Road tyre advice please

apoc_reg

Just brought a road bike to use for my 20 mile round trip to work as i thought it would be easier than using my mountain bike.

2 attempts so far 3 punchered tyres!! Not even got 10 miles each time.

The bike is a Claud Butler Urban 500 and the tyres it came with are Maxxis Columbiere.

All 3 punchers have been caused by the tiniest little stones and i've been riding on the A10.

Obviously there is no point me having the bike if its not reliable so can someone suggest a decent tyre as these Columbiere are obviously rubbish

Thanks guys

Al_38

Personally I like continental gp4000s but they are quite expensive. Michelin krylion carbons are great for commuting on etc but are very hard to source at the moment.

As a slight aside, do you use the A10 for your entire commute? There are some much nicer and quieter roads that run almost parallel to this for a reasonable distance

apoc_reg

Thanks Al I will check those out, are they going to be any more hard wearing than the Maxxis?

I ride from Melbourn to the centre of Cambridge and am not on the A10 for to long, about 15 minutes maybe.

Thanks

keef66

I've got Continental GP 4 seasons on mine. 9 weeks of riding so far and not a sign of a puncture. Mainly rural roads within 20 miles of Newmarket though, so probably not as much crap as on the A10

duckson

Just got some Vredestein Fortezza Quattro Tricomp (700x23c) and have done approx 40miles with no punctures to date....the lesser protected Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp gets great feedback from owners so the Quattro should be even better on the puncture front:-
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/review/rev ... /RER/1/v/2

I picked mine up for ~£17 each from Ribble, but i was spending over £50 to get them at this price:-
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... REDTYRF225

cyclingpunk

I have been using Rubino's on my commute. Really cheap from Ribble and I have put in over 100 miles in two weeks and none of the dreded 'P' word. Got the 25c size which seem more comfy. I also have Contental Race and Shwalbe Stelvios on other bikes which I have been very lucky with and are worth a look. The Stelvios are probably the fastest and grippiest out of the 3 but for value and comfort the Rubino's are superb.

Mog Uk

Can only speak from my own experience - Michelin Krylion Carbon...

Close to a 1000miles in all conditions on my current set and no punctures...

apoc_reg

Cheers guys,

Those carbons seem impossible to get so will look at the others suggestted.

Now for the really stupid question im afraid.... I have 700x32c tyres. Do i need to get the same size ones? Im used to just 26" tyres :oops:

synchronicity

Continental UltraSport.

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marcthehammer

Hi ive got these ones. Over a 1000 miles and No puntures, http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... ITTTYRR450

Al_38

apoc_reg wrote:

Thanks Al I will check those out, are they going to be any more hard wearing than the Maxxis?

I ride from Melbourn to the centre of Cambridge and am not on the A10 for to long, about 15 minutes maybe.

Thanks

Well I have put 3000+ miles on a set of gp4000 tyres on the bike I used for commuting over the summer - had one puncture when I hit a kerb at speed and got a pinch otherwise they were perfect. The Krylions I had on last winter were neigh on indestructible - took a lot of miles and some serious turbo abuse before they picked up a big bit of flint that cut through the tread. With whatever tyres you get, remember to check them for flints maybe once a week and pick it all out. This will improve the life considerably.

As to sizing - the bigger the number the fatter the tyre width. I run 23c tyres but this is on a pure road bike and it wouldn't take anything bigger than a 25 at a push. 32c tyres will be a little more comfy than a 26 or 28 but there isnt too much in it. Just make sure they are roughly the same size as at present

Gav888

This site will have some Michelin Krylion Carbon in late 08.... might have stock by now?

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/529.html

andrewc3142

Another vote for Conti GP 4 seasons. Some adverse comments going around but no problems whatsoever with mine and decent wet grip. Slightly strange colour on the walls is the only downside I've found.

I use 23c all year round on my road bike. I have 28c Marathons on the tourer and Marathons on the tandem, also good against punctures but rather heavy and an absolute pig to fit.

rally200

synchronicity wrote:

Continental UltraSport.

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me too. holding up well & good price

boondog

I've just had 5 punctures in 5 rides on the conti ultras, they were good for 2000m, then they couldn't cope with winter roads.

just swapped for Gator skins (which were lighter!), so fingers crossed.

Stewie Griffin

Schwalbe Stelvio plus. Wont use any other tyres in the foreseeable.

Eat My Dust

Well I've just had my first puncture this year!! Can you believe that? About 6000 miles puncture free and then I get one within 50ft of my work I've been using GP4000's since they brought them out and will never use anything else (unless they bring out a GP5000!)

ps. there's a possibilty that I have another puncture this year. BTBH I can't remember it's been so long!

geohorn

I comute daily from Oakington to the airport in Camridge and have punctured twice in 8 months but with Michilin Pro Race 3 tyres. I have now swapped over onto my winter bike with Conti Gator skins and these seem a lot better and a bit more grip. Great tytres for training and comuting.

fatherted

cyclingpunk wrote:

I have been using Rubino's on my commute. Really cheap from Ribble and I have put in over 100 miles in two weeks and none of the dreded 'P' word. Got the 25c size which seem more comfy. I also have Contental Race and Shwalbe Stelvios on other bikes which I have been very lucky with and are worth a look. The Stelvios are probably the fastest and grippiest out of the 3 but for value and comfort the Rubino's are superb.

+1 for the Rubinos

LeighB

I’ve had a pair of Conti Ultra Sports and suffered a few punctures, I think they are billed as training tyres; good for training at puncture repair!
Recommended tyres:- Bontrager Racelite Hardcase, Conti Duraskin, Vittoria Rubino Pro and surprisingly the cheap Rubino’s.
Worst tyre; Vee Rubber thing from Halfords (thought it would be ok for short training loops) lasted about 50 miles before splitting open. False economy, I could have had a decent tyre for £5 extra.

2Fast4Love

Some good advice in this thread.

What sort of mileage can I expect from my tyres?

I've put about 1200 miles on to them, including 400miles in France, and I'm now commuting every day in the winter - only 5 miles each way.

Tyres are the stock Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23c which came on my bike, and other than being a bit of a pansy on corners in the wet, I've not yet had a p-word, or any other problems of note.

I don't want to replace them unnecessarily, how far will they go?

sicknote

Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23c
I have the same tyres and have not done that much on them yet ( about 200miles) but have not had any of the p word yet myself.

Would also like to know what people think about them.

amircp

I have Maxxis Colombieres on my weekend bike and done about 5k - (now on second pair). They have had reaonable write-ups and have good grip. I rarely have p**e events (perhaps once in 1000 miles on average). What tyre pressure do you use? I put 120 psi in (700x25mm).

HungryCol

+1 for Conti Gatorskins. I swap the tyres around front and back half way through the year to get extra life out of them.

il_principe

Eat My Dust wrote:

Well I've just had my first puncture this year!! Can you believe that? About 6000 miles puncture free and then I get one within 50ft of my work I've been using GP4000's since they brought them out and will never use anything else (unless they bring out a GP5000!)

ps. there's a possibilty that I have another puncture this year. BTBH I can't remember it's been so long!

+1 for the GP4000. I use the S version, only comes in black and is a fab fab tyre.

STEFANOS4784

jashburnham wrote:

Eat My Dust wrote:

Well I've just had my first puncture this year!! Can you believe that? About 6000 miles puncture free and then I get one within 50ft of my work I've been using GP4000's since they brought them out and will never use anything else (unless they bring out a GP5000!)

ps. there's a possibilty that I have another puncture this year. BTBH I can't remember it's been so long!

+1 for the GP4000. I use the S version, only comes in black and is a fab fab tyre.

+ anothr 1 for gp4000 i use these (in red) and they seem better than my michelin pro race 3's which also get great reviews

Compton77

Another vote for the gp4000s. Great tyre.

synchronicity

GP3000/4000s are absolutely great but cost 60-70% more than conti ultras.

TomBombadil

Hi

I'm also for Conti Gatorskins - only 1 puncture in 5000 miles from both tyres - now being replaced with same due to wear and squaring off of rear tyre!.

But remember the key to puncture protection is also to have the pressures up high to push sharp things away. IMake sure you have a good track pump and get the pressures up to at least 90-100psi.

Regards - Tom


!

Chip \'oyler

Any tyre from Schwalbe will see you right.

I use Blizzards (Kevlar) Winter/Training and Ultremo's in the summer

I previously used various Conti's (Gatorskins, GP3000 & 4000s) and the Schwalbe's are faster and a lot grippier. The Blizzards also seem just as bomb proof as the Conti's too.

Elganesh

I've got Conti Ultra Gatorskins. 1200miles and still going strong.