New Winter tyre 700x23/25c any suggestions?

mtbhenry888

Hi everybody,

Need a good tyre for my commute, has to be longlasting/hardwearing but most importantly have good puncture protection. Has anyone got any ideas, ones to avoid, ones to get?

Thanks

Happy Christmas!

Henry

giant_man

Michelin krylion carbons in 23s you can get over here, 25s you can get from Germany.

Steve I

>but most importantly have good puncture protection< Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Royal mail uses on them on their bikes. Punctures are virtually non existent.

mtbhenry888

I've spent an hour looking on the forums and other bike sites for decent reveiws on tyres I have come up with a shortlist but feel free to tell me what you think and if i have missed any

1) Vittoria Zaffiro (£5.50 from ribble, so cheap it' almost worth it even if they have less protection)
2)Bontrager race Hardcase
3)Spesh. armadillo
4)Schwalbe Blizzard/lugano

thanks!

andylav

I have a pair of the new Continental Ultra Sports with the added puncture protection layer in 700 x 23 size that I'm not going to be using - done less than 60 miles so in as new condition

Cost £40 for the pair - sell with a pair of Continental Race 28 tubes for £27.50 posted if you're interested

Cheers

Andy

ademort

giant mancp wrote:

Michelin krylion carbons in 23s you can get over here, 25s you can get from Germany.[/quote
+1 for the Michelin krylion carbons available at www.bike24.net I use the 25c and they are bombproof Ademort

Monty Dog

For puncture protection, there's only real that work - Schwalbe Marathons or Armadillos - but the latter has poor grip. For more performance, but less durability there's the Krylions and Hard Cases and Schwalbes and finally there's those that are supposed to but don't - like Gator Skins. Always try and fit the widest tyre you can for better grip.

mtbhenry888

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the offer of the tyres but i think i'll decline, i havent heard the best things about the contis

Cheers
Henry

simon_e

Very happy so far with Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase. Only a tenner and a range of sizes available at ATC.

roger_merriman

I have some lugano's on old red, look to the left. in spite of taking it down wet broken old lanes, i've yet to have a problem. as ever milage varies

Petromyzon

It's a suggestion, not a recommendation, as I haven't many miles on them, but I got some Conti GP 4 seasons 25s for 20 quid a pop from PBK and they ride really nicely in the wet.
I think it is Conti's top of the range crap conditions tyre and has a Vectran breaker layer, but is not heavy-duty enough to really promise puncture-free riding. I wait with bated breath!

DavidBelcher

roger merriman wrote:

I have some lugano's on old red, look to the left. in spite of taking it down wet broken old lanes, i've yet to have a problem. as ever milage varies

Another vote for Luganos - been using one on my back wheel for commuting for months. Good in the wet, hard wearing, only one puncture to date but that might be down to using an old, tired inner tube as much as anything else.

David

LuckyPierre2007

I use Conti GP 4000S size 23 on both my commute bike and race bike. They seem fine in the wet, and very few if any cuts after 1000 miles on the commute bike across London in all weathers and not far short of that on the race bike. Very impressed with them.

Garry H

I've had almost 3000miles out of Gatorskins with no punctures.

johndf

I have GP 4 seasons on at present which have given me no problems, but I'd like to know if gatorskins offer more or less puncture protection. Anyone have any comparisons of the two?

mtbhenry888

Hi,

thanks for the help everyone I'm going to look at some contis as i have some old ones on my training bike and they seem ok, otherwise i think i'll go with the schwalbe luganos as they're cheap from wiggle and at the end of the day i can'T afford much more than 15 for a tyre just for a commuting bike. Also David recommends the Schwalbes i and i commute to Winchester every day, we probably use the same lanes/roads!

thanks again,

Henry

MabBee

I've used both Gatorskins and GP 4 Seasons in various widths. They both seem to have similar puncture protection qualities, but the Gatorskins are just awful as a tyre: they have no grip. Also, I find that the gatorskins wear out very suddenly (rather than fading away slowly and gracefully): I've suffered a couple of torn tyres from old gatorskins, but that was on very rough roads.

I only ride with GP 4 Seasons now.

johndf

Thanks - so it's best to stick to GP 4 seasons.

bobonabike

I've just bought a bike that came with Schwalbe Blizzards, and after two weeks, my first priority this week is changing them. I've found that their grip in the wet is awful, and cornering grip is almost nonexistent. For me, they're borderline dangerous. Have had much better success with Conti 4 Seasons on another bike.

mtbhenry888

Ok, after hearing that the schwalbes may not be so good and there have been lots of votes for conti 4 seasons i think i'll look at them!

thanks again, youve all been very helpful

Border Cyclist

Petromyzon wrote:

It's a suggestion, not a recommendation, as I haven't many miles on them, but I got some Conti GP 4 seasons 25s for 20 quid a pop from PBK and they ride really nicely in the wet.
I think it is Conti's top of the range crap conditions tyre and has a Vectran breaker layer, but is not heavy-duty enough to really promise puncture-free riding. I wait with bated breath!

I have used the 23s for the last couple of winters because they grip so well in the wet. I wouldn't be daft enough to say I have never had a puncture

roger_merriman

bobonabike wrote:

I've just bought a bike that came with Schwalbe Blizzards, and after two weeks, my first priority this week is changing them. I've found that their grip in the wet is awful, and cornering grip is almost nonexistent. For me, they're borderline dangerous. Have had much better success with Conti 4 Seasons on another bike.

i've found the Lugano a bit slippy in wet, but to be honest i'm from MTB which in spite of the knobbles puts a lot more rubber to the road, so could just as easily be the differnce.