Safety of Schwalbe Ultremo R.1 in event of puncture????

miurasv

How safe are these tyres in the event of a puncture? My concern is that they are very easy to get on and off my Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels. No levers are needed at all. Though this is good for installing tyres etc, I almost had a heart attack when I had a puncture on the front tyre. It felt like the tyre was going to come off the rim and given how easy they go on and off this could be quite likely. Any puncture is dangerous, especially at speed, but the tyre coming off a rim is more dangerous surely? Other tyres I've used are much harder to get on and off. Is it the tyres, the rims or is it just me?

peter101cycle

Should not be a problem - never had an issue with my Ultremos (other than the original manufacturing defect pair I had).

wildmoustache

It's the tyre / rim combination that's the issue.

Remember that there are tens of thousands of K Elites out there, being ridden with all sorts of tyres, and we don't hear of tyres blowing off the rim. On that basis you probably have little to worry about.

However, if you are worried then pick a different tyre. Contis tend to be fairly tight.

If you are really worried then pick a different wheel. Low end Campagnolo tend to fairly tight.

Gazzaputt

IMO after 3 sets I have come to the conclusion these are the worst tyres ever.

First lot recalled, 2nd had sidewall problems and also premature wearing and the 3rd set suffered with sidewalls going again.

Sticking with Contis now.

EKIMIKE

Did you ride them in winter or summer? If so did the problems (post recall) occur in winter or summer/bad or good road conditions?

I'm curious because i'm tempted to get them for my best/summer bike. So i'm hoping they'll be ok.

wildmoustache

I tried the ZX at the weekend and was not impressed. Leaving aside that the 25mm was 24mm if that (I had wind of their narrowness so went up a size), they felt harsh and a bit slippery. Not confidence inspiring.

Give me GPForce, GP4000S, P3R or CXs any day

EKIMIKE

Might have to be. I'm a Vittoria man normally ( and love their tyres) so i'll probably stick with them.

wildmoustache

tbh i think vittorias in "Open" (clincher) format are a bit overrated on forums like this. They do roll pretty well, but nothing special in grip, comfort and puncture resistance. Interesting to see how the SCs get on.

I recommend giving GPForce a try. 24mm works well front and rear and has the black chilli compound which helps.

Gazzaputt

EKIMIKE wrote:

Did you ride them in winter or summer? If so did the problems (post recall) occur in winter or summer/bad or good road conditions?

I'm curious because i'm tempted to get them for my best/summer bike. So i'm hoping they'll be ok.

Only been summer use were on 'best' bike.

EKIMIKE

I will not use Continental tyres in view of how sh!t their inner tubes have been for me. I've never puntured a conti tube, they just persist on failing at the vavle. Not good enough. Seen and heard of alot of sidewall failure's on conti's too.

Add to that £32 for GP Force compared to £28 for 320TPI Corsa's or £20 for 220TPI Diamante's then i think i know where i'll go. The main draw for me on the Ultremo's was weight. Just curious to see if such a low weight tyre felt better. Don't think i'll bother.

Cheers for the suggestion though.

wildmoustache

EKIMIKE wrote:

I will not use Continental tyres in view of how sh!t their inner tubes have been for me. I've never puntured a conti tube, they just persist on failing at the vavle. Not good enough. Seen and heard of alot of sidewall failure's on conti's too.

Add to that £32 for GP Force compared to £28 for 320TPI Corsa's or £20 for 220TPI Diamante's then i think i know where i'll go. The main draw for me on the Ultremo's was weight. Just curious to see if such a low weight tyre felt better. Don't think i'll bother.

Cheers for the suggestion though.

I don't use conti tubes much so won't comment, but understand if you have a general sanction on the brand from experience with their tubes. FWIW GPForce is also very low weight - c.195g, which for a fairly hardy 24mm tyre is very good.

Ultremo weight is mis-leading. Their 25mm ZX is somewhere around 23.5mm and 215g - they are "lighter" because they are narrower.

Vittorias are ok though i think on forums like this their pro associations blind people to their limitations. In the wet the grip is poor- and Vittoria themselves have implicitly recognised this with the SC designed to address this. And CX puncture resistence is mediocre. Ride quality is inferior to both GPForce and P2R and 25mm P3R (25mm vs. 25mm).

EKIMIKE

You make some good points. I've used Vittoria Pavé's and i love the ride and Rubino's have been bullet proof - 2 winters, no punctures, the front has even been under the wheel of a blokes land rover!

I must say it's totally irrational that i'm averse to Conti tyres on the basis that their tubes are turd. The more i look at the GP Attack/Force combo the more i'm tempted. Work out at about £1 more than Corsa Evo CX's. Cheers again for the suggestion.

wildmoustache

EKIMIKE wrote:

You make some good points. I've used Vittoria Pavé's and i love the ride and Rubino's have been bullet proof - 2 winters, no punctures, the front has even been under the wheel of a blokes land rover!

I must say it's totally irrational that i'm averse to Conti tyres on the basis that their tubes are turd. The more i look at the GP Attack/Force combo the more i'm tempted. Work out at about £1 more than Corsa Evo CX's. Cheers again for the suggestion.

Fair play. I have heard the Rubinos are tough a good winter/ commuter tyre. Never tried them. My Vitt experience is limited to CX tub and clincher, SC clincher (which I like so far), and Pave (quite like, not tough enough given 250g weight and a bit suspect in the wet).

If you end up giving Contis a go, then go for GPForce front and rear would be my suggestion. If not that then the 25mm GP4000S

bendertherobot

Zx are the comfiest tyres I've ever had.

Scrumple

Force is not a rear tyre...

Attack is the better option, Force is too lightweight.

Use them on my summer ride, and the GP4 seasons as a winter tyre.

bendertherobot

wildmoustache wrote:

If you end up giving Contis a go, then go for GPForce front and rear would be my suggestion. If not that then the 25mm GP4000S

Didn't think there was a 25mm S version?

PeterBL

bendertherobot wrote:

Didn't think there was a 25mm S version?

There is, new for 2011. Otherwise, the black version of the GP4000 is just the same.

wildmoustache

Scrumple wrote:

Force is not a rear tyre...

Attack is the better option, Force is too lightweight.

Use them on my summer ride, and the GP4 seasons as a winter tyre.

Force is designed as a rear tyre though works well as a front too. By too lightweight I assume you mean not durable enough? I've had good luck over 2000km on them recently, including some cr@p surfaces but of course luck and where you ride will determine your view on them. GP4 seasons for sure is a lot more stout.

UpTheWall

I've been running the same ultremos on my ksyriums and they've been fine. I've done a good 1.5k on them around Surrey and Portugal.

I'm now using a lower spec ultremo on my commute bike as the red ones match my frame nicely!

And hence I come to my point; wear, puncture resistance, etc. is all well and good but they need to bring your look together...