Winter tyres, maybe Schwalbe Durano

jpower

Need to get me some winter tyres, even more so after yesterdays fall on a corner :-(

Obvious requirement puncture protection, but now grip is more important then ever to me, surprise surprise.

Shortlist:-

Schwalbe Durano (or plus)
Conti 4 Seasons
Michelin Pro4 Endurance

Have been running Conti 4000 II during the summer and they have been fine and zero punctures too.

Love to hear some views.

timothyw

Durano tyres have never let me down, can highly recommend them, having ridden many thousands of miles commuting and club runs.

I wouldn't bother going for the plus models, I tried out a set, the extra protection wasn't really worth the added weight and rolling resistance - puncture protection on the regular Durano is already ample.

Which isn't to say that they never puncture - had one just yesterday - but this was caused by a small nail which would have defeated anything.

jpower

ha ha, was about to suggest adding Durano DD to the shortlist :-)

grenw

I suppose it depends on your riding. I only ride for pleasure a couple of times a week and 4 seasons have never let me down. Ride is similar to the 4000s too.

For commuting I'd probably go for something with a bit more protection.

Alex99

Hope you're OK!

No scary moments in poor conditions with Durano's. I've ridden the Durano plus for 3 winters, but going to try the standard Durano now. I expect they will be fine. But, I have never punctured the plusses :shock: The tread lasts very well. It's just a good compound on both variants.

Pro4 E's are a different tyre really. Very nice, but softer and faster with reliable handling characteristics in the wet it seems. Depending on where you live and the state of the roads, they might be an option. Some people are happy on race tyres all year around. It really depends on what your roads are like.

jpower

Thanks buddy, just a few cuts and bruises nothing and knees a bit stiff, should be good to go in a few days

Rides are around Chiltern area (club rides), so the roads are quite a state in the winter season, lots of crap and flint.

Alex99

jpower wrote:

Thanks buddy, just a few cuts and bruises nothing and knees a bit stiff, should be good to go in a few days

Rides are around Chiltern area (club rides), so the roads are quite a state in the winter season, lots of crap and flint.

I'm in the Chilterns too. It's flint-tastic, but I get throught the year with just a couple of punctures. I must be pretty conservative with my choice of tyre.

phil485

Conti 4 seasons for me for my winter riding.

Commuting and club runs

lostboysaint

Pro4 Endurance. Went to them having had the dreaded "sidewall puncture" issues (not snakebites!) on the Contis. Shape/size up slightly bigger, roll as well, grip better and much more reliable*.

*the Contis were perfectly reliable until the sidewall issues.

daniel_b

Durano pluses for me - loads of flint around these here hills, and they have only been breached once - fitted on two bikes.

Personally do not believe they roll that badly compared to more racy tyres.

Alex99

oxoman wrote:

Probably Pro 4 then 4 seasons but personally wouldn't go back to Durano, pluses, I did a few hundred miles and was down to blue puncture protection band. If I skidded I would have understood it but I don't. Currently have one bike on gaterskins and nice bike on giant gavia and IRC formula pro x guards. Glad you survived ok.

That's odd. A good few thousand miles on mine :?

daniel_b

Alex99 wrote:

oxoman wrote:

Probably Pro 4 then 4 seasons but personally wouldn't go back to Durano, pluses, I did a few hundred miles and was down to blue puncture protection band. If I skidded I would have understood it but I don't. Currently have one bike on gaterskins and nice bike on giant gavia and IRC formula pro x guards. Glad you survived ok.

That's odd. A good few thousand miles on mine :?

Agreed, sounds like a dodgy batch - expect you could have got refund or replacement pair.
Have heard of people covering 4000+ miles on them.

figbat

Another plus vote for the Duranos. Had mine on all year round, ridden in some foul weather and on roads littered with myriad run-off debris and not a one puncture or loss of grip yet. In fact just yesterday I removed the perfectly intact 25 mm Duranos from my Synapse to fit 28 mm versions of the same (the 25s will then go on my new bike to replace the 23 mm Vittoria Rubino Pros that came on it).

jpower

OK think I am narrowed down to Durano or Durano Plus.

jpower

Some listings say Schwalbe Durano Raceguardm is this the same as Schwalbe Durano? Just trying to find the best deal, unless anyone knows.

Alex99

jpower wrote:

Some listings say Schwalbe Durano Raceguardm is this the same as Schwalbe Durano? Just trying to find the best deal, unless anyone knows.

The Raceguard is the standard Durano I think. £18.99 at Wiggle for the 25 mm.

daniel_b

Alex99 wrote:

jpower wrote:

Some listings say Schwalbe Durano Raceguardm is this the same as Schwalbe Durano? Just trying to find the best deal, unless anyone knows.

The Raceguard is the standard Durano I think. £18.99 at Wiggle for the 25 mm.

I think you are right though it is confusing - fairly sure the plus is the only one that has the thickish layer of foam (Below picture is for rigid tyres just for reference):


Think that perhaps the other options have a more traditional re-inforced belt of sorts - delighted to be educated if i have that wrong.

Pretty sure I saw another variant called double defence, or did I make that up?

jpower

DD or Double Defence is there even more puncture proof version sits above the plus model. I think the above is correct as the Durano has raceguard as there protection, so I think some places are listing it like that, as there no such model.

Thanks @Alex99 got a set on order, nice price if they do what they should.

daniel_b

But this is a DD here, or so CRC say, and it just has a belt, as opposed to a thick foam layer:



So am still confused.

EDIT: It annoyed me so.........

Durano
Mile eater

The popular Durano has outstanding qualities: Extremely high mileage. Dual Compound for best grip - even training on wet winter roads. Proven RaceGuard protection belt.

This has a protection rating of 4, and durability of 5:

https://www.schwalbe.com/gb/road-reader/durano.html

Durano DD
With all-round protection
DD stands for Double Defense. In addition to the RaceGuard protection belt there is an effective fabric protector on the sidewall.

This has a protection rating of 5.5, and durability rating of 5:

https://www.schwalbe.com/gb/road-reader/durano-dd.html

Durano PLUS

Maximum puncture protection for race bikes!

Durano Plus with a racy, dynamic profile. The SmartGuard belt is not as deep as the Marathon Plus‘s, it offers though a unique level of protection for racing tires. The most puncture resistant road bike tire, there is.

This has a protection rating of 7, and a durability rating of 5.

https://www.schwalbe.com/gb/road-reader/durano-plus.html

timothyw

Yeah. Double defence is different. I think the Plus are still the most puncture proof, double defence is somewhere between the durano and the plus.

Of course, depending on the type of debris you hit it could be that the DD is better. I dunno. Check the schwalbe marketing.

jpower

Ohhhh, thank you, so the lineup goes:-

Durano (sometimes called Durano Raceguard)
Durano DD (Double Defence)
Durano Plus

With each getting heavier and more layers of puncture protection. And of course each has wire or folding option :-)

Sutton_Rider

Durano Plus for winter - never a puncture.

paulbnix

Duranos for me. 5000+ miles before needing replacing.

This rear survived a wheel lockup due to the chain overshooting and wrapping round the cassette.
I was doing about 25mph down a hill at the time.
durano.jpg by PaulBNix, on Flickr
You can just make out the puncture proof layer. It lasted for the 30 mile homeward trip.

Alex99

TimothyW wrote:

Yeah. Double defence is different. I think the Plus are still the most puncture proof, double defence is somewhere between the durano and the plus.

Of course, depending on the type of debris you hit it could be that the DD is better. I dunno. Check the schwalbe marketing.

This is right. The DD has tougher side walls and the plus has the thick rubber in the tread. I'm not totally sure why the DD is needed.

dknightxx

I'm commuting in London 36 miles a day, partly on slippery canal tow paths. Last winter I lost my front wheel and fell on a cycle path near the canal at slow speed, nothing happened but it was scary. I switched to conti 4 seasons 28 mm on my front wheel for extra grip and it is very good, excellent grip, rolling fast, no punctures, but I think it's too expensive.
I'm interested in trying the Michelin pro4 endurance, how does it perform in wet slippery winter conditions?

From my understanding the Duranos DD offers extra sidewall protection, useful when you ride on gravel or rough surfaces to protect the sidewalls from cuts, the pluses are a heavy duty tyre, I would use them if I cycled in foreign countries where I can't be sure of the road conditions, probably an overkill for UK roads.
Earlier this year I cycled across Vietnam on regular Schwalbe Marathons, they performed very well until I decided to take a rough surfaced road which was a bad mistake and sliced the side walls on both tyres, I think the pluses or the DD version would have survived it.
Regular duranos should be fine in UK, I think it's a good budget option, buy the one which suits your road conditions best.

@paulbnix that looks bad, how did it happen? what do you mean with chain overshooting?

cycleclinic

none of those tyres cut it for me. the durano's are o.k, durable enough, pucnture resistant enough but not grippy enough and the feel heavy. the Conti Gp 4 seasons are not grippy enough, not durable enough and not puncture resistant enough and the michelins are too light like the conti's.

jpower

thecycleclinic wrote:

none of those tyres cut it for me. the durano's are o.k, durable enough, pucnture resistant enough but not grippy enough and the feel heavy. the Conti Gp 4 seasons are not grippy enough, not durable enough and not puncture resistant enough and the michelins are too light like the conti's.

so which one fits all the above?

paulbnix

@paulbnix that looks bad, how did it happen? what do you mean with chain overshooting?

I have a compact chainset and in this instance changed from the 34 to the 50 at the front.
I very occasionally get the chain overshooting the 50 and dropping onto the ds crank.
It only happens when I'm not under power. Its easy to correct by changing back to the 34 which usually sorts it.

In this case I had just started down the hill, wasn't applying any power and had a large lorry sat just behind me to provide distraction.
Anyhow the chain dropped completely over the ds crank and, presumably, a clump of chain locked the back wheel. My bike snaked down the road with the back wheel locked - followed by the lorry.
I eventually stopped and the lorry carried on.

It was lucky that I had recently added a small multi-tool with pliers to my kit as it took a fair bit of prising to pull all the chain out.

Final damage wasn't too bad - distorted rd cage (it had done 13k miles) and one bent spoke.
Excessive application of the rd limit screws gave me about 6 or 7 usable gears, though they had a mind of their own, and got me home.

exlaser

Durano plus for me every time.

Alex99

thecycleclinic wrote:

none of those tyres cut it for me. the durano's are o.k, durable enough, pucnture resistant enough but not grippy enough and the feel heavy. the Conti Gp 4 seasons are not grippy enough, not durable enough and not puncture resistant enough and the michelins are too light like the conti's.

It's true, they're not the fastest of tyres. But do you really find that they aren't grippy?

daniel_b

Alex99 wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

none of those tyres cut it for me. the durano's are o.k, durable enough, pucnture resistant enough but not grippy enough and the feel heavy. the Conti Gp 4 seasons are not grippy enough, not durable enough and not puncture resistant enough and the michelins are too light like the conti's.

It's true, they're not the fastest of tyres. But do you really find that they aren't grippy?

Never had any issues with grip on mine, and of course due to their nature they are used in adverse conditions, and at more scummy times of the year!

IIRC, I run my 25s at 80 rear, 70 front - I wonder if you run them at a higher pressure, how that might impact the grip avaialble.