Which tyre do I want for winter training club rides?

superfly777

I've see loads of chat about which tyres people should get for winter riding, but there doesn't seem to be any consensus so I thought I'd see what people thought myself.

I'm 23 and a club rider training through the winter and mostly interested in punture resistence, grip in the wet weather and I don't want the tyre to roll too slowly. I don't mind a bit of extra weight and I am interested in keeping my cost reasonable.

So far the tyres that constantly seem to turn up are:
Michelin Krylion Carbon
Continental Gatoskin
Continental Grand Prix 4 Season
Specialized All Condition
Specialized Armadillo Elite
Schwalbe Durano
Bontrager Race All Weather Hardcase

There's a bit of variety in price and purpose in these tyres obviously, so what do people think would be the best winter training tyre on balance?
Thanks.

kingrollo

Well I opted to try the kryllions - doesn't roll terribly well and the grip isn't confidence inspiring to be honest.....so these would get thumbs down from me.

simon_e

superfly777 wrote:

Michelin Krylion Carbon
Schwalbe Durano
Bontrager Race All Weather Hardcase

All 3 get great reviews*, buy 25mm if you can. Bontrager is probably cheapest, the standard Race Lite Hardcase is excellent value - you don't need any tread on a road bike, even in the wet.

* except kingrollo, it seems

Frank the tank

Continental ultragatorskins get my vote and have done for several years. They have good puncture resistance and the price is reasonable, especially if you get them on offer out of "the comic" in wire bead. Also roll well, grip is as good as any tyre can be on winter roads.

TBH, you have in some ways answered your own quetion as whenever this question is asked invariably the same tyres crop up.

danlikesbikes

I run Continental Grand Prix 4 Season on my winter bike and do well on club run's. Opted for them on recommendation of some others in my club & advised they were pretty good for the roads round our way.

Bronzie

kingrollo wrote:

Well I opted to try the kryllions - doesn't roll terribly well and the grip isn't confidence inspiring to be honest.....so these would get thumbs down from me.

Same here - I got the 25mm Krylions after reading all the recommendations on here and I've been dissapointed. Poor grip in the wet and cut easily.

Prefer the GP4 Seasons myself. Just bought a set of Bonty Hardcases to see what they are like (about 1/2 price of GP4s) but haven't had chance to ride them yet.

rake

there was a bad batch at one time. i have no cuts after 2k on 23mm.

softlad

superfly777 wrote:

I've see loads of chat about which tyres people should get for winter riding, but there doesn't seem to be any consensus

there's a clue there, somewhere.....

Scrumple

so many threads too.....

GP4s - fast
Gatorskins - slower but more durable

Krylions seem to have gone downhill on the last batch

superfly777

Cheers for the replies. I quite liked the Krylions but seems like they're inconsistent from batch to batch. The 4 Seasons seem like a good tyre but a bit more expensive than i'd like and they won't last as long. For winter training i'd like something durable so the gatorskins and bontragers both seem like good options.

Checking out the website that Simon E contributed (cheers btw), the Race Lite Hardcase are cheap but I can get a pair of the folding Race X Lite Hardcase for under £30 which seems amazing.
http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/122920.html

The question is do I want to pay 4 quid extra to get the red stripe rather than having them all black? Or another way to put it, how vain am I?

simon_e

superfly777 wrote:

Checking out the website that Simon E contributed (cheers btw), the Race Lite Hardcase are cheap but I can get a pair of the folding Race X Lite Hardcase for under £30 which seems amazing.
http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/122920.html

I have a pair of the Race X Lite I bought from All Terrain when they were previously on offer. They are ~100g lighter than that standard Hardcase and are IMHO excellent tyres. Buy them. If you like red sidewalls pay the extra, that's still a really good price.

dennisn

FWIW buy some good, sturdy, fairly heavy tires for winter riding. Remember, you're going to be riding NOT racing, so don't bother with expensive and flimsy stuff. Go with
cheap and heavy duty. Even the tubes should be heavier. Flats in cold, wet, miserable weather are just loads of fun, if you follow my meaning. Thinking that you need or must have high end tires to go on a club ride, especially in foul weather, is wrong thinking. It's a club run, not a race.

rake

i think michelin moved production. the good ones are made in france on the pack.

jonmack

I've had good experiences with Gatorskins, I had one puncture after doing about 500ish miles on them, and that was a piece of glass that worked its way through the tread.

JackPozzi

Just to throw another option in, I'm a big fan of Panaracer Paselas for winter riding, have got a pair that have lasted 3 winters including touring on some very dodgy roads. Haven't let me down yet puncture wise, grip is good and they're reasonably priced.

I've found all the michelins I've had cut up really easily, krylions and pro race 2 and 3s which I have used on summer bikes, I tend to avoid them now....

John.T

Conti 4 Seasons are about the only tyre I have managed to wear out before the carcase became deformed due to water entering cuts. Gators were terrible for this. I binned 3 with plenty of tread left. Also one with a cut sidewall after 4 miles, just bad luck there I guess.
Rubino Pro have not been bad either.
To be honest I would just get whatever good quality tyre is available at a good price. Avoid race tyres though.

Soni

Depends on whether you want to risk holding all the guys up in your group whilst you change a puncture.....

If you want an almost guaranteed no puncture ride, then you need Schwalbe Marathon Plus:-

http://www.ladypoolcycles.co.uk/product ... cts_id=290

I've got them on my bike, and whilst not the fastest, they are the most reliable tire i've had, never punctured despite constantly pulling long shards of glass and flint out of them, nothing can penetrate the SmartGuard Rubber unless you are unfortunate enough to run over a 6" nail!

RonB

Jan 2011 C+ has a review of winter tyres, which might help.

Scrumple

seems gators, krylions, 4 seasons, and duranos come out best

surprise surprise

Not. It is just a balance as to how heavy or how quick you want to be versus safe.

Just get the best deal, like someone said.

Uncle Ook

GP Four Seasons. 5000 miles this year over all sorts of road surfaces. ZERO punctures. Had Gatorskins before that and two punctures within 200 miles...

Ellio

I tried Gatorskins and really didn't like them. On about my 3rd ride out they got a puncture. Also if the road was slightly damp pushing hard up hill would make the rear wheel spin out and all my effort was lost. I got Armadillo all seasons fitted when i bought a new bike a few months ago and they have been perfect so far in wet and dry and touch wood no punctures yet

nakita222

Check this guys post on best puncture proof tyres
http://cyclingchat.co.uk/what-tyre-for- ... oad-bikes/
really good blog, apart from his spelling