Tyres for Flanders cobbles?

plymouthpafc

Any recommendations for riding a few of the Tour of Flanders cobbled sections? Vittoria Open Pave clearly the tyre of choice but not easily available and fairly expensive. Any alternatives that anyone has used successfully on this terrain?
Considering Scwalbe Durano Plus (25s) but word has it they are a really difficult fit?

Cheers
Nick

vimfuego

Did it on Gatorskins last time I did the sportive (23's & had no issues at all - just run slightly less psi than usual). Running GP 4 seasons at the moment & will probably keep them for this years sportive. I had the Open Pave's the first time I did it - they were as grippy as feck and got me round OK - but then both punctured within the first 10 miles of my next ride............

Good luck with it if you're doing the sportive next weekend. I'll be the one in the Harlequins cycling jersey (bound to be able to spot me amongst the other 15,000!).

diplodicus

@vimfuego your post has pleased me! I am doing the Paris Roubaix challenge in April and have bought 28mm Gatorskins for it. I am now thinking that as you were ok on 23s my 28s should be fine

ugo.santalucia

There are loads of wrong assumptions

1) Punctures: you're less likely to puncture at RVV than your average sunday ride, so there is no need of "tank type" tyres

2) You want "soft tyres" that can cope with the high frequency vibrations... Conti are the worst and among COnti, Gatorskin are certainly the worst.
I have done Belgian cobbles on many tyres and the best were Corsa CX tubulars, even the 23 ones, even at 100 PSI, much better ride than the horrible Gatorskin (even the 28). Interestingly the CX ride better than the dedicated Pave'... which have more grip though, so if it's wet, the latter are superior, while Gatorskin are once again the worst

Moral... it's not about the size, but it's about the carcass

drlodge

Assume we're talking clinchers here...gatorskins are horrid tyres for this type of cycling, and cr@p in the wet. The Open Paves are nice, although a little delicate but if punctures are less of an issue on this type of ride, they've got to be one of the best clinchers.

As Ugo says, its about the carcass, you want a nice high TPI. Open paves run at 360 TPI, and while Conti will tell you the GP4000S are also 360TPI, they're actually 3 layers of 120TPI - so they're fibbing.

If you want durability then either GP4000S or Michelin Pro4 Service Course might be better, but you lose ride quality.

greasedscotsman

I wouldn't bother getting new tyres for Flanders, just use what you have and run them at a slightly lower pressure. It's not worth it for just one ride.

Whereas with Roubaix, I would fit the biggest tyre my frame would allow. Used 28mm Gatorskins last year.

Iamnot Wiggins

I did OK with 23mm Michelin Krylions, no punctures or anything.

Monty Dog

IME there's little worry from flints and sharps, so as others have said, go for something supple to help smooth out the ride - fatter tyres certainly help in this regard as you can run them safely at lower pressures. Too skinny and you can tear a sidewall/damage the rim if the wheel gets trapped between two stones.

hstiles

I'll be running conti 4000s 23c front and rear. I normally run them at 120psi, so I may drop pressure to 100-110 to spare my arse. At least until I'm too drunk to care at the party afterwards :shock:

Monty Dog

hstiles wrote:

I'll be running conti 4000s 23c front and rear. I normally run them at 120psi, so I may drop pressure to 100-110 to spare my ars*. At least until I'm too drunk to care at the party afterwards :shock:

You don't really understand the concept about dropping your tyre pressure - good luck if it's wet!

Moonbiker

How bout theese?

Vittoria Open Corsa EVO Tech II Folding Tyre

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIOCETE/ ... lding-tyre

They sound good for winter uk roads also.

durhamwasp

Did a weekend riding the RvV museum routes a couple of years ago, rode 23c Schwalbe Lugano's and didn't have any issues.

markos1963

Corsa Open Cx Evo in 25mm I reckon. Best between grip, speed and ride quality. If you are going to do a big ride like this then why fit a cheap compromise tyre?

ugo.santalucia

markos1963 wrote:

Corsa Open Cx Evo in 25mm I reckon. Best between grip, speed and ride quality. If you are going to do a big ride like this then why fit a cheap compromise tyre?

+1

plymouthpafc

vimfuego wrote:

Did it on Gatorskins last time I did the sportive (23's & had no issues at all - just run slightly less psi than usual). Running GP 4 seasons at the moment & will probably keep them for this years sportive. I had the Open Pave's the first time I did it - they were as grippy as feck and got me round OK - but then both punctured within the first 10 miles of my next ride............

Good luck with it if you're doing the sportive next weekend. I'll be the one in the Harlequins cycling jersey (bound to be able to spot me amongst the other 15,000!).

Not riding the sportive, doing 4 days over there in June. Good luck and thanks for the advice. Reckon I'll go with the 4 Seasons, widely recommended.

ugo.santalucia

WIdely recommended where? Nobody recommended them... they are decent tyres for rain and flint, not for cobbles in June.

Dude, you can ride what you want, but if you ask for advice and then don't listen to any of it, it's all a bit pointless, innit? :roll:

vimfuego

greasedscotsman wrote:

I wouldn't bother getting new tyres for Flanders, just use what you have and run them at a slightly lower pressure. It's not worth it for just one ride.

The voice of reason. Well said.
A bit too much is made of tyre choice sometimes I think (not knocking anyone else's comments - all perfectly valid, and worth taking on board) - bottom line is you'll get round on whatever you opt for, but we all have different levels of experience, different riding styles and preferences. If you have better experience with certain tyres, or ride enough miles on different tyres in different circumstances to notice the difference, then there may be a "best" choice for you. Otherwise, just go with what you know and don't get hung up on having to change for one event.

Happy riding.

andywoodstick

Hi folks. Sorry to raise an old thread, but better than starting a new one.
Im doing flanders this year. I did it last year on Conti 4 seasons, they did ok tbf.

This year I have Schwalbe Pro tubeless on currently. I would like to do Flanders again with them due to the low pressures etc, but they have low TPI (120). Anyone used them for cobbles who can give me some feedback>

thanks in advance

cruff

andywoodstick wrote:

Hi folks. Sorry to raise an old thread, but better than starting a new one.
Im doing flanders this year. I did it last year on Conti 4 seasons, they did ok tbf.

This year I have Schwalbe Pro tubeless on currently. I would like to do Flanders again with them due to the low pressures etc, but they have low TPI (120). Anyone used them for cobbles who can give me some feedback>

thanks in advance

I've never ridden cobbles on Scwhalbe Pro Ones but have ridden them on Lancashire lanes, which are pretty grim. I found them durable for a 'performance' tyre, and nice and grippy in the wet, though towards the end of their life they cut up quite a bit more than I was expecting (could just be luck). They weren't tubeless though, so YMMV

I'm doing Flanders and PR. Last year I rode Corsas at PR and they were fantastic. Got a pair of the Graphene ones a few months back and if anything they feel even grippier than the previous ones so I'll be riding them again.

iron-clover

I did it last year on Michelin Pro 4 endurance in 25mm (they came up closer to 28mm though) and they were fine. This year I'm taking my usual Schwalbe Durano 25c tyres- the cobbles aren't really that bad so anything that can cope with the bumpy lanes here will be fine- the cobbles are mostly well maintained in Flanders.

The favourite amongst my club mates are the Vittoria Corsa clinchers (open tubular) although they are too expensive for me to justify for just one ride (they aren't durable enough for general use in the Kentish lanes I ride in locally).

londoncommuter

Anyone panicking about next week and want these 27c Paris-Roubaix tyres that have come on a new bike I've just unboxed:

http://www.challengetech.it/products/ro ... aix-064/en

A bit over the top for my commute!

As an aside I did Flanders on 23c at 100 PSI but that was more through ignorance than careful thought. Didn't enjoy those cobbles but an amazing event. Just go easy on the sugar waffles......

cycleclinic

I have also ridden cobbles before. Both times on italian tyres. Vittoria Pave' tubular 25mm front and 28mm rear and these where great. Paris roubaix was done of the challange strada bianca 30mm tyres. Again the ride was good. Conti's are the one brand I would not go near for this type of ride. Same goes for schwables, michelin's e.t.c as the carcass are not supple enough for me. You will simply get a better ride from a vittoria corsa G+ in 25mm or 28mm. Grip will be good and the ride as good as it can be.

The flanders cobbles though as has been said are not too bad for proper cobbles they are quite smooth but still if you can afford the ferry, hotel, food and entry fee you can afford some decent tyres for the day.

If I do one of these events again and I will I will use tubeless tyres now as the comfort and grip is up there with the pave tubulars at least the ones I use are.

Tjgoodhew

Another thumbs up for Michelin Pro 4 endurance in 25mm. I rode Flanders 2 years back in the rain, muck and dirt and these held up just fine. Cobbles are uncomfortable whatever tyres you are going to run so i would just stick with whatever you use normally and lower the pressure a bit

ben@31

Ive been using Vittoria Open Pave CG for the past one to two years. Best tyre I've ever used. Rolls well and I've had the least amount of punctures with them.
So typically Vittoria have stopped making them. I think the Rubino Pro may have replaced them in the model line up ?