schwalbe Durano plus for 'weight weenies' or not!

disney

In search of puncture proof winter tyres, I fitted (lots of swear words as the rubber strip makes the side walls spring out all the time) a set of 700x25 durano plus tyres, after using all summer a set of conti 4000s's. I have now finally realized what all the fuss is about with the weight of wheels, tyres and rotational mass. They weigh 380grams each with a rubber smartguard protection strip. and they require a massive amount of extra energy to wind them up and make them roll, although they do ride very comfortably and appear to be very puncture proof !!

Such is the extra effort required I have to ride up certain long hills 2 gears down and my average speed is about 2 mph slower overall. You can also really feel the rubber strip in the rotation of the wheel, (bonty race x lites) a bit like a lead strip. So nice for punctures and good for a challenge to train on. In reality I dislike them because of those rolling characteristics, but shall use them until worn out. I just never quite realized how so little extra on a wheel made such a vast difference to a ride. I shall now join the weight weenie club. I always thought all you had to do was shed a few extra pounds of body weight to compensate. Simply not the case. My old bonty x- lite hard case tyres winter tyres were in hindsight a good deal.

Barteos

disney wrote:

they require a massive amount of extra energy to wind them up and make them roll.

Massive?

Lunar Tick

Much of the difference you feel is probably down to the increased rolling resistance rather than merely weight difference

aoeu

Placebo.

disney

Must have placebo glue on the outer casing.

amaferanga

Are you running them at the same pressure as you ran your previous tyres?

2mph difference on average and 2 gears down on hills does sound a bit much. Are you also 2mph down when you forget to have a pee before you head out on your bike?

disney

I know it does sound rather a large difference but pressures are the same and I tend to pedal faster when I need a pit stop. I would be interested to hear from other durano plus or the older stelvio plus owners which I believe was virtually the same tyre. Just for fun I swopped wheels to my spare pair of eastons with bonty hardcase on. Immediate big difference noticed as mentioned.

wom444

I have used the Durano Plus tyres for sometime now, they are by far the best Training tyre I have ever used in 30+ years of riding and racing They are a little heavy and have some rolling resistance but I am using them for training and that makes me stronger. They last and I have have had 2 punchers ( none in winter ) in 2 years and I do 300-400km a week, I pump them up to 130psi every time I ride and rotate them every 4 weeks and I get between 3500 - 5000km's a set ( wet adds more ware ) and I ride on very average roads in country NSW Australia. I am not a weight weenie when I train I can't
see a reason, but I do use very good tyres when doing charity rides and challenge rides it makes using training tyres worth while

rolf_f

wom444 wrote:

and rotate them every 4 weeks and I get between 3500 - 5000km's a set ( wet adds more ware )

Why do you rotate them? Rotating tyres doesn't actually alter the rate at which you wear tyres out overall. As long as you are replacing like with like, it makes no difference to the number of times you have to replace tyres. If you like trying out different makes and models, then rotating means you wear the tyres out in pairs but that's about the only point and probably not a justification to put a more worn tyre on the front.

I use the lighter Durano S for winter tyres (as High on Bikes didn't have the other Durano options at the time). TBH, they don't feel much different to Ultremo R1s to me and they don't puncture (so I don't really see the need to try the S). I can't imagine any of them feeling that obviously different.

BrianTrousers

wom444 wrote:

I have have had 2 punchers ( none in winter ) in 2 years

Are people punching you for needless tyre rotation?