe them as a reliable good performing mid-range tyre, nothing more or less really - (the Diamonte's look better again and the Open Corsa's should be able to handle most things)

daniel_b

My Felt came fitted with Pro race 2 Service course tyres - are they any different from non service course ones?

They roll very nicely, and according to the previous owner, and I had no reason to disbelieve him, he fitted the tyres only 3 months prior to my purchase, which would probably mean they have only covered somewhere in the region of 300 miles maximum.

Should I expect a good amount of use out of them?

In the dry they are superb, but as mentioned above, in the wet they leave a little bit to be desired - mine are 23's - does anyone go 20's?

I run mine at between 100-120psi, I think the limit is 120 on the sidewall, but I see people talking about 160, is that a good idea or a bad idea....?!

Dan

redddraggon

Daniel B wrote:

My Felt came fitted with Pro race 2 Service course tyres - are they any different from non service course ones?

There's two different types of Service Course tyres.

There's the Normal (which most people have) Pro Race 2s that have "service course" written on them. This is what most Pro Race 2s are, I've got red ones, you've got the yellow ones.

Then there's some Special limited edition Light Blue Pro Race 2s, pretty rare, not many were imported into the UK. These one's were called the "Service Course" edition, confusing everything as the normal PR2s have "Service Course" written on them aswell.

SteveR_100Milers

You can inflate the tricomps to 175 psi, IIRC the 2's are limited to 115 or maybe 120 ish? Latter I would guess is more than enough even for 98 kg rider like me, I wouldnt dare try and stick more than 120 into any tyre!

Garybee

Also consider your wheel's ability to take that pressure. It's not just the tyre that has to take the load, people tend to overlook the wheel.

davy king

specialized all condition pro with armidillo puncture protection you dont know how good these tyres are till you use them.

bicyclerubber

I would either go with one of the tufo tubulars for hp rims (maybe the C Elite Lite) or one from the Challenge range (nice handmade jobbies a la Veloflex) probably the Elite or Gara

alfablue

davy king wrote:

specialized all condition pro with armidillo puncture protection you dont know how good these tyres are till you use them.

agree 100%

Meds1962

Another vote for rubino pro folding tyres for price , durability and puncture resistance. I made the mistake of replacing my last set with michelin pro race 2 which roll well but they are far more prone to punctures.