New Tyres

peter413

Well the original tyres on my Triban are useless, not been used much and both have split quite badly. So I'm needing some new ones. Not looking to spend too much, ideally about £30 for the pair. I need something durable and I'm willing to sacrifice weight for this but I still want decent grip, don't want the new ones to split after only a few hundred miles as well. I weigh over 100kg if that matters.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm totally clueless when it comes to roadie kit, all I know is my current ones are 700x23c so ideally I want to stick with 23c since it's not too small for comfort and pinch flat protection but not too big for the frame/brakes.

JayKosta

At a rider weight of 100+ Kg, I'd recommend using 25 or 28 mm tires.
And look for name-brand tires that are for 'training' or 'touring', not 'racing'.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

peter413

For what reason would you suggest going up a tyre size? I'm not suffering any issues because of the size of the tyres, just the fact the originals both split unless you think they did this because of their size?

sungod

go to 25mm minimum, you'll get improved traction, lower wear and they'll ride better

as for exactly which tyres, depends on your priorities

do you want fast, low rolling resistance, or durable with more puncture protection

peter413

I'm really not sure I can fit 25 mm tyres through the calipers, the 23's are tight enough as it is and I can't loosen them any more as that means there will be too much lever movement for my liking. How would the bigger tyre mean less wear anyway?

Priorities are for a strong tyre with reasonable speed and grip. Note when I say strong I mean strong, not less likely to get punctures, I don't suffer from excessive punctures as it is, just my current tyres both shredded so they obviously aren't the strongest build wise.

Sprool

i moved up to conti gp4000s 25's and they have felt good, running at slightly lower pressure gives a smoother ride, contact patch a little bigger, better grip when cornering and pretty robust. They are a lot of money but Im happy with them.

sungod

peter413 wrote:

I'm really not sure I can fit 25 mm tyres through the calipers, the 23's are tight enough as it is and I can't loosen them any more as that means there will be too much lever movement for my liking. How would the bigger tyre mean less wear anyway?

Priorities are for a strong tyre with reasonable speed and grip. Note when I say strong I mean strong, not less likely to get punctures, I don't suffer from excessive punctures as it is, just my current tyres both shredded so they obviously aren't the strongest build wise.

if you can't get 25mm through the calipers with the quick releases open there's something wrong

with 25mm there's more rubber on the road, so wear rate is lower and traction is improved as well, on the typical crappy uk road surface it's worthwhile

petemadoc

I concur with what the others say

Go for 25mm, anything from the big brands should be OK. I know the commuters rate Vittoria Rubino pro. I'd avoid continental, I think their cheaper tyres are rubbish, I've had 2 split on the sidewalls and had to bin them after little use.

peter413

Ok, so if I was to go for 25c tyres, what would you recommend? So far only the Schwalbe Durano has jumped out at me but Schwalbe recommend a max weight of 70kg on all their road tyres by the looks of it so not sure how tough it really is.

I had already ruled out Continental, I know a pretty decent racer who said the only Continental he found to last was the Gatorskins but they have hardly any grip.

chigman

Hi

I have just bought some new tyres and went for the Vredestein Fortezza TriComp Folding Tyre on a recommendation from a guy at my LBS. He told me that he can use any tyres he wants ( he races ) and that these were his tyre of choice and has been for the best part of a year now. Look at the reviews on Wiggle and judge for yourself. I only got mine at the weekend and did a half century on them yesterday. They do seem a very nice tyre.

asprilla

peter413 wrote:

Schwalbe recommend a max weight of 70kg on all their road tyres by the looks of it so not sure how tough it really is.

????

I'm 75KG and have used Duranos, Durano Plus and Durano S across all my bikes for years. Never seen a weight limit for them. I've got three bikes currently shod with Durano and they are the best high mileage / bad road tyre I've come across.

peter413

If you go on the Schwalbe Website and look at the extra information on the tyres, it shows the maximum recommended load as 70kg.

I may just end up getting them though. I've currently got an Ultremo R that a mate gave me when my other split and that has been ok for the past few rides, will keep running it for a bit more to see how well it actually lasts.

drlodge

peter413 wrote:

Ok, so if I was to go for 25c tyres, what would you recommend? So far only the Schwalbe Durano has jumped out at me but Schwalbe recommend a max weight of 70kg on all their road tyres by the looks of it so not sure how tough it really is.

I had already ruled out Continental, I know a pretty decent racer who said the only Continental he found to last was the Gatorskins but they have hardly any grip.

That's just one person's opinion...lots here will recommend Conti tyres, the GP 4 Seasons, or GP 4000S are even better.

Sprool

I find it hard to believe that only people 70kg or less should use Schwalbe tyres. I see what you mean on their website - maybe they mean loading per wheel, so 70kg would be for just one wheel, the tyres being suitable for up to 130kg rider (if the bike weighs 10kg...)

peter413

Sprool wrote:

I find it hard to believe that only people 70kg or less should use Schwalbe tyres. I see what you mean on their website - maybe they mean loading per wheel, so 70kg would be for just one wheel, the tyres being suitable for up to 130kg rider (if the bike weighs 10kg...)

That could be the case. Maybe I should shoot them an email. If you look at their DH tyres though they have weights of 120kg or there abouts which would mean a combined weight of 240kg, not entirely convinced they would like that.

peter413

Well I sent a message to Schwalbe and still no reply so don't think I'm going to go for them. Looking at Continental's on Bike-Discount and the Ultra Sport and Super Sport Plus's are pretty cheap. Anyone think a Super Sport Plus on the back with an Ultra Sport on the front would be a decent combo. I know I said I didn't mind weight too much but the Super Sport Sport's are well over 300g a tyre. Happy to use it on the back if it lasts but would rather something slightly lighter on the front. Or maybe just two Ultra Sports would be alright?

yakk

Hi there, I was tempted by Continental Ultra sports and found them very mediocre - not good grip, punctured at times (maybe a bit more than others?).
I've found Vittoria Rubino Pro's to be a good mixture of toughness, durability and reasonable (not exceptional!) grip. I know it's not your priority, but they're reasonably light, and they're reasonable price-wise. Ribble sometimes have them for £17ish each.
Not used Duranos, but used older types of Schwalbe (blizzard sport, stelvios etc) and found them good.
Hope that helps.
Yak

racingcondor

Conti GP 4 Seasons last and come in a 25. Grip is good too.

Conti Ultra Sport, Contact and Gator skins all slide around in the wet, I'd only recommend the 4 Season or the GP4000S and while the GP4000S is the better tyre they last around 2k miles compared to 5-6k for the 4 Seasons (or so I'm told, don't have personal experience).

peter413

The GP's are a little out of my budget. I don't normally ride in the rain either, if it's wet I'd usually rather go get mucky on the XC bike.

I could maybe stretch to a GP 4000 S for the front with an Ultra Sport for the back but that is still stretching the budget. Thing is though, the GP's seem to be calling themselves out and out race tyres and I thought I should be looking more at training tyres?

JayKosta

'Generally' a difference between a 'race' and a 'trainer/tour' tire is the amount of grip for cornering - a race tire should have more, and gets it by using a tread material that is 'stickier' and which wears faster. 'Train/tour' tires usually have a thicker (heavier) and more durable tread for longer wear and more strength, but with less grip.

What is the weight of the tires currently on the bike? Knowing that will help you identify what others are lighter / heavier.

Also, I'm sure the Schwable 70kg limit is PER TIRE.

I weigh 75Kg and am using a new set of Bontrager (Trek) T2 23c tires. They seem ok to me for training, but I've only had them a short time, so don't know how they will last.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

peter413

They were some wire bead Btwin tyres, can't remember the weight. I don't really care if they're lighter though, just that they will last longer than a few hundred miles.