Tyre upgrade

rafregt1

I am looking at upgrading the Mavic tires that came with my new Mavic kysirium elite s wheels.

Was looking at either the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX or the Conti's Grand Prix 4000s.

Have heard very mixed reviews on the mavic tires and want to do the wheels justice....

Any thoughts?

Thanks

cmhill79

If you are looking for a racing tyre I can't offer much help. I've had really bad luck with all the racing tyres I've used with punctures. I'd prefer to use a more general tyre and save 30 mins spent on the side of the road.
I use Maxxis refuse. They are inexpensive and I have never had a puncture in over 12 months of using them

hatch87

Mixed reviews on the 4000's too though, I had issues with them but lots of others have not. I went to Gatoskins and not had a puncture on them through the whole winter.

On my new bike it came with Conti Sports and I got a puncture very early on, I swapped them for Vittoria Rubino Pro Slicks and 1000 miles on, just a single very slow puncture I got recently.

markhewitt1978

Vote for GP4000S, vast improvement on my stock tyres and blasted them down 15 miles of gravel at 20mph+ at the weekend and they coped brilliantly.

cougie

I've had GP4000S for 1000s of miles now and they've not let me down yet. Fantastic tyres.

garyk72

Schwalbe Durano S are pretty fast tyres and offer good puncture protection in my experience.

Scotty-Gee

All 3 of my wheels have GP4000s on them, only a single puncture but that was from the rim.

Fantastic tyres, smooth, quiet and fast.

Just remember to line up your valve and "conti" logo when you fit them.

plymouthsteve

Had the same as you.
The Mavic tyres were fine, albeit felt a bit 'noisy?' for 3-400 mies, then 3 punctures in 3 rides made for a change.
1st I went for GP4000's based on reviews and recommendations, but they punctured on every other ride. So I thought, Hang the weight and changed to Gatorskins. Same smoothness and tread pattern as GP4000's, but FAR more puncture resistant for the slight extra weight. Remember.. '' Nothing slows you down like a puncture''.

velocissimus

What do you not like about the Mavic tyres? I've also read mixed reviews but personally I quite like them. They roll nicely, grip very well in the dry and I find the grip in the wet is about what I would expect. I won't be changing mine until they need changing and might consider replacing like for like if there is a good deal around at the time. Some people have reported that they puncture easily but I used mine through the winter and not had a puncture yet. If you get on with them I wouldn't swap them on the basis of a few reviews from people who don't like them.

binsted

rafregt1 wrote:

I am looking at upgrading the Mavic tires that came with my new Mavic kysirium elite s wheels.

Was looking at either the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX or the Conti's Grand Prix 4000s.

Have heard very mixed reviews on the mavic tires and want to do the wheels justice....

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Had the very same tyres and switched to GP4000s but they cut up very badly and have refitted the Mavics.

Didn't really notice any difference in the GP4000s that I could say was an upgrade.

TheCornishMong

Been running Ultremo ZX for 2 years now, and not a single puncture. They're fast and give loads of grip (not that I'm brave enough to test this out fully). Only thing to note is you need to keep them at the correct pressure as there are some small cracks in the sidewall for when i ran them a little low after forgetting my pump on a sportive (LBS had a look and it was non-structural so no real problem). One last thing, they come in lots of pretty colours 8)

Stedman

I have also been running the Ultremo ZX for three years and I have been having persistent problems with the cracking in the tyre walls. I discussed this with the Schwalbe rep at the Ride London 100 Excel Exhibition and he stated that these were “race tyres with a design life of 600 miles” and these were not designed for the summer training/long distance sportive use that I was using these for.

On that basis I shall not be purchasing any more Ultremo ZX tyres as I have now been told that I been misusing these.

focuz

Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp, amazing tires and roll really well even in the wet

pinno

For years I bought Michelins. I love the Michelins but found that they are getting softer by the year. The Pro race3 are as soft as hell. I was convinced to buy Conti's. Yes they are good but not as smooth as the Michelins. I opted to buy last years Michelins when the tyres on my winter bike bit the dust and chuck them on the summer bike and the Conti's have been relegated to the winter bike.
The Michelins roll that bit better (well they are slicks) and the Conti's have much better grip than the Michelins, so it makes sense for me.
BTW - whatever tyre you choose, consider latex inner tubes. I have 25mm rear and 23mm front because of our 3rd world roads, coupled with latex inner tubes. The difference in terms of feel and punctures is undersold. They remind me of tubs.