Cannondale Caad 10 - Tyres for poor road surfaces?

Strobe_UK

I have just ordered a 2011 Caad 10 105 in the end of season sales. Hopefully will take delivery next Tuesday, can't wait!
I took bit of a punt on the bike, it's a first road bike for me but I have been riding MTB's for years. I wanted to get a frame that would last and plumped for the Caad 10 as I found a great deal.
My question concerns the tyres ... I appreciate that the bike is pretty much full-on race bike which is what I wanted and comes with Lugano 23mm tyres. If I need a bit of extra comfort on poor road surfaces, could I fit some 25mm tyres, I was thinking of some Conti Gatorskins or something similar? Any thoughts / suggestions much appreciated?

Soni

Good choice of bike mate, ill hopefully be getting the caad10 ultegra around Christmas.

Regarding the tires, I have conti gators fitted to my trek 2.5 and wouldn't say they are comfortable, far from it, in fact when I first put them on they felt like I had wooden wheels!!

Although this is probably due to the pressure I'm running them at 120psi, they say the conti's need running at high pressures above 110 to prevent flats and so far knock on wood they have, although I keep pulling penetrations from the tire, they haven't got past the puncture proof belt.....

I've ran loads of tires and by far the most comfortable but most puncture prone I've ran are vittoria paves, they were lovely and comfortable and smooth to ride on but I had 3 punctured in 30 miles one day, 2 of which were in the same tire....

Strobe_UK

Thanks for the reply, mate. Yep, can't wait for mine to arrive (Tuesday hopefully assuming Wheelbase's website is up-to-date for stock!). I didn't buy the bike for Winter-use but obviously don't want to leave it languishing until the Spring - I buy my bikes to ride all weathers. There are roads on a 5/6 mile stretch from home to the decent roads which are pretty cr@p tbh and I was after some tyres to help, don;t want to be plagued with punctures and some extra comfort would help.

colint

Great bike, I've had mine for about 4 months and love it, handles superbly. I changed the tyres to Fortezza tricomp, I've used them for years as they're light and grippy, and so far no pun**ures on this bike. Can't really comment on the comfort of the lugano as I nver used them but no complaints on the tricomp

porker33

I have a caad10-105...I run the 23mm as I have fitted crud2 guards.....I seriously doubt if these will fit with 25mm tyres, but there is clearance for 25mm tyres without a guard fitted by the look of the frame.

The rs10 wheels that come with the bike seem a bit hopeless, I have never had this before, but they seem to go out of true very quickly...I don't know if the absorbency of wider tyres will help enough?

Strobe_UK

I am not intending to fit mudguards of any kind ... I have been riding mountain bikes for years ... getting a bit wet and post-ride cleaning routine is all part of the fun!
@colint, thanks for the suggestion on the tricomps, will have a look at those.
@porker, have heard a bit of adverse feedback on the RS10's, I'm not the lightest, but as long as they are stay reasonably true I reckon I'll be OK (also got a good LBS who I'm sure could them a proper going over if need be).
Any more suggestions of 25mm 'Winter' tyres, keep em coming?
Thanks.

Chad_c_Mulligan

These are always a good bet (if a touch expensive) - Continental Grand Prix 4 Season

EKIMIKE

I've had incredible luck with Vittoria Rubino tyres if you want to call it luck.

Two long winters, 1 P which occurred on a hedge strewn stretch of road which is so small it rarely gets driven along and is a mess as a result (akin to cyclocross!). It was a beast of a thorn.

Ok Vittoria's aren't known to be the most grippy, but who is pushing the limits during winter anyway? I've never crashed in those 2 winters.

I ran a pair for the previous two winters and they still have alot of life left in them however they are the version with additional sidewall protection (which is totally uneccessary) and it's frayed out and was getting on my nerves. So i got a pair of Rubino Pro III 25mm, without the silly sidewall thing, which are excellent so far, no P's.

They roll pretty damn well with a slick central section and are simply ridiculously tough. I believe they used the RAAM as their testing.

I also ran the Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp's for a while and in particular for a torrid LEJOG and had zero P's. They didn't wear so well when the weather and roads got worse however. The cuts became a few too many for true winter use.

colint

Fair point about the wear on the tricomps, I've just come to trust them so much that I put up with them, but agree they are prone to cuts etc,

Soni

Strobe_UK wrote:

Thanks for the reply, mate. Yep, can't wait for mine to arrive (Tuesday hopefully assuming Wheelbase's website is up-to-date for stock!). I didn't buy the bike for Winter-use but obviously don't want to leave it languishing until the Spring - I buy my bikes to ride all weathers. There are roads on a 5/6 mile stretch from home to the decent roads which are pretty cr@p tbh and I was after some tyres to help, don;t want to be plagued with punctures and some extra comfort would help.

You'll have to post some pictures when you get it!

If you want comfort and puncture resistance, i can recommend Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

I ran them for over a year, riding every day through lanes with flint, glass, thorns etc., and not a single puncture, my wife now has the same tires on her bike (as i said i've got the Gators now) and she hasn't had a puncture either, if anything gets into the tire surface, it seems to get pushed out automatically.

They are comfy even to the point of springy, and due to the thick puncture belt you can run them at any pressure without reducing the puncture resistance - the only downside is they aren't that quick......hence why i went for the gators....

However, due to the amount of stiff rubber puncture belt (it is thick!!) some find it difficult to get the tires on their rims, i did one in about 2 minutes, the other took about 4/5.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... lus-10686/

(take a read of the above review by Masala - he's been trying to get the tire on for the last 7 hours and still hasn't managed it!!)

Evil Laugh

Sonny you must have some bad luck. I've done thousands of miles on 2 sets of Vittoria Paves and never punctured. Regularly pick out bits of glass and stone from the tread but has never gone through the belt. Great tires in my experience. Excellent grip and comfort and can run them at about 90-95 psi on 21mm wide rims at my 12.5 stone.

My girlfriend has had similar luck with Conti gp4000 s. 3000+ miles and only 1 glass puncture. 25mm version of this tyre could be a good shout they seem durable, not as comfy and don't feel as grippy to me as vittorias.

Soni

Evil Laugh wrote:

Sonny you must have some bad luck. I've done thousands of miles on 2 sets of Vittoria Paves and never punctured. Regularly pick out bits of glass and stone from the tread but has never gone through the belt. Great tires in my experience. Excellent grip and comfort and can run them at about 90-95 psi on 21mm wide rims at my 12.5 stone.

My girlfriend has had similar luck with Conti gp4000 s. 3000+ miles and only 1 glass puncture. 25mm version of this tyre could be a good shout they seem durable, not as comfy and don't feel as grippy to me as vittorias.

Do you ride through lanes in the winter though? The lanes around here are littered with debris....

It was a shame as from memory i think i paid around £35.00 per tire, i've paid less for car tires!

And now they are hanging up in the garage as i won't use them anymore.....

Maybe its because they are green....bad luck colour!

Evil Laugh

Mainly ride through Kent/Surrey/south London. Maybe im really lucky and our roads here are good. At a minimum though i must have at least a good tyre mounting technique! Not had a p for years. Used the paves in all conditions. Really rate them. Riding Veloflex at the moment but thinking to go back to paves now winter is coming.

By all means send yours my way, I need a new set!

Soni

Evil Laugh wrote:

Mainly ride through Kent/Surrey/south London. Maybe im really lucky and our roads here are good. At a minimum though i must have at least a good tyre mounting technique! Not had a p for years. Used the paves in all conditions. Really rate them. Riding Veloflex at the moment but thinking to go back to paves now winter is coming.

By all means send yours my way, I need a new set!

I'm also in Kent

PiersHS

Soni wrote:

And now they are hanging up in the garage as i won't use them anymore.....

Maybe its because they are green....bad luck colour!

If you won't use them any more, would you be willing to sell them?!

Soni

PiersHS wrote:

Soni wrote:

And now they are hanging up in the garage as i won't use them anymore.....

Maybe its because they are green....bad luck colour!

If you won't use them any more, would you be willing to sell them?!

Of course, as said only been used the once (30 miles worth), however 3 punctures in the two tires, so 1 x impregnation in 1 tire and 2 x impregnations in the other tire, if you are interested drop me a PM.

blatchcorn

I bought a cannondale caad10 earlier this summer and was wondering how I can winter-proof it? I was going to put my guards on, but I am also a little woried about not having enough grip with the standard tyres. I have never riden a road bike in winter so any advice would be great.

Soni

blatchcorn wrote:

I bought a cannondale caad10 earlier this summer and was wondering how I can winter-proof it? I was going to put my guards on, but I am also a little woried about not having enough grip with the standard tyres. I have never riden a road bike in winter so any advice would be great.

Road bikes are lethal on the ice, i've gone down a few times, nothing you can do, although i've managed to stay upright once, and that was with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

getting_on_a_bit

I have a Caad 10 2011 fitted from new a few months ago with Conti 4000s 25mm tyres,no problems or punctures so far.

EKIMIKE

To be fair Vittoria Pave's are still race tyres. They're not winter tyres in my book.

Race tyres that are a little wider and tougher for the cobbles/spring. Like an intermediate. I've used them but can't say i'd buy them again 'cos they're a little too niche for my purposes.

Strobe_UK

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. My LBS looks to have bit of a sale on Conti's at the mo (20% of Gators and GP 4 Seasons), so will pop in there when the new steed arrives.

Wirral_paul

Soni wrote:

I've ran loads of tires and by far the most comfortable but most puncture prone I've ran are vittoria paves, they were lovely and comfortable and smooth to ride on but I had 3 punctured in 30 miles one day, 2 of which were in the same tire....

Thats just made my girlfriend look at me as if i'm a wierdo when i fell about laughing. Given most bikes only have two wheels - it would be pretty hard NOT to have 2 punctures in the same tyre if you have 3 punctures in a day.

Wirral_paul

Soni wrote:

I've ran loads of tires and by far the most comfortable but most puncture prone I've ran are vittoria paves, they were lovely and comfortable and smooth to ride on but I had 3 punctured in 30 miles one day, 2 of which were in the same tire....

Thats just made my girlfriend look at me as if i'm a wierdo when i fell about laughing. Given most bikes only have two wheels - it would be pretty hard NOT to have 2 punctures in the same tyre if you have 3 punctures in a day.

Soni

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Soni wrote:

I've ran loads of tires and by far the most comfortable but most puncture prone I've ran are vittoria paves, they were lovely and comfortable and smooth to ride on but I had 3 punctured in 30 miles one day, 2 of which were in the same tire....

Thats just made my girlfriend look at me as if i'm a wierdo when i fell about laughing. Given most bikes only have two wheels - it would be pretty hard NOT to have 2 punctures in the same tyre if you have 3 punctures in a day.

I do have a tendancy of saying stupid things and stating the obvious i've been told in the past, i'm just glad i've made somebody smile at my stupidity

Evil Laugh

Given the choice, I would have admitted to riding the tricycle.

racingcondor

I'd go with GP4000S in the 25mm option. Great in the wet, pretty durable and can be bought at a reasonable price. I'd disagree with Soni, they don't need to be run at really high pressures unless you're heavy, I'm 11st and pump them to 90 front and 100 rear every 3-4 days (very rarely puncture even in flinty Kent).

Personally I'd avoid Gatorskins (and the Lugano's that come with it) as the grip in the wet leaves a lot to be desired.

keef66

I've been on 25mm Conti 4 Seasons for 3 years now, and for year round riding I can't fault them. Comfort, grip, durability; what more could you ask for??

I have room on my bike for the 25s with full guards though.

buccal

Would there be clearance for 28's without guards?