Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX tyres

gkerr4
gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
edited January 2009 in Workshop
how do people rate these tyres?

I have always been a vittoria fan and use a lot of the cheap 'rubino' tyres on my bike - I have always wondered what you got for your money with an expensive tyre over the (used to be) £6 rubino

at the same time I often feel I let my S-Works Roubaix down by using £6 tyres on it

anyway - wiggle have a two pack of Open Corsas (they are team edition CSC ones which I guess doesn't make much odds) for £47 - £43 if I knock the order over £50 (which I will as I need some inner tubes too!)

are they worth £22 each? - any views?

any better alternatives? - they have to go on campag Eurus rims and I have never had a problem with mounting vittorias you see

thanks
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Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    They're a good race tyre, supple and great on dry roads but as for most race tyres, keep them for summer use only. Other worthy alternatives include Michelin ProRace 3 and Schwalbe Ultraremos
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • softlad
    softlad Posts: 3,513
    if you're looking for a good tyre for general use, then the pave version would be my first choice..

    If you don't mind considering other tyres, then look at the Conti GP 4 season...they can be had for around £20 each if you shop around..
  • Gavin Gilbert
    Gavin Gilbert Posts: 4,019
    They're light and grippy but highly puncture prone - I've just taken a pair off having suffered a deflation ratio of 1 per 80 miles.
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    really? - bad for punctures? - I'll look elsewhere then - the roubaix is my day-long (summer) sportive bike and I want puncture free tyres for those sort of events.

    damn - they make a big deal about "bead to bead puncture resistance" - surely they can't be worse than my std rubinos? and doesn't the 290tpi make them a bit less puncture prone?
  • softlad
    softlad Posts: 3,513
    Gavin Gilbert wrote:
    They're light and grippy but highly puncture prone - I've just taken a pair off having suffered a deflation ratio of 1 per 80 miles.

    do you mean the Contis or the Vittorias..?? I've had no problems with my Contis at all...
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,590
    gkerr4 wrote:
    really? - bad for punctures? - I'll look elsewhere then - the roubaix is my day-long (summer) sportive bike and I want puncture free tyres for those sort of events.
    When you find some let us all know. Everyone wants puncture free tyres but they are a mythical beast.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Suggest you avoid Conti tyres - they can be very tight on Campagnolo rims and that's why I didn't mention them. If you want something a bit more durable, then IME Michelin Krylions are the ones to have - but they're as rare as rocking horse poo at the mo' - reluctantly bought some GP4 Seasons to keep me going for the next few months.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    andyp wrote:
    gkerr4 wrote:
    really? - bad for punctures? - I'll look elsewhere then - the roubaix is my day-long (summer) sportive bike and I want puncture free tyres for those sort of events.
    When you find some let us all know. Everyone wants puncture free tyres but they are a mythical beast.

    I know that - but i've never had a puncture in my bonty hard-cases that came with my trek - nor have I ever had a puncture in the rubinos I am using on the roubaix - nor the rubino slicks I use on the treks summer wheels - nor even on the std specialized 'mondos' on the langster.

    in fact, thinking about it - the last puncture I had was in August 2006 on a set of OE kendas on my first roadbike - a Giant OCR3. typically I was miles from home in road shoes with SPD-SL cleats and no bloody tools with me (a lesson was learned that day - but I was thankful for mobile phone reception and my darling wife!)

    Perhaps I am lucky - perhaps the roads are decent around here - perhaps the tyres (bar the kendas) are good, puncture resistant types

    I don't want to buy some posh tyres like the open corsas and succumb to a puncture every 80 miles !!
  • Gavin Gilbert
    Gavin Gilbert Posts: 4,019
    softlad wrote:
    Gavin Gilbert wrote:
    They're light and grippy but highly puncture prone - I've just taken a pair off having suffered a deflation ratio of 1 per 80 miles.

    do you mean the Contis or the Vittorias..?? I've had no problems with my Contis at all...

    Vittorias. I find Conti's skittish and nervous and a very harsh ride. I know some people like them, but some people like The Daily Mail too. There's no accounting for taste :evil:

    Given perfect conditions the nicest tyre I ever used is a Veloflex Record, but these too are quite fragile and refuse to fit a Campag rim. For real world use I prefer Panaracer Evos - but again a bugger to fit on Campag.

    I'm currently in the early stages of evaluating Vred TriComps on the recommendation of a clubmate. They have a nice ride quality, and seem to have held up well to sharps over the short rides I've used them on, but they do seem quite slippy in the damp.
  • James_London
    James_London Posts: 530
    Continentals are generally boringly predictable but really do ride like a garden hose compared to the higher threadcount Vittorias, especially with latex tubes. They are only slightly more puncture prone I'd say and it's a bit dangerous to extrapolate too far from your personal puncture record or that of the people you ride with as they're not a frequent enough occurence for it to be at all scientific.

    The CX are less puncture proof and wear faster but the ride is fantastic and cornering is definitely superior to the GP4000S or PR2 especially in damp conditions. I've had good experiences with the Corsa-EVO KS too which wears better and is slightly more resistant, still has a nice plush ride and corners well with the dual compound tread.

    Higher threadcount tyres are more expensive per km but I don't have any more punctures than others. One guy had three in 100km on Continental GP Four Seasons last week - just bad luck, poor maintenance, running them at too high a pressure. All sorts of things contribute. I average about one per 5,000km and it doesn't seem to make a statistically significant difference which tyres I happen to be riding. When I started riding I stuck to Continental but I'm a convert to the joys of more supple alternatives.

    And 100 PSI rather than 120 PSI. Comfort, handling and puncture frequency are lower and you can pump them up hard on race day if it's dry...
  • aarw
    aarw Posts: 448
    open corsa's with latex tubes...hmmm, my fav. although i'd love to try the veloflex opens.

    i train on rubino pro's and race the corsa's. there's a huge difference.
  • schweiz
    schweiz Posts: 1,644
    I've put 6000 km on a pair of Open Corsa Evo KX 700x23c fitted to Ksyrium Elites in the last 14 months and they're still going strong with no p******* to date. I'm 13 stone and run them at 100-105psi rear 90-95 psi front. I can recommend them.

    For winter commuting, I stick with Open Pavé Evo CG on CXP33 rims.
    VN BMC Cube SS
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  • oldskoolkool
    oldskoolkool Posts: 86
    I used to use the late '80's early nineties version of the Open Corsa CX called the Oscar X and used them for racing and training and don't think I ever had a puncture with them.I fully intend to get Open Corsa CX's on my new race wheels for 2009.
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    aarw wrote:
    open corsa's with latex tubes...hmmm, my fav. although i'd love to try the veloflex opens.

    i train on rubino pro's and race the corsa's. there's a huge difference.

    what do you mean by that - whats the huge difference?

    and would you not train on the corsas? are they too fragile for it or just not as good value as the rubino pros?
  • aarw
    aarw Posts: 448
    the corsa's feel so much more supple, livelier and faster. a lot of that will also be down to the latex tubes though.

    the rubino pro's are just great value for money for putting the big miles in. the wear rate on the corsa's is much higher.

    have never had an issue with the puncture resistance of the open corsa's. they're worth a try if you fancy finding out what the extra money means...although i'd probably leave them until the better weather when you'll be more inclined to push the limits of the tyres through harder cornering etc...
  • Lagavulin
    Lagavulin Posts: 1,688
    Gavin Gilbert wrote:
    I'm currently in the early stages of evaluating Vred TriComps on the recommendation of a clubmate. They have a nice ride quality, and seem to have held up well to sharps over the short rides I've used them on, but they do seem quite slippy in the damp.
    I like Tricomps. I'm still very much a novice rider but of the tyres I've tried (Specialized Mondos, Mondo Pros, GP4000, Vred' Tricomps to name a few) they're the tyre I've felt most comfortable leaning the bike into a corner on - dry or wet - and the ride is great. They're pretty big for a 23mm tyre and are rated to fairly high PSI's but even at 120-125 they're fairly soft and supple. Good puncture resistance too though they have shown a slight tendency to cut up on the shoulders.

    I've been using various sets (currently have them mounted on 3 of 5 wheelsets) for about 15 months now and have suffered just the one involuntary stoppage due to a lack of air in one's tube.
    2010 Cannondale CAAD 9
    2008 Wilier Izoard
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    gkerr4 wrote:
    I have always been a vittoria fan and use a lot of the cheap 'rubino' tyres on my bike - I have always wondered what you got for your money with an expensive tyre over the (used to be) £6 rubino

    For a training tyre, and as a middle ground, you could go for the Rubino Pro foldings? - I ran the Rubino Pro's (£14-15) back to back (x number of months) with the standard Rubinos (£7 - £8 ). I found the Pro's cut less frequently than the standard ones and had better puncture resistance - they're also lighter and roll better. You'd have to pay £23-24 for the Pro Race 3's or 4000S's or similar to get a possibly better "training-friendly" tyre.

    I'll probably go with some Pro Race 3's next (will get through January on the Rubino Pros first though).
  • stumpy paul
    stumpy paul Posts: 197
    I race / do sportives and train throughout the winter on 23mm open corsa CX. 24mm open pave for really poor roads.

    Yes they wear faster than some, and might therefore be viewed as an expensive way to go, but it's worth it for the ride / grip.

    I find it odd that people can be so tight over tyres, especially in winter. It is the only bit of your machine in contact with the ground after all.
  • softlad
    softlad Posts: 3,513
    stumpy paul wrote:
    I find it odd that people can be so tight over tyres, especially in winter. It is the only bit of your machine in contact with the ground after all.

    that's the same argument that the likes of Kwik Fit and ATS use and you can't really argue with it. Except for the fact that most drivers rarely push the limits of their car tyres - and the same can probably be said of the vast majority of amateur roadies too.. ;)
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    sorry to drag this up again...

    so I went for it and ordered the Evo Corsa's - found a discount code and ended up getting them for £38 for the pair which seems ok **

    they have arrived this morning and, erm, well - they are first set of folding tyres i have had and they don't look anything like tyres - more like rubber belts

    how the hell do you fit these to a rim!!!




    ** the tyres might have been great value but I blew my Xmas money on a set of Record 10sp ergo-shifters to replace the (barely used - oh the shame..) 2008 centaurs which have the cheaper mech inside them. I was going for chorus but figured i might as well spend the extra £20 for the top model!
  • James_London
    James_London Posts: 530
    Great deal! Where did you find them for £38?!

    Just unfold them and mount them! They have less shape than beaded tyres in the box but once you get to mounting them (in the usual way) they'll take shape. Fear not!
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    ok cool!

    well the £38 came because..

    The tyres are £47 and then because I took the order over £50 (honestly - add something of £3 to get a fiver off! - and then I searched for "wiggle off code" in google and got another fiver off - so they were listed on the invoice as £38
  • aarw
    aarw Posts: 448
    care to share the code? :wink:
  • Lagavulin
    Lagavulin Posts: 1,688
    Open Pave Evo CGs arrived the other day and have fitted them to Racing 3s.

    Previous Rubino Pros went on and off fine - as did GP4000S - but this was something else. They're were so easy to mount (is there such a thing as too easy to fit?).
    2010 Cannondale CAAD 9
    2008 Wilier Izoard
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Just ordered some, My Pro2s are over a year old now, so I guess I'll be needing some more eventually :roll:
    I like bikes...

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  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    aarw wrote:
    care to share the code? :wink:

    YJUGA-D8ANK
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  • James_London
    James_London Posts: 530
    redddraggon wrote:
    Just ordered some, My Pro2s are over a year old now, so I guess I'll be needing some more eventually :roll:

    Sure you don't need to up your mileage, Red?! :P
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    thats the one! ^^

    knocks a fiver off your bill
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    James_London wrote:
    redddraggon wrote:
    Just ordered some, My Pro2s are over a year old now, so I guess I'll be needing some more eventually :roll:

    Sure you don't need to up your mileage, Red?! :P

    A lot yeah, but I've spent most of the last 4 or so months on my Winter bike, so those tyres have been getting the wear.
    I like bikes...

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  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    redddraggon wrote:
    Just ordered some, My Pro2s are over a year old now, so I guess I'll be needing some more eventually :roll:

    i'd have thought you would have went for the pro3s - werent' you impressed by the 2's - or did you just fancy a change?

    btw - did you notice I ordered a set of 08 record ergos - might as well try the different shift after you described it as "the best upgrade I could make to the Roubaix"!

    in truth i fancied record shifters for ages - something about having the top end shifter appeals and I figured that seeing as everyone was running out of stock it was a case of ow or never - so here they are!

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