Tire advice please.

Valy

I currently I have a Michelin Krylion Carbon on the rear and it is not the most grippy tire out there as I found out by falling mid corner. It locks up quite easily under braking too compared to the Mondo Sports that came stock on my Allez.

Today I felt a Gatorskin (not sure if it was the newer or the older one) in a shop and it felt quite soft and grippy. But, there are a few mixed comments about the grip - some say they snap in the wet, others say they are good.

Another option are the GP 4 Season tires, which again are said to have better grip than the Gatorskins and yet again there are a few mentions of them snapping (grip-wise).

I have also felt some Specialized tires which seem quite soft and grippy throughout more or less, with a few being a bit harder but still grippy.


All of the above grip "assessments" have been done by feeling the compounds for softness etc with hands, so yeah not the most accurate way!

Question is, can any of you recommend a few tires where the grip is good, but of course, at the same time I don't want to have the puncture protection of a teabag.

Would be really cool if you could give experiences with Specialized and Continental tyres as well.

Thanks!

skinnypunter

Been through much the same process myself. Was getting rid of the standard Bonty tyres on my Trek, and eventually plumped for Continental Attack / Force combo.

They are definitely 'better' than the old tyres. I always ride with a Garmin GPS and have been able to do some basic speed comparisons on my commute ride, and saw an immediate speed increase. They seem quite grippy in corners, although I'm fairly bottleless on descents following a near death experience coming down Mont Ventoux last year and a perfectly executed handlebar loop (with double axel and toe loop) on my MTB, so I'm not very agressive downhill/in the bends.

HTH?

Ed

kingderham

I have seca serfas,have done 60miles a week average(even through the snow, ice) have only had 1 puncture, i have friends who have gator skins and gps4000 and they puncture regulally.

gsk82

i've just bought a gatorskin for my rear today due to puncturing my cheapo schalbes so often, so hopefully it'll be pretty good. i've only punctured once in about 2500m miles on my summer bike with gp4000s on, loads f grip in dry or wet, but not really rode in bad conditions so don't know about puncture resistance in winter

captain_tiara

Have tried all sorts of tyre.

Continental Force/Attack are way my favourites, damn fine grip wet & dry, punctures once in a blue moon [albeit country riding].

Makes sense to have a slighty different tyre matrix, as the rear does get a harder time than the front.

Specialized used to ride like a wheelbarrow. I don't know if they're any better now.

Extralight

I'm riding with a Michelin Krylion Carbon on the rear, and a Continental Gatorskin on the front. My experience of these is that both are fine in the dry, but that the Michelin has better grip in the wet than the Conti. I find the Conti quite slippery in the wet by comparison, but the Conti does seem harder wearing (even taking in to account the fact that it's on the front, so has an easier time than the rear), and it doesn't cut nearly so easily as the Michelin. However, despite the softness of the rubber on the Michelin (and it seems to soften with wear), it's still proved to be a reliable winter tyre on London roads with - dare I say it - no punctures yet (after 500+ miles commuting). Both are good winter tyres, but neither compare in terms of grip in the wet with Vittoria Corsa Evo (clincher). However, those lovely Corsas got shredded as soon as the bad weather arrived, and got ditched after 4 punctures (3 on the front, 1 on the rear) in one week! It's a bit optimistic to think that an out-and-out racing tyre like that will be resilient enough to commute on in bad weather, but the ride quality and grip was markedly better than the Michelin or Contis described above, so they'd still be my tyre of choice for racing (if I did any these days).

Hope this helps.

huuregeil

Are you using 23mm or 25mm tyres, and what pressures are you running? These two variables alone will make more difference to your grip and puncture resistance than the individual tyres you mention. E.g. the least grippy tyre (within reason! Talking tyres inthe same ballpark) in 25mm and at 80psi will whip a 23mm at 120psi.

Valy

Yeah, that's the conclusion I'm leaning towards as well. I think I may just get a 25mm Gatoskin.

BTW - what is the difference between the Gatorskin and the Ultra Gatorskin? As far as I can work out it seems that the Ultra is older and is heavier, but what about the compounds and so on?

EDIT: Oh yeah - 23mm ~ 110-115PSI