25mm width winter tyre recomendations

ashleymp777

Hi all,

After a summer spent on 23mm width tyres its time for me to go up to 25mm for winter. Having not bought new tyres for quite some time I wanted to gauge opnion from the forum on what a good choice of tyre would be? I'll be doing the usual mix of autumn/winter training and club rides.

Any help or previous experience of these width tyres gratefully appreciated.

Ashley

Grill

Conti GP 4 Seasons. [/thread]

keezx

Conti GP

marcusjb

Grill wrote:

Conti GP 4 Seasons. [/thread]

Yep.

Tough, last well, grip well, comfy and still have some decent speed on them.

northpole

I tend to use Conti 4 Seasons also, more by habit. I've also used MIchelin Pro 4 Service Course and got away with it (Endurance version probably better suited). Re 25mm tyres you may need to check you have sufficient clearance - one of my bikes doesn't - it was fine width wise, but failed vertical clearance with underside of forks.

Peter

StevePurcell

+ 1 for conti 4 seasons 25c great rubber

cycleclinic

Vittoria Open Paves are even more grippy on wet ground and offer improved ride comfort. 4 seasons are not a bad choice but can be holed quite easily not had that experience with the Open Pave's yet punctures and cut bit not the big holes you can put a screwdriver through.

meanredspider

I like the Paves too - I use them both on my city commuter (Paddy Wagon) and my Foil during the winter

Fishboyz

Tried a few 25's (ultremo, Pro4 race, others can't remember), GP4000 my vote, plenty robust enough. All year rounder imho

northpole

thecycleclinic wrote:

Vittoria Open Paves are even more grippy on wet ground and offer improved ride comfort. 4 seasons are not a bad choice but can be holed quite easily not had that experience with the Open Pave's yet punctures and cut bit not the big holes you can put a screwdriver through.

I agree that 4 Seasons aren't the hardiest but they are certainly more robust than GP4000s and I must note that my experience of the Open Pave was a poor one where they were cut to ribbons in very short order, irrespective of any other good properties they may possess. Open Paves do seem to leave folks with very different opinions - not sure why other than luck!

Peter

paulleary

+1 for Conti GP 4 seasons. Consider the 28mm. They come up smaller than 28 and the extra volume helps comfort and roll really well

meanredspider

The Paves on my commuter get a bit cut up with bottle glass (riding past the Heineken experience centre in Amsterdam - who'd have thunk it), yet I've not had a single puncture. I think, as a rule of thumb, to get good wet grip, you need a reasonably soft compound. They also wear quite quickly (or appear to because of the light waffle tread pattern). But they've been very good. They aren't the fastest tyre in my experience and they certainly aren't cheap - but they do seem to grip well - especially cobbles as expected.

Bordersroadie

thecycleclinic wrote:

4 seasons are not a bad choice but can be holed quite easily

Spot on.

I love their speed and grip but round here the merest sniff of wet, gritty roads and they cut up and p******* far too easily to be called a recommended winter tyre.

Grill

Bordersroadie wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

4 seasons are not a bad choice but can be holed quite easily

Spot on.

I love their speed and grip but round here the merest sniff of wet, gritty roads and they cut up and p******* far too easily to be called a recommended winter tyre.

Haven't had that experience with mine. Just one pinch flat (big ass pothole) in over 4k miles of crap weather.

housemunkey

I've gotten on really well with Vittoria Zaffiro Pros for all seasons. There are some grippier tyres in the wet I'm sure but they aren't bad and they are very inexpensive. To top it off I have had very few flats, infact just one I think, in many thousands of miles; and that was a bloody massive thorn.

I would say though that I think peoples differing experiences probably come with local conditions. I guess some areas have more flints and what not on the road than others.

cycleclinic

The OP should make a choice knowing his experience maybe favourable or not. If not try another tyre. Different people have different experiences based on now much crap they encounter. For me during 2013 I hit alot of crap which I have not encountered this year on different tyres maybe its the tyres or the ammount of crap on the roads. Hard to tell really.

Conclcusions Paves for grip 4 seasons for mileage of they get that far.

Bordersroadie

On GP4Seasons:

Grill wrote:

Haven't had that experience with mine. Just one pinch flat (big ass pothole) in over 4k miles of crap weather.

thecycleclinic wrote:

Different people have different experiences based on now much crap they encounter.

This is very true, and the difference between summer and winter (ie dry and wet roads) can be immense, at least around the Scottish Borders backroads - lots of sharp field run off/gritty mud/thorns from hedgerows etc. I'm not a massive mileage rider but I do usually 4-5,000 miles annually, half on dry and half on wet roads probably.

My Conti GP4000s's, albeit worn, are almost unmarked (dry roads only) and my GP4S are quite cut up. The 4S are great tyres (as I'm reminded when I ride on Conti Gator Hardshells) so I persevere despite more p*******s than I'd like.

I wonder if changing to Mich Pro4 Endurance would make much difference?

eddiefiola

Had 25mm Open Paves but got a big cut in the rear, to be honest the stone that went in was like an arrowhead so not sure anything would have stopped it.

Was going to stick with Conti for the Winter but the Vittoria feel so nice and smooth that I had to buy another, bought a 27mm. Even when pumped up to normal PSI they're smooth, but let a bit of pressure out and its like riding on clouds (yeah ok sorry getting a bit emotional ).

Archetype Wheels from thecycleclinic going strong, about 5,000 miles on them since March.

lostboysaint

Was on GP4S and loved them for two winters (and summers) until they picked up a horrendous sidewall cut in Portugal this summer (in the middle of nowhere!). A puncture repair patch and piece of cardboard later and I got home ok.

On return home I found that Conti had jacked the prices up ridiculously so that even with a deal a 25mm GP4s was still £35+ so I started looking for alternatives. I was recommended Schwalbe Durano Plus or Michelin Pro4 Endurance. I went with the Pro4 Endurance and have been very impressed with them in the 500 + miles done so far. Roll very well, wet grip excellent, no cuts or punctures despite the gravel and flint strewn roads I ride on. Blow up slightly bigger than the Contis so less psi and and an even more comfortable ride as well

darkhairedlord

I have just popped some 25mm Lithion 2's on for the winter. £25 the pair with tubes from CRC but we'll have to see how they go. I just can't see the point of buying expensive tyres for the winter, all tyres get cut-up so it might as well be some cheap ones..

80psi on these so much softer than the 110psi i have in the 23 open corsa's...

paulbnix

Schwalbe Duranos

cycleclinic

That Pinarello looks ace with those rims and green rubber on them. I have the same opinon about Pave's I put up with the cuts because they are so nice to ride on. If you think the ride on the clinchers is good try the tubs, man they are smooth. Same goes for Conti 4 seasons or GP4000s, try the conti competition tubs and you won't want to go back.

caedev

25mm Pro 4 SC for me. Been really impressed with them all year round. Roads are fairly good condition where I cycle but they haven't shown any signs of cutting-up yet.

earth

Bontrager Racelite Hardcase. They will last a number of winters and almost never puncture. Grip is predicable. They don't cost too much. The only downside is they are slightly heavier.

EDIT - If they are for training/club rides I might use something else. But I have never changed the tires on my weekend bike for anything other than summer tires - I even use them in the winter.

northpole

For no more p*nctures, how about this solution....

http://tannus.co.uk/

Has anyone on here ever tried these?

Peter

meanredspider

earth wrote:

Bontrager Racelite Hardcase. They will last a number of winters and almost never puncture. Grip is predicable. They don't cost too much. The only downside is they are slightly heavier.

I once tried these. Not only did I get two punctures in a week but I also discovered that slowed me down by an average of 1mph. When you consider how much energy it takes to increase your average speed by 1mph, you realise how slow they really are. I pointed this out to a colleague who was just in possession of a set. A month later he came back to confirm that they had reduced his average speed by 1mph too...

passout

I really like the Michelin Pro Race 4 Endurance tyres in 25mm although 4 seasons contis are nice too.

earth

meanredspider wrote:

earth wrote:

Bontrager Racelite Hardcase. They will last a number of winters and almost never puncture. Grip is predicable. They don't cost too much. The only downside is they are slightly heavier.

I once tried these. Not only did I get two punctures in a week but I also discovered that slowed me down by an average of 1mph. When you consider how much energy it takes to increase your average speed by 1mph, you realise how slow they really are. I pointed this out to a colleague who was just in possession of a set. A month later he came back to confirm that they had reduced his average speed by 1mph too...

It's true they are not a race tyre. I miss interpreted the OP, I use them for commuting. On the weekend bike I use ProRace 4 in the winter - veloflex in summer. But I might change to ProRace 4 Endurance.

meanredspider

I can't think of any good reason to use the Bontragers. Funnily enough a colleague at my new employer (completely unsolicited) was saying how bad they were last night. His gripes were grip and poor puncture resistance

earth

Are they the same tyre and not just the same brand. I have used the RaceLite Hardcase for about 10 years 5 days a week and only had a handful of punctures. I used a pair until the rubber came off and still didn't get any punctures.

colinsmith123

I bought the 25mmOpen Pave for P-R earlier this year, with the intent of using them on my winter / commute bike through the summer. I ended up keeping them on my race wheels this year. For me, there was no noticeable difference in rolling resistance between the Pave and the Open Corsa which I had used last summer. The biggest difference is ride comfort over tyres like Gatorskins, which by comparison is like riding on solid rubber tyres.

Regarding cuts, that is an easy fix. Let the tyre down to soft, squeeze a small drop of superglue in to each split. Pump up the tyre. Then using the sandpaper from a puncture repair kit, lightly rub off the additional adhesive. Go for a ride and tafterwards, see if you can find the splits.