Long lasting road tyres

vermin
vermin Posts: 1,739
edited November 2014 in Commuting chat
Discovered last night that I have worn my brand new Luganos through to the carcass (and beyond) in just over 2 months, which is disappointing, so I'd like to replace them with something with a bit more staying power. It's only a commuter, so I don't care about weight: the priorities are longevity, grip and low price. Ideally 25mm, but 23 or 24 is fine.

Any recommendations?

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Comments

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Conti 4 seasons.
  • leeefm
    leeefm Posts: 260
    Luganos are a bit cheap as chips. I had the same issue as you, then went for Duranos. Lasted a lot better for commuting.
    Shand Skinnymalinky
    Argon 18 Radon
  • Grip and longevity are within reason mutually exclusive. I suspect within reason you'll need to choose one.

    Marathon pluses in 25mm form are heavy and a bit twitchy on white paint etc, but they last and last.

    Maybe something like gator skins?
  • spasypaddy
    spasypaddy Posts: 5,180
    mine are long lasting as i cant ride my bike
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    spasypaddy wrote:
    mine are long lasting as i cant ride my bike

    Can I have your tyres?

    Rick - Aren't 4 seasons all about punture protection, rather than durability? I'm going to encourage the fairy here, but, puntures are a much bigger problem in London than here in the sticks, so it's not a big priority. Also too expensive.

    Durano, Marathon, others?
  • t5nel
    t5nel Posts: 365
    edited November 2014
    Couple of Q's

    1)Why do you think you are 'heavy' on tyres? High mileage, road surface, riding style?

    2)What is principle objective, lowest cost/mile or least hassle in terms of reshoeing the round bits every 2 months?

    For a half decent balance between cost, puncture resistance, grip and endurance I would think 25mm wire bead Vittoria Rubinos would take some beating. Of course if you just want bulletproof rollers then I am sure marathons would be good.

    I am not superlight or careful and put 3k miles into a rear before I replaced it as I didn't want to risk it on a sportive (ironically then ran over some ironwork and destroyed a new tyre :roll: )

    Tim
    My bikes
    MTB - 1997 Kona Kula
    Hybrid - Kona Dew Deluxe
    Road - 2011 Ribble Gran Fondo, Omega Matrix Ultegra
  • ShandyH
    ShandyH Posts: 555
    Calling iPete. Think he uses Vredesteins but can't remember which ones and I know he does a lot of miles. Personally, I use Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps and think they are superb. Very grippy in the wet. Some reviews...

    http://www.merlincycles.com/vredestein- ... 63251.html
  • dav1
    dav1 Posts: 1,298
    I get silly miles out of schwalbe duranos. They also grip quite nicely and they are not too heavy either.

    My current front has done around 6k and has a load of life left. On the back i get at least 6k as well from them.
    Giant TCR advanced 2 (Summer/race)
    Merlin single malt fixie (Commuter/winter/training)
    Trek superfly 7 (Summer XC)
    Giant Yukon singlespeed conversion (winter MTB/Ice/snow)

    Carrera virtuoso - RIP
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    vermin wrote:

    Can I have your tyres?

    Rick - Aren't 4 seasons all about punture protection, rather than durability? I'm going to encourage the fairy here, but, puntures are a much bigger problem in London than here in the sticks, so it's not a big priority. Also too expensive.

    Durano, Marathon, others?

    I find them more durable than any other tyre I use. This information may be derived from a small dataset.

    It's also got enough grip that I never worry about falling off. I have done with any other 'durable' or 'puncture proof' tyre.
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    t5nel wrote:
    1)Why do you think you are 'heavy' on tyres? High mileage, road surface, riding style?

    Highish miles - these tyres have just short of 2000 miles on them now. Schwalbe reckons on 2000-3000km for normal tyres, so my longevity is in accordance with spec. I'm sub 70kg and don't hoon it, so I'm not especially heavy on them, but everyone locks up the back every now and then.
    t5nel wrote:
    2)What is principle objective, lowest cost/mile or least hassle in terms of reshoeing the round bits every 2 months?

    I suspect the two go hand in hand, but the fewer parcels that the other half sees coming through the post, the better. :wink:
  • pollys_bott
    pollys_bott Posts: 1,012
    Michelin Pro 4 Endurance. The 25s are closer to 27mm and feel as soft as butter, so much so that when I first rode mine at the start of the year I thought they'd be trashed within weeks. 3000+ miles later they're still going strong, got a few nicks in them but nothing major (touch wood). I'm 70kg-ish too and run them 75psi front and 90psi rear.

    Ribble will do you a pair for £42.45... http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ichtyrf224

    As I put in another thread somewhere, a poor man's Open Corsa...
  • I'm 85 Kg, hoon around all the time on pot-hole infested roads and tend not to steer round them too much, yet I get about 4,500 miles from a Rubino Pro, probably 6,000 on the front.

    Cheap-ish, light-ish and tough. Grippy-ish too.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    First, some context: Vermin's knocking out 60 miles a day...

    Second: Duranos.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 12,033
    If you had a 10% code for PBK, you could get a pair of those Pro 4 Endurances (Coloured if you wanted) for £40.50, plus 2% cashback through quidco should knock it down to just under £40.
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • You can get four Rubino Pro's for that:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003KPM ... SX200_QL40
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    Vredestein Fortezza Quattro Tricomp are by far my longest lasting tyre. 3,800 miles of London roads and counting, not sure they are made anymore and Ribble aren't selling them for £20 either.
  • Avoid 4 seasons. Nice fast tyre but puncture protection isnt up to much. I got just under 3000 miles out of the rear weighing only 70kg. Still using the front but wouldn't buy again. Replaced with Continental Grand Prix GT's cheap and more robust than the 4 seasons.
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    Cheers all.

    UE - I've used Rubino Pros before and was impressed by grip and speed for the price - didn't realise they could put in the high miles too.

    I reckon it's between those and the Duranos. At twice the price, will the Duranos last twice as long?
  • stuaff
    stuaff Posts: 1,736
    Durano Plus....
    For me they've been bombroof. My first set on the Viner did 5,000 miles on the back (much of it underinflated, took the top layer of rubber clean off), 7,000 miles on the front, not one visitation. Second set, and the pair on the Condor, both going well. Heavy but they roll nicely.
    Dahon Speed Pro TT; Trek Portland
    Viner Magnifica '08 ; Condor Squadra
    LeJOG in aid of the Royal British Legion. Please sponsor me at http://www.bmycharity.com/stuaffleck2011
  • Durano plus

    Used since last September for commuting (about 4,500 miles) and the odd event. Only one visitation (a piece of flint about a 15mm long went straight through), but being a cross bike and with trainers in my rucksack I thought it was a good piece of extra training (and only 3 miles from work). 2 miles of my commute is on the pot holed / flint ridden / deep puddles and overhanging branches hell that is the cycle path from Ashurst to Lyndhurst.

    Probably need to change the back soon. I'm now down to 103 kg and av commuting speed about 16.5 mph. Great tyres and the reflective hoops really work.
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    Vredestein Duocomp, Schwalbe Durano or Specialized Espoir Elite.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • daddy0
    daddy0 Posts: 686
    I'm 85 Kg, hoon around all the time on pot-hole infested roads and tend not to steer round them too much, yet I get about 4,500 miles from a Rubino Pro, probably 6,000 on the front.

    Cheap-ish, light-ish and tough. Grippy-ish too.

    This.

    I currently have 3 front wheels with tyres on. The slowest wheel with the most worn tyre on it is the one with a Rubino Pro on it. It is also the one on my bike. The other two tyres are a GP 4000S and a GP 4 Seasons - I trust the worn Rubino Pro over these two for puncture resistance (bound to have a visitation on my next ride after saying that). Performance wise theres not too much to choose between them. Price wise its half the price of the other two and get probably double the mileage out of them.
  • fat_tail
    fat_tail Posts: 786
    I second or third Vredestein choice... I started with the fortezza tricomp on the strength of a recommendation somewhere on bikeradar. I think they have stopped making them and recently I had to get some new ones and went for the fortezza extreme weather ... very happy with them
    Ridley Fenix SL
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    Does anyone have experience of, or an opinion on, the:

    Specialized Roubaix Armadillo Elite

    I'm struggling to get hold of a tyre quickly and this one is to hand!
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    vermin wrote:
    Does anyone have experience of, or an opinion on, the:

    Specialized Roubaix Armadillo Elite

    I'm struggling to get hold of a tyre quickly and this one is to hand!
    I got on well with Espoir Sport and Elite, few punctures, 4000 miles or so, the Armadillo should be a lighter, more supple version.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    OK, well that's what I've gone for. Hopefully it'll be ok - I'll report back, hopefully not too soon.

    Thanks for all suggestions. Sorry it was all wasted (blame Evans for not stocking much in-store!) Hopefully the thread will be of use to someone in future.

    Daim Bar!
  • ShandyH
    ShandyH Posts: 555
    BTW looked at Twitter today and there was an article recommending the best winter tyres on Cycling Weekly:

    http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/group-te ... tyres-3139
  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    Durano Plus - Schwalbe reckons you can do 10,000 km on them, if you trash them you will probably do more like 6,000 or so.
    x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
    Commuting / Winter rides - Jamis Renegade Expert
    Pootling / Offroad - All-City Macho Man Disc
    Fast rides Cannondale SuperSix Ultegra
  • daddy0
    daddy0 Posts: 686
    ShandyH wrote:
    BTW looked at Twitter today and there was an article recommending the best winter tyres on Cycling Weekly:

    http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/group-te ... tyres-3139

    The issue with that article is that, from what I can tell, they didn't *really* test the tyres? They could've at least ridden over some broken glass of tried pushing something sharp into the tread to see which was most resistant FWIW. They've basically just rewritten the sales spiel...

    Having said that - I had been thinking about trying the Durano Plus's based on recommendations, but based on that article I think I'll try the Rubino Pro Techs next. :wink:
  • PBo
    PBo Posts: 2,493
    I hate duranos...

    For a start, to me, they feel like I've wrapped lead round the wheel.

    Secondly, I find them hell to get on and off (and I have no problems with any other tyre, I know all the tricks). If they were absolutely 100% bullet proof - and nothing is - this wouldn't matter. But it does matter if you do get a puncture and half an hour later you are still in the cold/wet/dark, with no feeling left in your fingers and a quarter of the tyre still over hanging the rim.....

    This is in the wrong thread. Technically, it should be in rants...

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