Tyres

jimmas

Hi guys
have been getting punctures a lot lately, thinking of fitting some Continental Gatorskin 23c on my bike they currently have 700x 25c giant tyres as standard, are these good tyres and will it make much difference changing the size?

skyd0g

Possibly consider Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons instead, a little more feel than Gatorskins but still pretty good at avoiding the PF.

turnerjohn

skyd0g wrote:

Possibly consider Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons instead, a little more feel than Gatorskins but still pretty good at avoiding the PF.

^^^ as above ....Gators are a little slow and don't have such a good ride quality....still bl**dy good for winter

Sprool

a few local cyclists i know have tried gatorskins, one loves em but most are not very impressed by the feel and grip, esp in damp conditions, though all say they are virtually bombproof on punctures.
A lot of good comments ont eh GP 4 seasons here as well as GP4000s (I upgraded to the 25's and like them - slightly lower running pressure)

Churchill123

I've got a mate who had a defy and it came with generic giant own tyres.. He lost count of the number of times they punctured, I think Giant bikes come with crap tyres and anything you put on will be an improvement..

He did actually replace the giant tyres with gators and hasn't had a single puncture on the same roads since

jimmas

Thanks for all the reply's guys much appreciated

Flâneur

Took me 10 months to get a puncture on my giant tyres. Ended up being 2 within 1 mile today. What I struggled with was getting them back on. Friend I was riding withy says cont gp4 for summer n gator skins for wet winters. No experience tho

fishyweb

My Giant came with Kenda tyres and used to hole very easily. Replaced them with Rubino Pro >5000 miles ago, and have had just one since then.

Mikey41

I've only had one puncture on my Giant tyres in 1300 miles so far, pretty impressed with them TBH. I was far better off than one bloke on a Sportive yesterday, who I passed 3 times while he was fixing punctures.

Mindermast

Last winter, I finally switched to "puncture protected" tyres, first ones I tried were Conti Grand Prix 4-Season. I also got Conti Grand Prix and Schwalbe Marathon Plus (three bikes). I got one puncture due to old rim tape (conti GP 4-Season) and one due to mishandling - tyre popped out of the rim and the brake ripped into the tube (Schwalbe). Since that, nothing! There might be better tyres and worse, but these did the job for me. The winter before, I had more punctures that I liked to count. During the other seasons, I never had significant problems, I didn't even feel the need to have a spare tube.

I have the tubular version of Gatorskin, which seems to be nice, but I only rode them for a couple of miles yet.

hairy_boy

I also use Rubino Pro's (25's) on my Giant Defy - my first road bike bought 2nd hand last November. Been very happy with them - no punctures in approx. 800 miles now and not had any issues with grip. Ridden them on all kinds of roads and conditions from Winter through till now.

Mikey41

I've just fitted my new GP4000S tyres and given them a test ride. I was not expecting them to be so different! They roll so much better. Well pleased.

jimmas

Hi mikey41
were did you order them from, I have tried 2 places local to me and they do not stock them

Mikey41

I got them on the bundle deal at Wiggle. 2 tyres and 5 tubes for £65. Which is less than you can get 2 tyres alone for :?

EDIT: this bundle: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-gra ... es-bundle/ but the price has gone up to £88 now.

jimmas

Thanks for info, will call them in the morning

Monty Dog

Stick with 25mm tyres - you're more likely to get pinch punctures with narrow tyres and they have higher rolling resistance too.

fishyweb

Monty Dog wrote:

Stick with 25mm tyres - ... they have higher rolling resistance too.

Really? I'd expected the opposite to be true (compared to 23mm)!

drlodge

Not convinced about difference in rolling resistance bewteen 23c and 25c, but 25c is certainly more comfortable with no discernable downside to 23c (negligable more weight) as long as they physically fit.

hatch87

Another vote for the Gatorskins. Out on my last sportive I didn't see the massive pot hole which was enough to buckle my rear wheel and not even a slight drop of pressure in the tyres

Monty Dog

Wider tyres have less rolling resistance than skinny ones for the same load/construction - it's due to the size of the tyre contact patch and energy losses (hysteresis) due to deflection of the tyre carcass. Skinny tyres have a longer, narrow contact patch which increases friction and causes greater deflection of the carcass for the same load. Google it if you want to find the evidence.

hatch87

Key info is 'same load' The advantage of 25's is you can run a lower psi without the risk pinch flats, which is better for the slightly heavier rider

dennisn

If you're having puncture problems I wouldn't advise looking at anything even resembling
lightweight tires(i.e. racing, climbing) no matter what kind of CLAIM'S they make for being puncture resistant. Go with a heavier tire with a thicker tread. The thicker the tread the more resistant it is to getting holes poked in it. It's not complicated. Thick does better than thin in the area of keeping air in tires.
Of course you can always put some sort of flat fix gu in your tires and this may help you out.

Mr Will

I'd choose 4Seasons over Gatorskins. I believe they have the same puncture protection under the tread, the Gatorskins just add more protection to the sidewall (to the detriment of ride quality and handling).

Actually I lie, I choose GP4000Ss over Gatorskins. Have done a couple of thousand miles of London commuting on mine without issue, but I'm aware that many people would think them a step too far.

izza

Monty Dog wrote:

Wider tyres have less rolling resistance than skinny ones for the same load/construction and pressure - it's due to the size of the tyre contact patch and energy losses (hysteresis) due to deflection of the tyre carcass. Skinny tyres have a longer, narrow contact patch which increases friction and causes greater deflection of the carcass for the same load. Google it if you want to find the evidence.

I pump my 24's to 95-100 psi and my 23's 100 - 105 psi. As such marginal gains/losses are affected by rolling resistance/aero/weight. http://inrng.com/2013/04/reinventing-the-wheel-25mm/

Bustacapp

I too am looking for puncture resistant tyres. I am considering the following:

Continental Gatorskin Hardshell - easy to fit
Schwalbe Durano Plus - tricky to fit
Specialized Armadillo All Condition - tricky to fit

It's worth noting that none of the tyres are infallible, so ease of fitting is something to consider. Turning into the hulk at the roadside struggling to pry a tyre onto a rim in the cold and rain is something I want to avoid.