N00bie road tyre question

kammybear
kammybear Posts: 500
edited August 2014 in Road buying advice
Not ventured into this side before but want a road bike now and decided on a Specialized bog standard Allez 2014.

If I like, I will buy a getter bike later but right now I want to make sure the Allez is ridable to a good standard and looking at upgrades, tyres being the first.

I'm assuming the standard tyres are shitty and I'll get loads of punctures? They're Specialized Espoir Sport? About £15 each RRP.

Will these Continental Ultra Sports be much of an improvement?

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/ultr ... /wg_id-246

Can anyone explain what 23-622 means? Some more expensive ones have higher numbers?

MTB tyres are much easier to figure out :evil:

Comments

  • kammybear
    kammybear Posts: 500
    Are these a better bet on sale?

    Schwalbe Ultremo?

    http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/ultr ... /wg_id-246
  • dj58
    dj58 Posts: 2,223
    Hello.

    23-622 refers to the ISO - International Organization for Standardization system for tyre sizing.
    Read this article on the subject, http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

    As to your tyre choices, I have no experience of any of them. Others will be along shortly to recommend Continental GP4000S, Michelin Pro4 Service Course, Schwable Ultremo ZX and Vittoria Corsa to name a few,
    Other brands are available. :)
  • Philby
    Philby Posts: 328
    Continental Ultra Sports are basic hard-wearing tyres that many manufacturers fit to their wheels to keep the price down / increase profit margins. Not sure they are a significant improvement on the tyres on your Specialized. I had some on my Bianchi and used them until they wore out. Replaced them with some Continental GP4000S which were a noticeable improvement in terms of lightness, traction, speed etc. but they were significantly more expensive.
  • kammybear
    kammybear Posts: 500
    Thanks guys, makes a bit more sense now.

    I'm gonna skip those ultra sports...got taken in by the name and thought they were top tier hans dampf equivilents.

    I'm going for the michellin Pro4...2 for 45 inc 2 free inner tubes sounds good to me, plus they're red :D

    Ordering bike tomorrow!
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    In the summer I'd just ride the tyres it comes with until they wear out / start to puncture too frequently.

    Better tyres would be advisable if you're going to ride through the winter. Punctures are more likely in the wet as the water lubricates the passage of foreign pbjects through the rubber, and better rubber compounds and more flexible casings give better grip in the wet and at lower temperatures.
  • JayKosta
    JayKosta Posts: 635
    For tire 'performance', there are several considerations:
    1) lighter weight tires feel more lively, but can puncture more easily.
    2) wider tires are more stable on gravel or sandy roads.
    3) wider tires can be ridden with less pressure for more comfort.
    4) true 'racing tires' are less durable for long term use.

    Jay Kosta
    Endwell NY USA
  • Jahmoo
    Jahmoo Posts: 168
    Had the same question not too long ago, ok, mine had a weight to puncture issue, but read my last comment...

    viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12977648

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