Avocet tires



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Why are these tires so difficult to locate. Most places I checked do not carry them. B

(remove clothes to reply)
 
I believe that bicycle tires are made in batches rather than 'continuously' as auto tires. I doubt
Avocets have been in production for some time.

"B" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
| Why are these tires so difficult to locate. Most places I checked do not
carry
| them. B
|
| (remove clothes to reply)
 
"B" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Why are these tires so difficult to locate. Most places I checked do not
carry
> them. B
>
Agree, Avocet makes it difficult to carry since it refuses to use distributors like QBP. However,
ANY LBS should be able to order direct from Avocet. Further, here's a few "online" places that you
can get Avocet tires from:

Sheldon Brown: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/index.html

Lickton: http://www.lickbike.com/t0018100.htm

World Class: http://www.worldclasscycles.com/clincher-tires2.htm

GtoG tandems: http://www.gtgtandems.com/parts/700r.html

and B&L Bike Shop is currently having a "closeout" sale (hurry): http://blbikeshop.com/site/showite-
m.cfm?searchtype=Keywords&Catalog=39&Description=avocet+tires&SearchSubmit.x=12&SearchSubmit.y=12
 
bfd <[email protected]> wrote:
: Agree, Avocet makes it difficult to carry since it refuses to use distributors like QBP. However,
: ANY LBS should be able to order direct from Avocet.

i have never known a single bike shop (near me) to carry avocet tires nor willing to. i hope they
have a good reason for not using a distributors 'cause it's a real pain the butt to me.
--
david reuteler [email protected]
 
David Reuteler wrote:

> bfd <[email protected]> wrote:

>> Agree, Avocet makes it difficult to carry since it refuses to use distributors like QBP. However,
>> ANY LBS should be able to order direct from Avocet.
>
> i have never known a single bike shop (near me) to carry avocet tires nor willing to.

A shop in my old neighborhood always carried the "Cross" model with the inverted tread. This is
one of the bigger shops anywhere and does a lot of volume, but those same tires sat in the rack
for decades.

In general, consumers flock to the most well-advertised brands, be they good, bad, or
indifferent. Bike shops may have good ideas about which products are actually better, but this
can backfire, as customers may perceive this as an attempt to push a lesser quality, "off" brand.
"I went in there looking for a Mavic rim, but then he tried to sell me this Velocity POS, that
I've never heard of..."

> i hope they have a good reason for not using a distributors 'cause it's a real pain the
> butt to me.

I hear this excuse all the time, but I fail to see how it matters. How much time does it really take
to manage an account? A phone call and a mouse click or two is all it should take. Unless, of
course, the supplier is a total flake... not unknown in the bike industry.

Matt O.
 
> Why are these tires so difficult to locate. Most places I checked do not
carry
> them.

#1: Avocet has no distributors, so they need to be ordered directly from
Avocet. Not a huge deal, except that it also means there's no pipeline (second, third, fourth source
etc) of product to draw on when Avocet's out of tires (which is often).

#2: Avocet changed their compounds a while ago (on the road tires) and had
significant problems with tread peeling away. The new batch that "fixed" that problem also had tread
that peeled away. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...

#3: There are now a great many alternatives to Avocet tires, many of which
have found their way onto new bikes as OEM spec. That's a very powerful sales tool; customers tend
to ask for the same tires that came on their bikes (this has worked incredibly well for Continental
in our store, as TREK used them for a number of years on higher-end road bikes). Without that, the
demand for Avocet tends to approach that of a niche product, and it's difficult, with all the
zillions of SKUs in the bike biz, to focus too much attention on niche products and not enough on
the standard stuff that you cannot afford to be out of.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
 
David L. Johnson <[email protected]> wrote:
: Also, they don't sell well, because they are not candy-apple red or whatever other color is
: supposed to be cool,

actually that can't be it. they are solid BadAssBlack(tm) and that IS very much in these days. you
don't think they changed sidewall colours for nothing, do ya? that, "Carbon 12" (heh, heh) and the
price hike shows that somebody at Avocet is taking marketing nite classes.

maybe they should start, umm, advertising.

: Low-priced, but well-made and with the lowest rolling resistance out there.

$43 for a kevlar bead 700Cx23mm ain't that cheap.
--
david reuteler [email protected]
 
Write to me privately if you are interested. I have an un-used 700 x 35c avocet cross tire if you
are interested.

"B" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Why are these tires so difficult to locate. Most places I checked do not
carry
> them. B
>
> (remove clothes to reply)
 
In article <[email protected]>,
David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote:
>$43 for a kevlar bead 700Cx23mm ain't that cheap.

That's the problem. Years ago, Avocet used to offer above average performance for below average
prices. They also advertised heavily explaining how good their performance was. Now, their prices
are the same or higher than the popular Euro racing tires and they no longer advertise. The prices
are hard for a consumer to justify.
 
"B" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Why are these tires so difficult to locate. Most places I checked do not
carry
> them.

I use the Avocet Cross tires, and have exclusively for about a year. I get them at REI. They usually
have them in stock, but once I had to have them order them for me.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm

New CD coming out this month! See: http://www.tiferet.net

"To forgive is to set the prisoner free and then discover the prisoner
was you."
 
Claire Petersky wrote:

> "B" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
>>Why are these tires so difficult to locate. Most places I checked do not carry them.
>
> I use the Avocet Cross tires, and have exclusively for about a year. I get them at REI. They
> usually have them in stock, but once I had to have them order them for me.

Yes, great tires. They are always one of the tires on one of my two MTB wheelsets. Decent on the
road and off road if it's not too mucky.

An LBS told me Avocet doesn't make them anymore, but the tire might have been picked up my some
other manufacturer and sold as the same tire.

I don't believe this is actually true though, and Avocet still seems to have an active web page with
their products.

I do know that the Avocet cyclocomputers are virtually impossible to find. Went to five area LBS's
looking for a replacement for my broken Avocet 25 and failed to find one. Even Nashbar and
Performance don't seem to carry them in their catalogs any more.

Had to settle on a Cateye instead.

SMH
 
Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

> There are now a great many alternatives to Avocet tires...

Mike,

Can you recommend a similar tire to the Avocet Road (700x25) that costs $25 or less? A tire lasts me
about 2 months--less than that in Winter, so I bristle at paying $40 or more for a bike tire. So
far, Avocet's the only tire I've found that performs well and isn't ludicrously expensive.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://www.terrymorse.com/bike/
 
Terry Morse wrote:

> Can you recommend a similar tire to the Avocet Road (700x25) that costs $25 or less? A tire lasts
> me about 2 months--less than that in Winter, so I bristle at paying $40 or more for a bike tire.
> So far, Avocet's the only tire I've found that performs well and isn't ludicrously expensive.

Someone recently posted this link:

http://tinyurl.com/2yqzt

The 25mm for $11-12 seem to be gone, but they still have the 23mm for $15.

Matt O.
 
> Can you recommend a similar tire to the Avocet Road (700x25) that costs $25 or less? A tire lasts
> me about 2 months--less than that in Winter, so I bristle at paying $40 or more for a bike tire.
> So far, Avocet's the only tire I've found that performs well and isn't ludicrously expensive.

The inexpensive Ritcheys were/are a very good deal, but I think the only size available at the
$19.99 price (for the folding version) was 23c. It's difficult to find an inexpensive tire that also
rides nicely (and is reasonably flat-resistant). If only Continental kept producing the SS Ultra...

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Terry Morse" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:tmorse-
[email protected]...
> Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
>
> > There are now a great many alternatives to Avocet tires...
>
> Mike,
>
> Can you recommend a similar tire to the Avocet Road (700x25) that costs $25 or less? A tire lasts
> me about 2 months--less than that in Winter, so I bristle at paying $40 or more for a bike tire.
> So far, Avocet's the only tire I've found that performs well and isn't ludicrously expensive.
> --
> terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://www.terrymorse.com/bike/
 
Terry Morse <[email protected]> wrote in news:tmorse-
[email protected]:

> Can you recommend a similar tire to the Avocet Road (700x25) that costs $25 or less? A tire lasts
> me about 2 months--less than that in Winter, so I bristle at paying $40 or more for a bike tire.
> So far, Avocet's the only tire I've found that performs well and isn't ludicrously expensive.
> --
> terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://www.terrymorse.com/bike/

I would recommend the IRC Triathlon 700x25. They actually have a measured width of a little less
than 23 and are wire bead, but are great tires for the money. They are also 127 tpi. You can get
them online for about $13 each (Nashbar, for one). I'm on my second set now and I'm very pleased.
They have only an average tread life, but the tread rubber and sidewalls don't seem to degrade like
the Continentals (frayed/broken sidewall cords) and Michelins (cracked and peeling rubber) that I
have used in the past. IRC used to (maybe still do) make tires for Avocet.

--
Mike DeMicco
 
> I do know that the Avocet cyclocomputers are virtually impossible to find. Went to five area LBS's
> looking for a replacement for my broken Avocet 25 and failed to find one. Even Nashbar and
> Performance don't seem to carry them in their catalogs any more.

Send it back to Avocet. They'll fix it probably for nothing. Avocet is a great company with well
engineered products. They're nice people to deal with, too.

Dave
 
Terry Morse <[email protected]> wrote [snip]
> A tire lasts me about 2 months--less than that in Winter....

Two months? WOW!!! What tires do you currently use? What kind of mileage do you put in? Under what
conditions?

By the way, I have a LBS order Avocet road 700 x 25 tires for me, about $35 per, and I get more than
a full season (including as much winter riding as the weather allows) out of them. As far as I know,
no LBS around here (NE suburbs of Philadelphia) carry Avocet tires. --Roy Zipris
 
Roy Zipris wrote:

> Terry Morse wrote
> > A tire lasts me about 2 months--less than that in Winter....
>
> Two months? WOW!!! What tires do you currently use? What kind of mileage do you put in? Under what
> conditions?

I've been using Avocet Road 700x25 for a couple of years. Monthly mileage varies between 1000 and
1500 per month, under all conditions (except snow, no snow around here). Even though I ride fewer
miles in Winter, the tires don't last as long due to cuts in the rubber. BTW, I'm talking about the
rear tire here. The front lasts until I get a severe glass cut, or it cracks so badly that it no
longer looks safe.

> By the way, I have a LBS order Avocet road 700 x 25 tires for me, about $35 per,

I just ordered several of those (wire bead, no kevlar) from Harris Cyclery for $25 each. A
good price.

> and I get more than a full season (including as much winter riding as the weather allows) out
> of them.

You must be putting fewer miles on them. I haven't heard of anyone going more than about 3000 miles
on one tire.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://www.terrymorse.com/bike/
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Roy Zipris <[email protected]> wrote:
>Terry Morse <[email protected]> wrote [snip]
>> A tire lasts me about 2 months--less than that in Winter....
>
>Two months? WOW!!! What tires do you currently use? What kind of mileage do you put in? Under what
>conditions?
>
>By the way, I have a LBS order Avocet road 700 x 25 tires for me, about $35 per, and I get more
>than a full season (including as much winter riding as the weather allows) out of them. As far as I
>know, no LBS around here (NE suburbs of Philadelphia) carry Avocet tires.

One reason for that may be their reputation for not delivering product, it is a familiar refrain I
have heard from retailers when asking for Avocet tires.

--Paul
 
Terry Morse wrote:

> I've been using Avocet Road 700x25 for a couple of years. Monthly mileage varies between 1000 and
> 1500 per month, under all conditions (except snow, no snow around here). Even though I ride fewer
> miles in Winter, the tires don't last as long due to cuts in the rubber. BTW, I'm talking about
> the rear tire here. The front lasts until I get a severe glass cut, or it cracks so badly that it
> no longer looks safe.
>
>> By the way, I have a LBS order Avocet road 700 x 25 tires for me, about $35 per,
>
> I just ordered several of those (wire bead, no kevlar) from Harris Cyclery for $25 each. A
> good price.
>
>> and I get more than a full season (including as much winter riding as the weather allows) out
>> of them.
>
> You must be putting fewer miles on them. I haven't heard of anyone going more than about 3000
> miles on one tire.

Terry, are you using the older, tan sidewall ones, or the newer, all black ones? (Different
manufacturers, AFAIK.) Any difference?

Matt O.