good value 700c tyres ?

maddog 2
maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
edited March 2009 in Road buying advice
the GP4000S/Pro Race3/Ultremo Rs of this world are knocking on £50 a pair

are there any other tyres out there that come in cheaper, say £35-40, that are almost as good?

It almost seem there are cheap, duff, commuter ones (Rubinos, Conti Ultrasports) or £50 race jobs but not a lot in between.

Any little known, unfancied, bargains out there?

[700c, folding, 23mm, general riding but sub 250g for sure]
Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer

Comments

  • flasher
    flasher Posts: 1,734
    Parker have the GP4000s at £21.95

    http://www.parker-international.co.uk/6 ... Black.html
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    cheers - now I just need something worth £6 to get the free postage....
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • tgardi
    tgardi Posts: 32
    It almost seem there are cheap, duff, commuter ones (Rubinos, Conti Ultrasports) or £50 race jobs but not a lot in between.

    I have read on quite a few posts that the Rubino's are OK - Is that not he case? I was going to pick up a couple from Ribble at the weekend. I just want acouple of tyres that will see me through a 15 mile round trip to work everyday without my usual weekly visit from the pu***re fairy. And they are less than a tenner.
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    mixed reports, from what I've been reading over the last week or so.

    Mind you, this statement could apply to virtually any tyre it seems - some like a tyre, others had some punctures and thought it lacked grip.... Not a statistical process with any real insight so you're left trying to read between the lines.

    Generally the GP4000s, ProRace3, Ultremo R, Mich Krylion Carbon all come out consistently well, whereas others are a mixed bag or not really enough subjects to confirm either way, from what I've read.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    just spotted these at Merlin

    http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... goryId=157

    £38 for Fortezza Tricomps (pr) - seem to be well reviewed and in budget...
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    maddog 2 wrote:
    the GP4000S/Pro Race3/Ultremo Rs of this world are knocking on £50 a pair

    are there any other tyres out there that come in cheaper, say £35-40, that are almost as good?

    Ribble - Rubino Pro Folding - £16.75 each - 210-230 grams - atleast as good (if not better) puncture protection as Pro Race 3's/Ultremo's:

    http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... ITTTYRF550
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    mmm

    £33.50 for Rubino Pros, or

    £38 for the Tricomps.....

    should we vote?
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • djaeggi
    djaeggi Posts: 107
    In the past couple of years I have used:

    Vittoria Rubino (the regular ones)
    Vittoria Rubino Pros (the folding ones)
    Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp
    Vredestein Fortezza Quattro
    Conti GP3000

    First thing, there is a difference between the regular Rubinos and the Rubino Pros. The regular ones puncture a lot - the pros are a lot more durable. They feel a bit light on grip in the wet but the pros make a good value training tyre, they last ages!

    Then, the biggest cash eater is not the upfront cost of tyres, it's their durability. E.g. A pair of rubino pros might last you 4000miles and cost ~£30. That's 0.75p a mile. A "racier" tyre set might last 2000miles and cost £50, making 2.5p per mile, a significant difference. Plus, if you factor in the risk of getting a cut big enough to write off the tyre, the equation swings even further towards more durable rubber.

    So, the trick behind good value is getting the trade-off between grip/ride/weight and durability/cost. In this respect, I think the Fortezza Quattros are a really good tyre. I've put about 2-2,500 miles on them since the summer, through all kinds of winter weather commuting and crap on the roads, and they're holding up very well. Zero punctures, minimal wear, a collection of micro cuts but nothing really to speak of. They ride well and feel very similar to the Fortezza Tricomp, which I like a lot. Wet grip is excellent and a definite notch better than the rubino pros. In terms of rolling resitance, I don't know, but they feel reasonably fast and on par with the rubinos. Quoted weight is sub 250g I think and I paid £17 each for them. Excellent and well worth a try, these really deserve a bit more attention because I think they're a better tyre all-round than the Rubino Pros (which I thought was an excellent tyre for what it is and still have a pair in use, and which gets good feedback from other riders).

    Otherwise, have you looked at Vittoria Diamante Pros or Schwalbe Stelvio/Duranos (same tyres)? I think, from what I've read, that these also fall into the middle-ground of better grip than a training tyre, but better durability/puncture resistance than a race tyre. I'm tempted to try one of these next time round.
  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    You could also wait a week and buy the Michelin Krylions from CRC as they are down to £19.99 per tyre. I am going to get a couple of those when I also get my new wheels.

    About the Specialized All Condition Armadillo, the base model. Extremely good puncture resistance but not the best of rides on UK (bad) surfaces.
    x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
    Commuting / Winter rides - Jamis Renegade Expert
    Pootling / Offroad - All-City Macho Man Disc
    Fast rides Cannondale SuperSix Ultegra
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    cheers djaeggi. Good post.

    I've stumped for the Tricomps at Merlin for £38 in the end, and we'll see how they go.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    djaeggi wrote:

    First thing, there is a difference between the regular Rubinos and the Rubino Pros. The regular ones puncture a lot - the pros are a lot more durable. They feel a bit light on grip in the wet but the pros make a good value training tyre, they last ages!

    Yep, I ran Rubino Pro folding's back to back with standard Rubino's and found the same - the Pro's are much better than the standard ones (in a whole host of ways).

    Interestingly, I've recently bought some 2009 Diamante Pro 2 foldings - so far, been awesome tyres - 195g for 23's (170g for 20's) - I'm running 23's - very light, great grip, and so far aren't cutting as easily as the Rubino Pro's (which suprised me) (and the Rubino Pro's are very good durable training tyres) - the new Diamante's are expensive though. I prefer the Diamante Pro 2's to my Open Corsa KS's - the Diamante's seem alot more durable (the KS's cut easily, but are otherwise good tyres) and suprisinly the new Diamante's are more supple and comfortable than the Open Corsa KS's - strange, considering the KS's are a 290 TPI tyre and the new Diamantes are a 220 TPI tyre.
  • ukracer
    ukracer Posts: 421
    i got some Ultremos from ebay at around £40 for the pair if interested
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    which version - standard or R or DD ?
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • Flash 72
    Flash 72 Posts: 76
    http://www.parker-international.co.uk/7 ... -Grey.html
    If I only scrape a livin, at least it's living worth sraping for
  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    Rubinos are a good tyre - and for under a tenner - they must be worth trying before spending £25 each.

    I used to use tri comps - but found rubino's comparable at a 3rd of the price.

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