Fast road tyres - Specialized S-Works Turbo\GP4000S II

daniel_b

Evening all,

I used to use Pro Race 3's, but got fed up with them cutting up. I live in Berkshire, and we suffer from a lot of flints on the roads here, especially after it rains, and it does a lot of that in this country.

My winter\training bike wears Durano Plus tyres, and these are superb at resisting visits, but of course not that fast.
My best bike currently has Michelin Pro 4 Endurance tyres, again not built for out and out speed.

Reading up online the S-Works and GP 4000S II seem to get notable mentions for lack of rolling resistance, my only issue might be that my CR1 has limited room, especially at the rear, I could probably get away with a true 24, but it would be tight.

I could of course easily run a 26 at the front - good idea?

At the moment, the best price I can see for the Conti's is £50 for a pair, but they have to be the same size, would need to be 23's.
The S-Works seem to be £30 a pop everywhere, but I can find a £5 discount code, so £55 for a pair, and I could then choose different front and rear sizes IF that is a good move.

Could anyone who owns either tyre, or has them fitted to a CR1 even, please advise of the actual sizing, and not the touted width please - I imagine the 24mm spesh would be more of a gamble than the pair of 23's.

bendertherobot

Michelin power comp will be faster than both. But a bit more fragile

indyp

Use 25mm GP4000S II on CR1 and fit OK. I run them between 80-90 psi which increases comfort. They're great tyres.

daniel_b

bendertherobot wrote:

Michelin power comp will be faster than both. But a bit more fragile

I did think of them, having a decent history with Michelin, but then saw you had trashed yours on what ride number was it?

indyP wrote:

Use 25mm GP4000S II on CR1 and fit OK. I run them between 80-90 psi which increases comfort. They're great tyres.

oooh, that is interesting - don't suppose you have any pics of tyre clearance on the back?
How do you find them for resisting fairies?

The Durano's are 25's, and I run them at 80psi on my Synapse, and it's like a fairly fast sofa.

I expect I will simply repeat the process, find a fast road tyre that is not very durable, get fed up with roadside repairs, and go back to something more hardy.
But then I do like speed - it's tricky.

rolf_f

Daniel B wrote:

I expect I will simply repeat the process, find a fast road tyre that is not very durable, get fed up with roadside repairs, and go back to something more hardy.
But then I do like speed - it's tricky.

Just get Durano S then. No real point to Durano Plus - you get much the same puncture resistance with the Plus but much less weight and they last well; occasionally dig the glass out of the rubber which I'm sure isn't necessary for the Plus but isn't much of a chore either. I use them all the year round and keep the posh tyres for my posh bike (Veloflex Corsa).

bendertherobot

Daniel B wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Michelin power comp will be faster than both. But a bit more fragile

I did think of them, having a decent history with Michelin, but then saw you had trashed yours on what ride number was it?

indyP wrote:

Use 25mm GP4000S II on CR1 and fit OK. I run them between 80-90 psi which increases comfort. They're great tyres.

oooh, that is interesting - don't suppose you have any pics of tyre clearance on the back?
How do you find them for resisting fairies?

The Durano's are 25's, and I run them at 80psi on my Synapse, and it's like a fairly fast sofa.

I expect I will simply repeat the process, find a fast road tyre that is not very durable, get fed up with roadside repairs, and go back to something more hardy.
But then I do like speed - it's tricky.

Probably ride number 10. Which ain't bad. To be honest could have been one of those things. They roll spectacularly well. Thing is with tyres I have a very very good record with the fairy. If I flat it's unusual so I swap back to what I know works.

bendertherobot

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/

Go here, chuck tyres into the comparitor and it's all laid out.

bendertherobot

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com ... turbo-2016

Pretty poor on the Spesh tyres really.

For comparison, I bought some cheap Vittoria Rubino 3 from PX last week. Check out this.

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com ... o-iii-2014

daniel_b

Awesome, thankyou BTR, didn;t even know that website existed, a mine of information!

I shall have a good read through there and see what looks best, but the Michelin's are back on the menu

bendertherobot

Basically, if you were doing a Crit on clinchers and you chose Michelin and latex tubes you'd be unbeatable

indyp

oooh, that is interesting - don't suppose you have any pics of tyre clearance on the back?
How do you find them for resisting fairies?

The Durano's are 25's, and I run them at 80psi on my Synapse, and it's like a fairly fast sofa.

I expect I will simply repeat the process, find a fast road tyre that is not very durable, get fed up with roadside repairs, and go back to something more hardy.
But then I do like speed - it's tricky.

I don't I'm afraid but there's about 3-4mm space on rear and front which is fine by me considering frame cost.

No punctures since new, so about 2000 miles - I am pretty careful though and avoid debris when I can. The only fault I have is that I'd like them to last longer, but then can't have it all ways.

Giraffoto

I've found the S-Works Turbo better than the Continentals for rolling resistance and cornering grip, but I don't yet know about longevity - GP4000s are very good at not wearing out. Neither seems that susceptible to cuts or punctures, or I may just have been very lucky so far.