What makes a good road tyre?

over-the-hill
over-the-hill Posts: 144
edited May 2008 in Workshop
What makes a good road tyre? How much difference does one tyre have over another apart from weight? How does a good tyre feel compared to a bad tyre?

Comments

  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    When you run your finger inside a bad road tyre, you get a cut from the little piece of glass that's poking through the carcass. :shock:
  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    over-the-hill wrote:
    What makes a good road tyre? How much difference does one tyre have over another apart from weight? How does a good tyre feel compared to a bad tyre?

    HI there.

    In order of my preference:

    - Low Rolling Resistance
    - Cornering Grip in the dry
    - Predictable Wet Weather Grip
    - Weight
    - Puncture Protection
    - Longevity

    There's a pdf somewhere from an issue of last year's german Tour magazaine which rates pretty much these criteria. The Conti GP4000s and the Michelin Pro Race 2 came out top if I remember right.

    How much difference does a good tyre make? Night and Day. A good set of tyres can transform the handling of your bike, probably more than changing the wheels.

    The best tyres will have you zinging along the tarmac, and inspire confidence to nail every turn. A bad tyre will feel heavy and change it's mind halfway through a corner...

    Cheers, Andy
    http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk
    http://www.stirlingtri.co.uk
  • pedylan
    pedylan Posts: 768
    The article andrewturnbull mentioned is here. As others have pointed out it was published before launch of PR3's.

    http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle ... ghters.pdf
    Where the neon madmen climb
  • over-the-hill
    over-the-hill Posts: 144
    How are Vittoria Rubino Pros regarded?
  • graham_g
    graham_g Posts: 652
    over-the-hill wrote:
    How are Vittoria Rubino Pros regarded?

    I've wondered this ever since I fitted a pair to the other half's bike - puncture protection seems pretty good thus far (500 odd miles and fingers crossed nothing yet!).
  • attica
    attica Posts: 2,362
    I've wondered this ever since I fitted a pair to the other half's bike - puncture protection seems pretty good thus far (500 odd miles and fingers crossed nothing yet!).

    I've managed about 3000 miles on my Rubino Pros without a single puncture, just bought a new pair as the old ones were starting to come apart at the seams, they still ride really well and I'll be keeping them as spares.
    "Impressive break"

    "Thanks...

    ...I can taste blood"
  • simbil1
    simbil1 Posts: 620
    pedylan wrote:
    The article andrewturnbull mentioned is here. As others have pointed out it was published before launch of PR3's.

    http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle ... ghters.pdf

    Thanks for posting that - I was almost going to jump ship from conti to pr3's, but GP4000-S will be the next tyre I buy. It would be interesting to see how the pr3's do and also how the old GP4000 (i.e. not S) compares.
    http://picasaweb.google.com/thefirstsimbil/Bikes
  • acorn_user
    acorn_user Posts: 1,137
    It's really hard to gauge this. Look at user review websites. Most reviews are either 1 or 5 stars, depending on how many incidents they had. One thing that has not been mentioned is a supple carcass. This helps everything feel fluid as things flex. If you're racing cross, it's more important, but I like the open tubulars I am using now. Challenge, Gommitalia, Veloflex and Deda Tre all use this kind of design.

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