Help me select new tires.
- Thread starter Skewter
- Start date
The words 'inexpensive' should only be used with regards to tires used on an indoor trainer.
Give that your training rides dictate more how skills such as cornering are developed and how important good tires are when you have to avoid an incident when you're out training - good tires are a must all the time.
Continental GP4000S. That chili compound adds a big chuck of spice. They use a pretty soft compound but the ride well, resist cuts and picking up flints and glass pieces and stick better than cow dung to a boot on a hot summers day...
Give that your training rides dictate more how skills such as cornering are developed and how important good tires are when you have to avoid an incident when you're out training - good tires are a must all the time.
Continental GP4000S. That chili compound adds a big chuck of spice. They use a pretty soft compound but the ride well, resist cuts and picking up flints and glass pieces and stick better than cow dung to a boot on a hot summers day...
swampy1970 said:
+1. I can only say good words about GP4000S. Just dismounted from my bike. Rode about 8000...9000 km on one set an had about 5-6 flats overall. Don't think its bad. Liked them much better than Maxxis detanator that came with bike.GP4000S ride very sweet but are expensive (well all "top" models are). Decided to try "budget" model- Schwalbe Lugano as my next set of tires.
alienator said:
Really? Out in the back roads where I get punctures a plenty with pro race3's and cut vittorias open tub at will, if has nothing but good times with the 4000s.
What kind of roads do you ride on?
swampy1970 said:
Regular ol' desert city roads, strewn with goatheads, glass, and other detritus. Experience with any tire is somewhat luck based, but still I wasn't willing to put any more time in to GP4000's after a number of punctures/cuts on my tires and those on a set of wheels I borrowed from a friend.
If you want durable, lower-cost tires for high mileage training, there are lots of quality choices from the big brands. EG, take a look at the Michelin Lithion or Krylion. A buddy of mine put the Lithion's on his steel bike a couple of years ago cause they were cheap; now claims he can't wear them out. The ProRace3 is going to roll faster, which might be important in your tri competitions, but they cost more and wear out quicker. Solution of course is to have a seperate tri-bike with race wheels and tires 
OTOH, as swampy said, tires are a poor place to save money since in large part they determine your ride quality and roadholding. Believe I'd sooner go without chamois creme than give up my GP4000s for low-end tires.
OTOH, as swampy said, tires are a poor place to save money since in large part they determine your ride quality and roadholding. Believe I'd sooner go without chamois creme than give up my GP4000s for low-end tires.
Here is a link to a thread that had some good tire discussion:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/cycling-equipment/473665-what-tires-do-you-use.html
http://www.cyclingforums.com/cycling-equipment/473665-what-tires-do-you-use.html
Contiental Gatorskin tires are the best puncture resistant cycling tire out there. Spend the extra money and ride without flats.
gordonharris912 said:
This is pure rubbish!!!
While Gatorskins are ok for flat resistence their not the best, in fact Specialized Armadillo All Condition Pro easily beats the Gator. The Gator has paper thin sidewalls that are very susceptible to damage and tire destruction, and the tread will allow Goatheads to penetrate without a problem...this I know because I lived in the deserts of California and suffered many flats with the Gators vs goatheads. On the other hand the Armadillo shrugged goatheads off without even flinching. And the Armadillo's sidewalls are nearly indestructible.
Is the Armadillo the best flat resistant tire? Even that is argumentative with the likes of Bontrager Hard Case tires and Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires that are also very good...all of which are far far better then the Conti Gators.
But whatever you do don't use Slime, they don't work in high pressure road tires, you start pumping above 65psi and the slime won't hold and will just blow out of even the smallest hole. Plus slime can gum up pumps and their presta valves are the cheapest valves I've ever seen.
Since I no longer live where there are goatheads I now ride on Kenda Konstrictors. These tires are even way better then Conti Gators, in both the tread and sidewalls and weigh the same as the Gator and handle better.
alienator said:
I've gone close to 18 months on the same set of 4000s and experienced one puncture - one where I walked out to the bike in the morning and found a flat tire... Never did find where it was leaking from even when I stuck the tube in water... That set of tires has a flat center too it due to rising too many straight roads and thus need replacing. I ride mostly on roads our in the boonies and hills that see about a dozen cars a day at most.
Horses for courses i guess...
These tires for me are up there on the list of things i will beat you with a baseball bat if you try to steal them from my garage....
Kenda Kontender 700 26C tires are also a good you choose ,ower-cost tires for high mileage training, there are lots of quality choices from the big brands,you choose a tire as per a best brand,you take a advice of a mechanic they give a best suggestion for choosing a tire for your vehicle.
I used gatorskins on recommendations from local riders. Found the puncture resistance very good on the broken bottle strewn cycle paths I use to get out of town. They seem to last a long time - 3years + treadwise - but the sidewalls are all beginning to perish and separate. When I switched to racier tyres (Vittoria diamante I think they were) I started picking up loads more flats. Now on Continental Attack/force combo with less flats but I'm upgrading to GP4000s now for best and swapping back to gatorskins for winter. It just seems to make sense to me.
