Tyres - stick or twist?
mcstumpy
Posts: 298
Sorry for another tyres question, but would appreciate advice....
With a birthday and Christmas coming up, and with family likely to ask if there's anything I might like, my thoughts are turning to new tyres.
I bought my first road bike in July, stock tyres are Hutchinson Equinox 2. To be fair they've been fine, but I'm wondering if I would actually notice a difference from a tyre upgrade.
I ride for fitness and fun, did my first sportive this year and will aim to do a couple in 2016. I occasionally commute but it's only 2 miles between office and home. I'd guess in 2016 I might clock up 500 to 700 miles at most. Most of my riding will be spring to autumn, when I'm venturing out in winter I'll likely use my old hybrid.
So are there better things to spend 50 quid on, or is an upgrade worth it? If so, based on the above, what sort of tyre would be a good upgrade?
Thanks.
With a birthday and Christmas coming up, and with family likely to ask if there's anything I might like, my thoughts are turning to new tyres.
I bought my first road bike in July, stock tyres are Hutchinson Equinox 2. To be fair they've been fine, but I'm wondering if I would actually notice a difference from a tyre upgrade.
I ride for fitness and fun, did my first sportive this year and will aim to do a couple in 2016. I occasionally commute but it's only 2 miles between office and home. I'd guess in 2016 I might clock up 500 to 700 miles at most. Most of my riding will be spring to autumn, when I'm venturing out in winter I'll likely use my old hybrid.
So are there better things to spend 50 quid on, or is an upgrade worth it? If so, based on the above, what sort of tyre would be a good upgrade?
Thanks.
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Comments
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Since competing or setting record times is low on your priorities I would suggest looking for tyres that are durable and comfortable. A good choice would be something like Continental GP4000 or Shwalbe durano 25mm wide (if your bike can take them) look for folding tyres over steel band as they are a damn sight easier to change or remove if you ever did get a puncture.
I bet this thread will be inundated with every man and his dog offering his personal preference but pick something that ticks all your boxes for performance.
A decent price range to look at would be around £25 a tyre. Not massively expensive and not cheap and nasty. Look for tyres with high durability i.e a puncture resistance band.0 -
Since competing or setting record times is low on your priorities I would suggest looking for tyres that are durable and comfortable. A good choice would be something like Continental GP4000 or Shwalbe durano 25mm wide (if your bike can take them) look for folding tyres over steel band as they are a damn sight easier to change or remove if you ever did get a puncture.
I bet this thread will be inundated with every man and his dog offering his personal preference but pick something that ticks all your boxes for performance.
A decent price range to look at would be around £25 a tyre. Not massively expensive and not cheap and nasty. Look for tyres with high durability i.e a puncture resistance band.
Thanks, meant to add that I currently have 25mm tyres so not looking to go any thinner. My frame will actually take up to 32mm.0 -
If you can get 28mm it may be worth it but anything wider and you won't see much improvement. Going thinner will reduce comfort. 25mm is seen as the best all round on current rims for contact patch size and comfort at lower pressures. It all depends on the rim width as wider tyres will light bulb and can create problems with control.0
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My hybrid has 1.5 inch tyres so I initially thought I would swap out the 25mm tyres for 28mm. But comfort has been fine, the sportive I did was 77k and at no point did I think I wanted wider tyres. That ride, with 600m of climbing, took me 3 hours, just thought I'd mention that in case the level I'm riding at has a bearing.0
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I think Maglia Rosa's recommendations are sound. Another tyre of similar price/performance to his suggestions that you might want to consider is the Michelin Pro4 Endurance (in 25mm).
I've had all three tyres so far suggested and personally I would go for the Schwalbe Duranos. They roll and grip as well as the other two and just seem a bit more durable.0 -
Thanks for the recs. However I'm still interested to understand if I will actually notice the benefit of a tyre upgrade from what I currently have and based on the sort of rider I've described0
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Thanks for the recs. However I'm still interested to understand if I will actually notice the benefit of a tyre upgrade from what I currently have and based on the sort of rider I've described
I wasn't familiar with the Hutchinson Equinox 2 tyre that you currently have so looked it up on the Hutchinson website. Based on the sort of mileage and ride level you are doing, I doubt if you would notice much difference between that tyre and others recommended.0 -
Thanks for the recs. However I'm still interested to understand if I will actually notice the benefit of a tyre upgrade from what I currently have and based on the sort of rider I've described
For middle of the road clincher tyres on average rims you will notice very little performance difference. It is only when yopu move on to the more expensive rubber that performance can be noticed. The tyres that are good all rounders usually are heavier on account of thicker rubber for puncture protection, this makes the rolling resisitance higher and the grip is reduced as the compound used is harder. A tyre like a Shwalbe One will be great performance wise but they cut up very easily.
Example, I used to run Schwalbe one or Vittoria Open Corsa in Germany and Holland where the roads were very smooth and well maintained. I recently returned to the UK. A set of tyres I regularly ran for 100's of miles got cut to ribbons on the rough pot holed excuse for roads I ride on now. I have Had to move to Conti GP4. I dont particularly like them and I am always looking to find alternatives but I think the Contis are as good as I can get in the circumstances.
As far the the Equinox 2 go. I got them as stock tyres on my Bianchi. They are so bad they became turbo trainer tyres.0 -
Thanks for the recs. However I'm still interested to understand if I will actually notice the benefit of a tyre upgrade from what I currently have and based on the sort of rider I've described
For middle of the road clincher tyres on average rims you will notice very little performance difference. It is only when yopu move on to the more expensive rubber that performance can be noticed. The tyres that are good all rounders usually are heavier on account of thicker rubber for puncture protection, this makes the rolling resisitance higher and the grip is reduced as the compound used is harder. A tyre like a Shwalbe One will be great performance wise but they cut up very easily.
Example, I used to run Schwalbe one or Vittoria Open Corsa in Germany and Holland where the roads were very smooth and well maintained. I recently returned to the UK. A set of tyres I regularly ran for 100's of miles got cut to ribbons on the rough pot holed excuse for roads I ride on now. I have Had to move to Conti GP4. I dont particularly like them and I am always looking to find alternatives but I think the Contis are as good as I can get in the circumstances.
As far the the Equinox 2 go. I got them as stock tyres on my Bianchi. They are so bad they became turbo trainer tyres.
Thanks. When you say "bad", in what way? Rolling? Grip? Both?0 -
Rolling, grip, puncture protection, wear, just bad tyres all round. They actually make half decent turbo tyres cos they are so hard they are almost like a blue tacx tyre.0
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Thanks for that, so basically there should be a discernible difference if I did swap my stock tyres for something half decent?
I didn't want to prejudice advice by saying which tyres I was looking at, but my thoughts were between gp4000s and pro4 endurance v2. 25mm. Based on above, I'm thinking the latter would be a good choice for my needs?0 -
Give them a try. What you got to lose? They will be better than what you have now. You can always swap them and keep them as spares if you are not entirely happy. They are just a bit of rubber at the end if the day.0
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Another good and cheaper alternative to the tyres above are Vittoria Rubino Pro's at £15.46. They have 150tpi vs 110tpi on the Michelin/Conti's vs 66tpi on the Hutchinsons E2's.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-rubino-pro-folding-clincher-tyre/0 -
Give them a try. What you got to lose?.
50 quid?
More seriously, thanks for the advice0 -
Give them a try. What you got to lose?.
50 quid?
More seriously, thanks for the advice
You would still have them. You aint going to throw them away. I still have loads if semi used tyres. You never know when they can come in handy if you get a badly cut tyre.0 -
Another good and cheaper alternative to the tyres above are Vittoria Rubino Pro's at £15.46. They have 150tpi vs 110tpi on the Michelin/Conti's vs 66tpi on the Hutchinsons E2's.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-rubino-pro-folding-clincher-tyre/
Oooh, now they look interesting, thanks.0 -
I have run both the Rubino Pro and Pro4 Endurance 25mm tyres. I've not really noticed any difference between the two, but the Rubinos are quite a lot cheaper.0
