Lighter, Faster Tyres - Is there really a big difference?

cycladianpirate

I'm running Marathon Pluses on my old hybrid but have noticed a lot of comments along the lines of "Yes, they're superb for puncture resistance but are heavy and don't roll well".

Frankly, it would take a lot for me to risk having to sit at the side of a road in the cold and damp changing a tube to make me convert to something more efficient (in terms of performance), but I was wondering if those of you with experience of running various sets of tyres and considering the trade-off between performance and ruggedness could give me an idea of what I might be missing.

Cheers.

dennisn

Switching to, so called, performance tires will definately let you know what it feels like
to "...sit at the side of a road in the cold and damp....". You're obviously not racing, so why would you switch? As far a what you're missing, other than the "cold and damp",
I would guess you might go a bit faster. Key words being might and bit. You're also missing paying more money for tires that won't last as long.

Berk Bonebonce

Used Marathon Pluses for a good while, and yes, they ain't the most supple or comfortable of tyres, but that's not why I bought them.

Have now switched from Marathon Pluses to Big Apple 2.0" on my 26" utility bike. I get a more comfortable ride, I get better rolling performance, they are a tad lighter in weight ... and I use Slime tyre liners that only the sharpest of thorns can pierce.

meanredspider

I tried some Bontrager HardCase tyres for a very short while instead of the conti Gatorskins I usually ride on. Holey Moley - I was really surprised at the difference - measureable in the terminal velocity I could achieve on the steepest downhill section on my ride.

I don't really understand the "only commuting" comments I sometimes read. I'm often "only commuting" 160 miles a week - that seems to make some sense to me to get some decent and quick equipment.

jeremyrundle

Berk Bonebonce

I agree with this person, I have puncture proof on one bike and standard tyres on another, looks are almost the same but the puncture proof are slower, and will go to 40psi where as the others go to 55 psi, and I TOO use slime (liquid) in the tube and slime (tape) in the tyre on the standard tyre, will not buy puncture proof again.

Underscore

meanredspider wrote:

I don't really understand the "only commuting" comments I sometimes read. I'm often "only commuting" 160 miles a week - that seems to make some sense to me to get some decent and quick equipment.

+1

Where is it written that commuting can't be fun too? I swapped the original Armadillos (0 punctures in 3-4000 miles) on my commuter for Gatorskins (2 punctures in ~2000 miles). Would I swap back? No, the two punctures were worth it for the better rolling tyre the rest of the time. However, next time, I'm going to try Duranos in the hope of getting fewer punctures without sacrificing the fun aspect...

_

cycladianpirate

Thanks for the feedback. Might well try something a bit racier for the weekend ride (although I am subjecting myself to refitting the Marathon Pluses once a week - at least it's in the warm and dry)

dombo6

Huge difference. On my commuter bike I currently run Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tyres which I fitted in December when the snow came. They replaced Tioga semi slicks which were about half the weight. My commute to the station is noticeably slower, takes more effort to get up to speed and on the return journey I have to drop a gear to climb the final 1 mile hill at a slower pace.
However I can descend that same hill and rail its sharp right hander on black ice, hard white snow pack at close to 40 mph with the winter tyres

fossyant

Huge YES.

Massive in some cases. Marathons are the heaviest. Switch to a light road tyre - aka race tyres . OMG.... even switching from a budget road tyre to a performance one....huge.

jacob2910

fossyant wrote:

Huge YES.

Massive in some cases. Marathons are the heaviest. Switch to a light road tyre - aka race tyres ..huge.

+1 i swapped from some old schwable tyre to michelin pro3 race and it feels like a new bike

cjcp

Yep, there's a big difference when I switch from Durano Pluses to Conti 4000Ses. But, since I have ride over the minefield that is Putney Bridge, the latter are too unreliable to use on the commute.

walkingbootweather

Yes lighter, fasters tyres are a bit quicker (only a couple of minutes for me over 12 miles), and a bit more comfortable, but for commuting I prefer bomb proof. Fixing punctures at the side of the road on a cold wet winter night, when I'm running late to pick up the kids is something to avoid if at all possible. It does depend upon your route though - smooth clean surface, hills and lots of stop/starts make lighter tyres more attractive.

CRAIGO5000

I swapped from 700x35 Bontrager inverts (heavy at 500g) to 700x25 Vittoria Ziffaros (~340g). Iam faster on the road tyre because I can run them at 120psi compared to 80psi on the hybrid tyres. Cornering is the main benifit I've noticed. I can take corners faster and with more confidence.

The ride isn't any more harsh than it was on the hybrid tyres which is hugley suprising.

Moodyman

Tyres are about compromises.

Fast, light, grippy, cheap, durable or puncture resistant. No tyre will excel at all of these, so make a list of the things that matter to you and then look for your tyre.

Fast & light tyres are a joy to ride, unless you're at the roadside on a cold December evening fixing your flat with freezing hands.

Puncture resistant tyres keep you rolling, but you'll be cursing them on a Thursday / Friday if you have a long hilly commute.

The Bontrager Racelite Hardcase, in my experience, gets the right balance between all of those features mentioned above.

stevec205gti

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

I swapped from 700x35 Bontrager inverts (heavy at 500g) to 700x25 Vittoria Ziffaros (~340g). Iam faster on the road tyre because I can run them at 120psi compared to 80psi on the hybrid tyres. Cornering is the main benifit I've noticed. I can take corners faster and with more confidence.

Really??? I've found Vittoria Ziffaros to be quite possibly the most unconfidence inspiring tyres I've ever ridden on, and quite happy to spit you off at any opportunity in anything other than bone dry, hot summer conditions!

ride_whenever

personally I like fast light tyres, I love the way they feel under-crank and wouldn't switch to bomb-proof tyres ever.

The only times i've had issues have been when I accidentally go off-road on my pro3's :oops:

If I was really concerned I'd run ultra-lite butyl tubes with a splash of stans sealant in, about the same weight as a standard tube but very very puncture resistant.

thel33ter

stevec205gti wrote:

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

I swapped from 700x35 Bontrager inverts (heavy at 500g) to 700x25 Vittoria Ziffaros (~340g). Iam faster on the road tyre because I can run them at 120psi compared to 80psi on the hybrid tyres. Cornering is the main benifit I've noticed. I can take corners faster and with more confidence.

Really??? I've found Vittoria Ziffaros to be quite possibly the most unconfidence inspiring tyres I've ever ridden on, and quite happy to spit you off at any opportunity in anything other than bone dry, hot summer conditions!

I found my 23c Zaffiro's (500g wire ones) Plenty grippy, and very predictable. Enough to commute on throughout last winter, even on ice and stuff, only had one crash cause I was pushing wayyyyyy too hard. My only complaint is that when I switched to some softer compound Conti Open Pro's (or something like that) I realized how 'dead' the Schwalbes felt, not in a bad way, they just made riding boring.

oodboo

I've just swapped from the standard Continental Speedking 700x35 tyres to Schwalbe Marathon (not the plus) and saved 10 minutes over 15 miles compared to my previous best times. They weigh about the same but I think it comes down to tyre design and tread pattern rather than simply weight. The Marathons have a lot less rolling resistance and I felt I could pick up speed and keep it a lot easier than with the continentals. These have a kevlar guard rather than the smart guard in the pluses and I'm hoping for decent puncture resistance.