Tyres £40+ rant content

RichMTB

Seriously...

Who in there right mind is spending £40+ on a tyre.

Some of the prices for newer models really extract the urine. £45 for Conti Rubber Queen £40 for Schwalbe Nobby Nics

Are these tyres really that much better than High Rollers, Nevegals, Cinders that can be had for £25.

I can understand UST or studded Ice tyres costing more but £45 for a standard folding tyre is mental

Bikerbaboon

well how much better is a £4000 bike over a £2000 bike?

its deminishing returns in action. Get a price point you are happy to spend and that works well for you.

dave_hill

Meh...

Dr S

My new bike came with a set of Rocket Ron Evos. About 40 quid a pop.

They are without a doubt awesome, way quicker rolling than the Fire XC's on my other bike and quite frankly i'm really quite impressed!

stevet1992

I spent £13.99 on each of my tyres ... If you cant afford them dont buy them, 'Nuff said on that matter

Tostaryman

Just shop around - with so many online sellers competing for business, there are always deals to be had on tyres that 'cost' £40. Eg Merlin cycles sell Nobby Nics for £25. Simple.

Beardface

stevet1992 wrote:

I spent £13.99 on each of my tyres ... If you cant afford them dont buy them, 'Nuff said on that matter

+1 to that. I see your point though, but thats the way things are going at the moment.. everything is getting more expensive, and I imagine it will continue to do so..

But, you can find bargains if you look about.. I got a pair of folding 2.1 Nobby Nics brand new for £40 ish from a fleabay shop. (I think it was just under that actually, but can't remember/find the shop!)

This isn't too bad though, saves a bit of cash, free postage too.. (I've used these guys, very impressed too)

Edit: Sorry, didn't see the post above, saying the same thing! I actually had to do a little bit of work for once!!!

ESHER SHORE

most tires are VERY overpriced at the moment

I run Specialized tires on both my mountain bikes and have been very happy with them

this includes the Purgatory, Eskar, Captain 2.2, Fast Trak and Clutch SX

all are the "control" variant which is dual compound, kevlar beaded, 60 tpi, great performers and only £40ish a pair

Thewaylander

In answer to your question, the more expensive tyres are not better,

In fact i had nobby nics and binned them after 2 weeks as i found them to be dangerously skittish i had bad crashes on every ride with them.

I know use either blue grooves or high rollers in wider 2.35" versions for maximum grip

spongtastic

I can't understand paying £40+ for a tyre either, that's the same as the Conti Eco Contact 3's I run on my Peugeot, and they last 20000 miles!

But seriously, there's no way to support the argument that expensive = better with tyres, I've just started using Specialized and the Storms have been getting traction in muck that I can't believe, Sauserwinds fly like, well the wind in the dry and pretty poor gloop, and the captain's are a good mix of the two. All reasonably light and cheap.

The only tyres I'm keeping from all the others I've got are Race King Protections for when I end up on the beach at 25 psi.

Tostaryman

Thewaylander wrote:

In answer to your question, the more expensive tyres are not better,

In fact i had nobby nics and binned them after 2 weeks as i found them to be dangerously skittish i had bad crashes on every ride with them.

I know use either blue grooves or high rollers in wider 2.35" versions for maximum grip

I'm curious re your troubles with the nics - I've recently got some (2.1) and find them brilliant. I do keep them reasonably firm (40 - 45psi) as I imagine trying to run them at lowish pressures wouldn't work well given they are quite lightweight.

Tyres seem to generate the most amount of opinion over any other bit of kit because its easy to blame them, rather than the rider... (not that I casting aspersions here with your riding, just a general comment). Some people I know fall of their bikes almost everytime they go riding, others who are riding exactly the same routes rarely fall regardless of what tyre they have.

weeksy59

Try owning a motorbike

£250 a pair.

The Spiderman

Given that pound for lb that tyres make the best performance upgrade,on your bike doen`t it make sense to buy the best you can afford?

You wouldn`t stick remoulds on a high performance car would you...?

spongtastic

yes, but £250 for a pair that will last and are rated to a speed that not even down hill loonies would reach on a bike.
£80+ for a pair of bike tyres that won't last and will puncture?

It is another case of cyclists being ripped off as in technical terms most of the compounds and structures are already in place. Black Chili? Activated Silica available since 2002.

bails87

weeksy59 wrote:

Try owning a motorbike

£250 a pair.

£250 for two motorbikes isn't bad going at all......

Steve_F

Like others have said there are a huge range of tyres on the market that range from seriously cheap to seriously expensive.

When you consider how much people will spend to shave a few grammes off their bike £40 on the part of the bike that's in direct contact with the trail isn't excessive.

Personally I can find tyres I like in the middle range of the price bracket and keep a regular eye on eBay to see if there are any at bargin prices as a lot of people will try one and not like it.

Don't see how it's hugely rant worthy when you can basically spend whatever you fancy spending on a tyre.

RichMTB

Its not that I'm tight, I just think that a lot of current prices are taking the p1ss

I'm happy to spend money where it makes a difference. Hope BB's for instance are expensive but worth it.

I'm not advocating we all stick to £15 wire bead hard rubber tyres, but when dual compound kevlar beaded tyres from the likes of Maxxis, Kenda, Panaracer and Specialized are so much cheaper, i'd take a lot of convincing to spend over £80 on two tyres

weeksy59

spongtastic wrote:

yes, but £250 for a pair that will last .

On trackdays, (which i class as the equivalent of DH racing or even Afan) you get 1 day, maybe 2 days out of a pair.

weeksy59

BTW i bought a pair off a bloke on Commencal forum, Nobby and Ralph pair... unused brand new off his CUBE for £35 posted

mkf

not just tires, i feel we pay way too much for anything to do with our sport be it a frame, bike, tire or anything!
Take a step back man, look at your ride, 2k for a bike come on

bails87

mkf wrote:

not just tires, i feel we pay way too much for anything to do with our sport be it a frame, bike, tire or anything!
Take a step back man, look at your ride, 2k for a bike come on

Yes, but you choose to spend that.

You don't have to. You could buy a Carerra Vulcan and ride on unbranded wire bead tyres if you wanted to save money.

The more expensive tyres/bikes obviously provide something that the cheaper ones don't otherwise the manufacturers would go out of business.

This is nearly as silly as the time someone suggested Fox should make a cheap, rubbish fork that at least looked expensive because of the Fox sticker on it.

mkf

no thats not my point, i'm talking about the relative cost of our sport and anything to do with it. Does the design, the equipment, the materials cost that much.doesn't matter if the bike is £50 or 2k+ the percentage mark up is extortionate!

stu8975

Who in there right mind is spending £40+ on a tyre

I used to (Rocket Ron/Racing Ralph UST's), now I use Spesh tyres..2 tubeless ready tyres for the price of a Schwalbe..and there isn't much difference to be honest.

supersonic

£10 - £40 doesn't sound too bad a range at all.

Often good options in between - always go for kevlar beads.

Surf-Matt

My £19.99 Sauserwind S Works are MUCH better than my £40 Conti MK Protections...

bails87

And I'm sure there are £40 tyres that are much better than the Sauserwinds for some people.

mkf
What is the %age mark-up? I'd be interested to know how it breaks down between manufacturers, distributors and shops.

Most things get expensive once you're an 'enthusiast'. People in the past have mentioned quality hi-fis, fishing, R/C kit, kayaking. All things that are expensive, it's specialist kit, and to get the good stuff you have to pay for it. But if you don't want to pay, there are cheaper options.

mkf

thats just it there are no cheap options, even the cheap stuff is over priced

supersonic

You acn get tyres for a fiver in some shops. But they are horrific, plasticky things.

Continental basic range start from about 12 quid.

bails87

mkf wrote:

thats just it there are no cheap options, even the cheap stuff is over priced

Really?

The Spiderman

Compared to the £65-80 Shimano charge for a single XT outer chainring,or £40-£50 on a XT cassette,or £60-70 for a pair of XT shifters ,OE brake pads that are £40 a pair,or that many sadlles cost £70 + is £25-40 on a tyre any more of a rip off ? :roll:

I agree, yes that bike tyres are expensive,in relation to car tyres,(given that I can buy a 205 V rated tyre for my car which will last 30k miles for £80),but given their importance to overall performance when,compared to certain other bike components,I don`t think they are any more a rip off,maybe less so than the examples I ahve given.

scale20

I see what your saying, I'm not tight and tend to spend silly amounts on bike stuff but I draw the line at about £30 each when it comes to tyres.

I went for these last year and have run them through the back end of last summer and this winter.

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/64 ... evlar.html

In my opinion a damn good tyre, and have done me proud. They can struggle a bit in really thick mud but for just over £40 for 2 you can't go wrong.