Don't know if there's anyone here who reads/gets the French "Le Cycle", but for the tyre concious rider, the latest edition (360, Feb 2007) has a shootout of 100 tyres and tubulars.
Basic comparisons are weight, cost, adherance (tested by putting the tyre on a damp bitumenized board which is then tilted until the tyre slips) and rolling resistance (given as a distance, tested on a trainer). On top of that, they give various subjective opinions on each tyre - puncture resistance, comfort etc.
Interesting! No space here to list everything, but for the curious:
Competition: Best for them was Bontrager Race X Lite Pro 23 mm. Amongst this group, Continental GP4000 did quite badly in adherance (well, very badly actually), but the GP 4000 S did much better. Others that did well were the Vittoria open Corsa Cx, Veloflex Milano. The old standby, Vittoria Rubino Pro 23 rolls very well, but doesn't grip as well as some - though it did better than (for example) Schwalbe Ultremo which is about double the price.
Cyclosport: (in other words, anything between racing and training .. "event" riding). Best for them was the Rubino Pro 25 (NOT 23!). Others that did well were Michelin Lithion, and Tufo C Elite Ride 25 (but it's expensive!).
Training: Only a half dozen listed here, all quite similar. They picked Hutchinson Equinox, but Bontrager Select K (good grip) and Michelin Dynamic (rolls well) look better on their figures.
They then have one catch-all category they call "Specific" tyres ... anti-puncture, rain, ultra-light etc. etc. Hard to compare them then in some respects, but they picked out the Conti GP 4 Seasons .. though it has pretty low rolling figures, Schwalbe Stelvio Plus (anti-puncture, but careful in the rain), and for lightness Michelin Pro2Light (rolls well, but once again, careful in the wet).
Overall, not counting sew-ups/tubulars, the best roller was the Bontrager Xlite Pro 23, closely followed by the Michelin Pro2Race/Pro2Light and the Rubino Pro 23. Best for adherance was Maxxis Courcheval, followed by a family, the Conti GP/4 seasons/4000S and the Rubino Pro 25.
Hope some of that was useful!
B
Basic comparisons are weight, cost, adherance (tested by putting the tyre on a damp bitumenized board which is then tilted until the tyre slips) and rolling resistance (given as a distance, tested on a trainer). On top of that, they give various subjective opinions on each tyre - puncture resistance, comfort etc.
Interesting! No space here to list everything, but for the curious:
Competition: Best for them was Bontrager Race X Lite Pro 23 mm. Amongst this group, Continental GP4000 did quite badly in adherance (well, very badly actually), but the GP 4000 S did much better. Others that did well were the Vittoria open Corsa Cx, Veloflex Milano. The old standby, Vittoria Rubino Pro 23 rolls very well, but doesn't grip as well as some - though it did better than (for example) Schwalbe Ultremo which is about double the price.
Cyclosport: (in other words, anything between racing and training .. "event" riding). Best for them was the Rubino Pro 25 (NOT 23!). Others that did well were Michelin Lithion, and Tufo C Elite Ride 25 (but it's expensive!).
Training: Only a half dozen listed here, all quite similar. They picked Hutchinson Equinox, but Bontrager Select K (good grip) and Michelin Dynamic (rolls well) look better on their figures.
They then have one catch-all category they call "Specific" tyres ... anti-puncture, rain, ultra-light etc. etc. Hard to compare them then in some respects, but they picked out the Conti GP 4 Seasons .. though it has pretty low rolling figures, Schwalbe Stelvio Plus (anti-puncture, but careful in the rain), and for lightness Michelin Pro2Light (rolls well, but once again, careful in the wet).
Overall, not counting sew-ups/tubulars, the best roller was the Bontrager Xlite Pro 23, closely followed by the Michelin Pro2Race/Pro2Light and the Rubino Pro 23. Best for adherance was Maxxis Courcheval, followed by a family, the Conti GP/4 seasons/4000S and the Rubino Pro 25.
Hope some of that was useful!
B