Giant PR3 Road Tyres

jfrankland1991

Hi,

I have had my Giant Defy 1 since Autumn last year and really enjoying riding it. However, in the last month I have had 3/4 punctures which to my knowledge is quite high despite the state of the roads in this country! I have heard from some people that the average lifespan of a road tyre is 1500miles, please correct me if I'm wrong. I have just gone over 1100 miles and due to the bike being a test bike in the shop that I bought it from it is probably getting towards 1500 miles. Therefore, I assume that the age of the tyres is a result of the large number of punctures that I have been having recently.

Would anyone be able to recommend some new tyres please? I would like some that are renowned for puncture resistant along with being quite robust due to the poor state of some of the roads in my area. I dont really want to be spending more than £30 a tyre.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

jimmas

I had same problem on my new defy 4, had only done 200 miles then had 5 punctures , replaced them with Gatorskins, had no problems since.

alihisgreat

I did ~1500 on the PR3s before the rear bulged out.

declan1

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

I did ~1500 on the PR3s before the rear bulged out.

Exactly the same with P-R1s, less mileage than that and the rear bulged out many miles from home. HUGE bang and had to get a friend to bring me a new tyre :oops:

Mikey41

The PR4's on my bike lasted about the same until they were down to the wear markers. Changed them for Conti GP4000S, which are better. They are not the cheapest, but you can get them from £30 ish if you shop around. Otherwise look at GP 4seasons or Gatorskins. Another good tyre that gets a good rep here is the Vittoria Rubino Pro, which is very reasonably priced.

chrisaonabike

I've got a little over 3000 miles on my PR-3 tyres. The only punctures I've had (2) were snake bites, one caused by a speed bump when I had them too soft, and one caused by a pothole.

They don't look particularly worn as far as I can see. Would it be obvious if they were?

jfrankland1991

Thanks for all the reply's, I shall have a look round for new tyres with those options in mind. With regards to the last response, are tyres more prone to punctures if you don't have them inflated correctly? I always try to keep mine as hard as I possibly can, is this the right way to go about it?

Mikey41

Pressure will depend on your weight. I run 23mm tyres at 95psi front and 105psi rear. I'm 70kg (about 11 stone). I could probably drop the front to 90 without any higher risk. Running the pressure too low risks pinch-punctures.

I'm well pleased with the GP4000S, they roll faster, grip better and give a more comfortable ride. No punctures so far either after nearly 300 miles, even with riding over a gravelled section on my commute. Wiggle are doing them at 29.99 right now.

jfrankland1991

Thanks again.

I have narrowed my search down to Conti GP 4000s and Conti Gatorskins. I am torn between the two as the 4000s has a better rolling resistance and adequate puncture resistance along with the Black Chilli compound which improves grip. However, the Gatorskins do not have the best rolling resistance but are much more durable and have a better puncture resistance.

If I bought the Gatorskins in replacement of my current Giant PR3's would the extra rolling resistance show greatly on performance or would it be worth going for the GP 4000s as the best compromise?

Advice is much appreciated

Mikey41

Going by current experience, the GP4000S are at least as tough as my stock tyres were. I had only 1 puncture on them when a sharp flint eventually worked its way right through.

I've ridden the Contis around the isle of Arran in Scotland. Some of the road surfaces there are completely knackered, very rough, potholed, lunar landscape kind of thing. The 4000S dealt with it all without a problem, just avoid the sharp edged potholes. One lad in the group hit one and got a pinch flat. He was running Gatorskins, though that wasn't the fault of the tyre TBH.

On the 50mph descent at the top of the island on a brand new road surface, they were a joy!

I don't know how the Gatorskins would compare to PR3's, I haven't ridden either of them, but they could still roll better. The only bad point I've heard about Gatorskins is that some people find them a bit twitchy in the wet.

vs4b

Gators in my exp are rubbish! I replaced some gp4000s with them and have had 4 punctures in 600 miles, only had one in 3000 with the gp4s...

Geo555

After reading this thread, I checked my PR3s and noticed a fair amount of wear on them. I have replaced them with GP4S's. If you are torn between the 4000s and Gators, these should be the tyre to go for.
They are noticeably quicker. On my usual 18 mile route, my average speed increased from 16.8 to 17.5 mph.

laytonasmus

I weigh 205 lbs, and my rear Giant PR3 tire is almost worn down after 900 miles. I'd say it has about 20% or less life in it. I rotated it with the front (which still looks relatively good), so I'm hoping to hit about 1500 miles. I think I'm going to get the Continental Grand Prix 4000S II, I have heard great things about them.