Tires...again

duckson

Looking for some 700 x 23c for all round use (commuting, daytime rides when i have time etc), my main critieria are must be fast (ie low weight) and decent puncture resistance.....currently seen the following recommended;

Schwalbe Blizzard
Schwalbe Ultremo R
Michelin Krylion
Michelin Pro Race 3

Anymore i should consider or even strike off the list?
Paying less than £25 a tire would be nice! :oops:

Chip \'oyler

Go for the Blizzards in Winter. I have the folding versions and are brilliant. In fact they aren't much worse than my Ultremos.

giant_man

Michelin Krylions or the ProRace 3s.

Mog Uk

Krylion Carbons.....

System_1

I quite fancy some Ultremos for the good bike but I'd never use them for commuting, too light.

I'm a big fan of Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp. Lovely lovely tires. Used to be able to get them from Parkers for £13 but they've gone up to £20 :? Still worth the money.

duckson

Actually the Ultremo R's outpoint the Blizzards in all areas according to the Schwalbe website.....a review describes them as a good all condition tire.

Why get a specific winter tire or supposed specific winter tire when half of the supposed summer tires are superior in all departments? :?

Anyone who says go for the Krylions knows of stock in the UK for 700x23?

nickwill

ProRace 3s are brilliant for 2-3000 summer miles. In my experience they then go off really quickly and both cut and puncture too much. I wouldn't contemplate them for winter.
Loads of people complain about Gatorskins, but I find they are great if the pressures are right. My front one is 100psi and the rear 110. Higher than that and they are a bit skittish, and much lower they tend to puncture. I rode a pair last year from November through to February for around 2000 miles and they are still looking ok for this winter.

Ectomorph

duckson wrote:

Actually the Ultremo R's outpoint the Blizzards in all areas according to the Schwalbe website.....a review describes them as a good all condition tire.

Well, I fancied some sticky slicks & fitted a pair of Ultremo Rs on Sunday. Got eight - yes, eight - good old British miles into my ride & p*nctured with a 7mm split in the tread. Not happy. Set off this morning with a patched up tyre & tube and, yes, another feckin' p*ncture and another split in the tread. Really not happy.
My commute takes me on gravel & flint-strewn cycle paths & country lanes and I'm beginning to think the tyres just aren't up to it. To be fair, I had the same problem with Krylions so I suppose my commute could be particularly testing, and I am only a day and a half into them but the Ultremos are very soft & skinny. Very nice ride quality though & very grippy.

GeorgeShaw

Nickwill wrote:

ProRace 3s are brilliant for 2-3000 summer miles. In my experience they then go off really quickly and both cut and puncture too much.

Their quoted life is 3600km

As I found out when the central tread on the rear tyre delaminated at almost exactly that distance. That''ll teach me to check my tyres more frequently.

duckson

LOL no matter which tire you mention everyone has a horror story.

I am currently using some 4-5yr old Vittoria kevlar tires and have had one puncture in approx 350 miles.....they are old cus they are on my Dads bike which i'm borrowing for a while, not sure if i should replace them to be honest but the sidewalls have lots of what i can only describe as the rubber degrading and there is the odd split in them approx 10mm long mostly. I'll take some pics later and see if you think they are worth carrying on with or if theres potential for them to just split open.

fast as fupp

perhaps youre not eating enough when youre on the road-or perhaps not resting enough?

duckson

fast as fupp wrote:

perhaps youre not eating enough when youre on the road-or perhaps not resting enough?

What?

fast as fupp

sorry i misread your headline i thought it meant you were getting tired all the time!

duckson

System wrote:

I quite fancy some Ultremos for the good bike but I'd never use them for commuting, too light.

I'm a big fan of Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp. Lovely lovely tires. Used to be able to get them from Parkers for £13 but they've gone up to £20 :? Still worth the money.

Looking at tyhe Vredestein's and they seem to get a facvourable feedback in the main re: puncture resistance and grip, at just under £17 from Ribble (i'm spending more to give it me at the cheaper rate) they might be worth a shot!
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/review/rev ... 11/sp//v/1

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... REDTYRF250

Ken Night

fast as fupp wrote:

sorry i misread your headline i thought it meant you were getting tired all the time!

If there was a system of recommending posts, I'd give this top marks. It made me smile, as I was thinking the same thing

Back to the OP, of the tyres you suggest, I'd go for the Blizzards. The Ultremos are good, but to be practical, no tyre below 200g is really good in the winter.

Put on even heavier tyres, mudguards, and of course, wear winter clothes.

Relish the difference when you are able to get out on the lovely sunlit lanes,wearing your best shorts and summer jersey, and you've equipped the bike with some nice wheels, shod the bike with Germany's finest

djaeggi

If you like the look of the Fortezza Tricomps, even better, take a look at the Fortezza Quattro Tricomp.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productDe ... REDTYRF225

I'm currently running these on my commuter/training bike and they're excellent. Feel very similar in terms of grip/ride to the Fortezza Tricomps (which I've used in the past), except they're got beefed up puncture protection with more sidewall protection. Done about 1000 miles on them and they're holding up extremely well so far (and no punctures yet!). Good value and you can get them cheaper on ebay if you're lucky.

duckson

Thanks mate, will consider these!

MrGrumpy

Ectomorph wrote:

duckson wrote:

Actually the Ultremo R's outpoint the Blizzards in all areas according to the Schwalbe website.....a review describes them as a good all condition tire.

Well, I fancied some sticky slicks & fitted a pair of Ultremo Rs on Sunday. Got eight - yes, eight - good old British miles into my ride & p*nctured with a 7mm split in the tread. Not happy. Set off this morning with a patched up tyre & tube and, yes, another feckin' p*ncture and another split in the tread. Really not happy.
My commute takes me on gravel & flint-strewn cycle paths & country lanes and I'm beginning to think the tyres just aren't up to it. To be fair, I had the same problem with Krylions so I suppose my commute could be particularly testing, and I am only a day and a half into them but the Ultremos are very soft & skinny. Very nice ride quality though & very grippy.

Well if your going gravel strewn paths etc then light weight tyres such as those mentioned are bugger all use. Your really into Marathon + territory, but they only go down to 25mm. I currently use Pro race 2s however, I`ve changed my commute route and its all smooth tarmac to a certain degree. Which is why you get such variances on what folk recommend. Last winter i road Marathon +`s but that was a differant route again !

musto_skiff

Just come back from a ride which involved 2 punctures :x

I have GP4000S tyres but guess I should opt for somthing more industrial.

I don't really care about weight/performance just want somthing that will hold up a bit better.

Are the Continental GP 4 Season Vectran Folding Tyre any good or are there other recommendations ... got a bit cold whilst I was stopped fixing the bike.

Also ... how far can a 74kg person ride on a tyre going soft before damage occurs?

musto_skiff

... or these

Continental Ultra Gator Skin Folding Tyre

duckson

If you like the look of the Fortezza Tricomps, even better, take a look at the Fortezza Quattro Tricomp.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productDe ... REDTYRF225

Read all the positive fedback:-
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/review/rev ... /RER/1/v/2