Tyres.

daveydave43

Im looking for some 700x23 tyres to take me through spring and summer, doing around 120 miles a week. Budget of around 60 for the pair. puncture resistance is a priority, then weight simply because im a sucker for a number with 'g' behind it.

tempted by panaracer's extreme duro protex.
or michelin's pro race.

not sure if the pro race has the puncture resistance , and panaracer dont seem to have great review: some fall apart, apparently.

what are your thoughts and recommendations?

softlad

every tyre's weight has a number with a 'g' after it...

I've got a set of Mich Pro 3 Race tyres which I plan on keeping for a few summer circuit races, but I have a feeling they are a bit too fragile for general/regular road use.

At other times in the spring/summer, I will be racing/training on a combination of Vittoria Rubino Pros and Conti GP 24mm.....both of which can be had for well under £60 a pair...and both are good, fast, reliable tyres which roll, handle and hold up very well...

teagar

Where you live and ride by and large determines what kinda tyre you can go for. Some places have a lot of flint etc which can really cut up light expensive tyres.

Where I live that's not an issue.

Your local cycling club will offer the best advice.

Anonymous

Continental GP4000s are pretty good. They are pretty sticky, roll well and have a 320TPI, I think.

Anonymous

dmclite wrote:

Continental GP4000s are pretty good. They are pretty sticky, roll well and have a 320TPI, I think.

+1 for the GP4000s, they are very gripy even in this wet weather. Only been out on them twice but they have better hold than my Rubino's (not pros just rigids) Can't comment on puncture resistance but by all accounts they are very good.

redvision

another fan of the contis here!

i have the gp4000s and they are superb. grippy with low resistance and excellent puncture protection.

i would highly recommend these or the gatorskins.

dilemna

Not a week goes by on the club run where we have to stop for some one who has got a puncture. What tyres? Conti GP 4000s everytime.

Vittoria Rubino Pros are much better IMHO. Nice ride lots of grip and no punctures!

EKIMIKE

Vittoria Diamante's? Step up from Rubino's. Probably more durable than Corsa's. Pretty good VFM.

CiB

I had Pro Race 3s on my last bike. They were v good tyres but puncture resistance wasn't good. The tread was quite resilient, but the sidewalls were made of rice paper and the slightest brush with a kerb meant a flat tyre. Steer clear of kerbs and you're ok though.

MattC59

CiB wrote:

the slightest brush with a kerb meant a flat tyre.

I would have thougth that avoiding the kerbs was a good idea what ever tyres you're running

Lagavulin

Fan of Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps here.

CiB

MattC59 wrote:

CiB wrote:

the slightest brush with a kerb meant a flat tyre.

I would have thougth that avoiding the kerbs was a good idea what ever tyres you're running

It is, but when a halfwit taxi driver leaves you with no option and the resulting kerb-kiss results in a flat, it's a bit galling. Second time was my fault. I was trying to trackstand at some lights and didn't get away cleanly. Same outcome though.

They're good tyres; never had any issue with grip & the wear rate was pretty good.

giant_man

Best all round tyre for winter time is Krylion carbons from Michelin. Great tyres. Pro Races are great but can be a little 'soft' and can cut easily. But I know riders who ride PRs all year round.

Chip \'oyler

I must be weird because I find Conti tyres uninspiring in the wet. There are also faster tyres out there.

Over the years I've tried every make of tyre. And the best in my opinion are Schwalbe. They roll really well, are very grippy (even in the wet) and are very durable (recent Ultremo issues aside). In your budget have a look at the Stelvio's.

blackhands

Vittoria Open Pave - best all round training tyre there is.

Meds1962

I'd recommend the Rubino pro's as well but you could get 2 pairs with that budget. With £60 to spend I would also look at higher priced Vittoria alternatives suggested by others.

gaspode

CRC are doing Krylion Carbons for £19.99 each at the moment if that helps

softlad

blackhands wrote:

Vittoria Open Pave - best all round training tyre there is.

it's hardly a 'training' tyre - it's a full-on race tyre. Not sure I'd want to spend £70 on a pair of training tyres...

daveydave43

thanks all. a great help. following some good reviews here, ive had a look at the conti gp4000s tyres. one guy i spoke to said that he had gone 3000 miles from new without a puncture on them.
im going to have a bit of a shop around, look at the vredstiens and the schwalbe tyres.
maybe its just me, but i have had some (wire beaded) vittoria rubinos and found them really hard to get on and off the bike... i must have broke at least three tyre levers.

anyway, italian stubborness aside, cheers for all your comments.

macondo01

+1 for the krylion - that's a good price gaspode spotted at CRC

blackhands

softlad wrote:

blackhands wrote:

Vittoria Open Pave - best all round training tyre there is.

it's hardly a 'training' tyre - it's a full-on race tyre. Not sure I'd want to spend £70 on a pair of training tyres...

Well, they are used a lot on the continent as training tyres and were developed for all weather and road conditions. At 240g they are heavier than other tyres mentioned here and as they have a high thread count they will deform less and are puncture resistant. As a spring/summer training tyre they are excellent, but I agree that £70 a pair might be more than some people want to spend - but that's up to them.

I used them yesterday on rural roads with lots of grit and hedge cuttings with no punctures or cuts.

rake

michelin lithion £24, schwalbe stelvio £35 good puncture resistance and wear put 25 mm back 23mm front is good.

cheehee

Lagavulin wrote:

Fan of Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps here.

I agree they are a lovely tyre, look at me sounding like I know what I'm talking about

I've got some Michelin Krylion Carbons on at the mo. They feel slightly 'dead' compared to the VF Tris'. The VF Tris' sounded nicer too

EKIMIKE

Fortezza Tricomps are a very good compromise of puncture resistance, rolling resistance (well they feel faster than other tires i've ridden), wet weather grip, general grip.

I've had them since July. They've done LEJOG and every other mile since July without a puncture. They've not deformed or cut up badly. Never felt slippy or lost grip. They're just about done now. Getting and increasing number of cuts/cavities. Still, were fine in all the standing water and debris on the roads today.