Vittoria Rubino Pro or Continental Ultra Sport?

FSR_XC

I am looking at new tyres.

The important attributes I want (in order) are:

1. Grip
2. Life
3. P* resistance
4. Rolling resistance

I am not looking for people to recommend Pro 3's etc. I have gone through one of these in 3 months.

Has anyone used the Rubino Pro and / or Ultra Sport?

What are they like for grip & life?

DomPro

Conti Ultra Sports have superior grip but are hopeless at resisting punctures, I would avoid them because of this.

Vittoria Rubino's are better imo.

Mettan

I've used Rubino Pros alot - great mid-range, mid-price tyres - perfectly adequate for spring, summer, autumn weather - light enough, roll well , grip well, adequate/good puncture resistance - they do cut eventually, but are pretty puncture resistant for light-ish tyres. In general they're a very good training tyre - get good reviews on RoadBike.com

Havent used the Ultra Sports.

Tom Butcher

I've been using the Pro Slick on the back of my Winter bike and while it's certainly holding up well I haven't been impressed with the grip in the wet - maybe I've just got used to race tyres but it's the first time I've used a tyre and thought about binning it before it's worn out.

huuregeil

Have a look at Vredestein Fortezza Quattro's - I'm running these side by side with Rubino Pros on different sets of wheels. The Rubinos have been generally excellent (they're cheap, reasonably fast and last a long time) but suffer a bit in the wet - not the Quattros, which grip very well in the wet! Plus, they're wearing extremely well (2500 miles to date on them and plenty of life left), minimal cuts and zero punctures, and they're also reasonably fast. I like them a lot - given your preference list, I think they might be a good match for you too.

Some reviews:

http://www.roadbikereview.com/mfr/vrede ... 89crx.aspx
http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page ... 1&minor=27
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/uan/3149

andyp

Ultra sports are terrible tyres. Either go for Rubino Pros or, if you're budget allows, get a pair of Michelin Krylions.

DomPro

huuregeil wrote:

Have a look at Vredestein Fortezza Quattro's

I tried the Quattro's as well. Would have to disagree with you on grip, they seem slippery when wet and have caused me to fall over once before on a wet road. Not that puncture resistant either - i've had 2 in less than 500 miles. Bit of bad luck I suppose.

huuregeil

DomPro wrote:

huuregeil wrote:

Have a look at Vredestein Fortezza Quattro's

I tried the Quattro's as well. Would have to disagree with you on grip, they seem slippery when wet and have caused me to fall over once before on a wet road. Not that puncture resistant either - i've had 2 in less than 500 miles. Bit of bad luck I suppose.

That sounds very unlucky :-)

Grip - yeah, fair enough, they're not quite at a level of a good race tyre, but in direct comparison to the Rubino Pros, they're noticeably better. For a high-mileage training tyre we're in a world of compromises, and these have stuck a pretty good compromise in my book. I'd pick a Rubino Pro over a PR3/Utlremo/4000s for regular high-mileage use any day (despite the trade-off in grip and feel), and I'd pick a Quattro over a Rubino Pro any day for enhanced grip with similar life/wear characterisitics.

FSR_XC

Well looking at the comments, the Conti's are a definate no.

Rubino Pro are looking good.

Quattro look good, but cost is letting them down a little.

Krylions more than I want to pay, but wondering what Lithions are like?????

Mettan

FSR_XC wrote:

Well looking at the comments, the Conti's are a definate no.

Rubino Pro are looking good.

Quattro look good, but cost is letting them down a little.

Krylions more than I want to pay, but wondering what Lithions are like?????

Rubino Pros and Lithions are in the same sort of bracket FSR - both should be ok, although many people use the Rubino Pros and they generally get very good reviews. RoadBikereview.com has plenty of reviews - have to sift through dates etc to see which version the reviewers are talking about though etc.

LeighB

I had a pair of Ultra Sports and it seemed like every time I went out I would have a puncture; I have used other Continental tyres (Gatorskins) and they have ben fine. I am currently using Rubino Pro's and up to now they have been excellent. I find Vittoria tyres to be very good, on the front of my winter bike I had a cheap Rubino on for two years with only one puncture!

andy_wrx

I run ProRace on my best bike and Rubinos on my Winter/wet/occasional-commuting bike and I really rate them : decent grip, predictable, long-lasting, excellent for p*nct*res and cheap (I've even used the still cheaper Zaffiros on it and they were brilliant for the price, £8each or something, but a bit slow...)

They have cut-up a bit, but it's just the outer (coloured bit) tread layer, nothing seems to go through to the threads in the carcasse and do any structural damage to the tyre, so I've just got used to them having several little cuts and nicks and simply ignore it.

I did find my latest pair rather scary when I got them last Autumn though - no grip at all in the wet, big unexpected tank-slapper and then came off at low speed on a gentle corner.

But after a short while they came right, got the grip I expected

I suspect it was the moulding release agent still on the tyres from manufacturing : if you buy new tyres for use on the track, they recommend you take it off by rubbing the tyres with white vinegar or turps or similar before you first go onto the track and end-up sliding down the banking...

I'll definitely buy Rubinos again, but I'll do the wipe-with-vinegar bit when I get them !

FSR_XC

I've just had an amazing offer on Conti 4000s.

Haven't seen any bad reviews on these either.

Would have gone for the Rubino's, but this is too good to miss.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Very helpful.