Alpine tyre choice?

sonny73

I'm off to the Alps in a week and a half and I am taking my bike.
I currently have slick tyres on but wondered, based on anyone else’s experience of riding over there, if the conditions are likely to be very changeable and hence if I would be better off putting on all condition tryes before I go just to play it safe?

chaletverney

Hi there - have years of alpine riding experience and generally I've found the roads to be better surfaced there, particularly around the ski stations/ Tour de France mountain top finishes where things have to be spick and span for commercial reasons. Therefore a more expensive tyre with higher grade rubber can be used with fewer durability issues.
Tyres are personal choice in the best and worst of conditions - cutting to the chase the best gripping tyres (regardless of what the marketing hype says!) are old school tubulars e.g. Veloflex! they wear easily though as they're made of traditional rubber compound as opposed to lots of silica. Thats the compromise! Better grip in wet and dry but less durability. A good combination though is Veloflex carbon black clincher tyres if you don't have tubular rims... they're expensive but awesome ride characteristics and grip... and pretty good puncture protection with a kevlar bead... basically, a professional standard clincher tyre... another brilliant one is vittoria corsa open cx which is similar... if you want something more bombproof but less grip then Continental GP4000 s are a good bet....
Slicks v's tread ... personally its more about the compound of the rubber that counts ...tread is good for confidence though hence the Veloflex/Vittoria tyres are good for this. I've used slicks in wet and dry there and been ok ... Michelin do a good all round slick too.

over to you!

good luck!