Hybrid tyres

My hybrid came with Cheng Shin OEM 700x38 tyres and they've got to go (I
guess the shop had to compromise somewhere). Just about all of my riding is
on bitumen, except maybe for the gravel bike path around the lake near where
I live, and I live in a city with a real winter so wet weather handling is
an issue. I'm doing my homework and I've come up with a list of tyres that
I'd like opinions on, for or against:

700x28 Continental Sport 1000 350g 700x28 Continental Top Touring 2000 430g 700x28 Continental Ultra
Gatorskin 320g 700x28 IRC Road Winner II Duro 290g 700x30 IRC Tandem Duro 305g 700x28 Michelin
Dynamic 380g 700x28 Michelin Transworld City 390g 700x28 Schwalbe Marathon 510g 700x28 Vittoria
Randonneur "double shielded" 490g 700x28 Vittoria Zaffiro 350g

Right now I'm leaning towards the IRCs largely because of their weight.

--

A: Top-posters.
B: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> My hybrid came with Cheng Shin OEM 700x38 tyres and they've got to go (I guess the shop had to
> compromise somewhere). Just about all of my riding is on bitumen, except maybe for the gravel bike
> path around the lake near where I live, and I live in a city with a real winter so wet weather
> handling is an issue. I'm doing my homework and I've come up with a list of tyres that I'd like
> opinions on, for or against:
>
> 700x28 Continental Sport 1000 350g

I really like these on my Tourer (though I use the 25mm size). I can't comment on the others because
I haven't tried them.

> 700x28 Continental Top Touring 2000 430g 700x28 Continental Ultra Gatorskin 320g 700x28 IRC Road
> Winner II Duro 290g 700x30 IRC Tandem Duro 305g 700x28 Michelin Dynamic 380g 700x28 Michelin
> Transworld City 390g 700x28 Schwalbe Marathon 510g 700x28 Vittoria Randonneur "double shielded"
> 490g 700x28 Vittoria Zaffiro 350g
>
> Right now I'm leaning towards the IRCs largely because of their weight.
>
>

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible).

 

"DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My hybrid came with Cheng Shin OEM 700x38 tyres and
> they've got to go (I guess the shop had to compromise
> somewhere). Just about all of my
riding is
> on bitumen, except maybe for the gravel bike path around
> the lake near
where
> I live, and I live in a city with a real winter so wet
> weather handling
is
> an issue. I'm doing my homework and I've come up with a
> list of tyres
that
> I'd like opinions on, for or against:
>
> 700x28 Continental Sport 1000 350g 700x28 Continental
> Top Touring 2000 430g 700x28 Continental Ultra Gatorskin
> 320g 700x28 IRC Road Winner II Duro 290g 700x30 IRC
> Tandem Duro 305g 700x28 Michelin Dynamic 380g 700x28
> Michelin Transworld City 390g 700x28 Schwalbe Marathon
> 510g 700x28 Vittoria Randonneur "double shielded" 490g
> 700x28 Vittoria Zaffiro 350g
>
> Right now I'm leaning towards the IRCs largely because
> of their weight.

I've had bad experience with severe sidewall cracking on
two IRC's; viz: 26 x 1.5 "Smoothy" and 20 X 1.125 Roadlite
EX's. On the other hand I've had a couple of cheap Cheng
Shin 26 X 1.5 semi slicks on a touring equipped MTB for
several years with no problems -not even a puncture!

How important is weight to you?

All the best,

Roy

 

araby <[email protected]> wrote in message eOk2c.163524$Qg7.-
[email protected]

[...]

> How important is weight to you?

It seems to me all I ever do is add weight to the bike. If I
can reasonably take some weight off I would like to do so.
After all, the difference between 510g (Scwalbe Marathon)
and 290g (IRC Road Winner II Duro) may not seem like much
but it's 220g more per tyre I have to pedal around over who
knows how many thousands of kilometres.

OTOH, the shop where I bought my bike has the Radonneurs
(490g) discounted and will waive the fitting fee if I get it
done at the same time as my scheduled service.

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

 

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 08:02:46 +1100, "DRS"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>> How important is weight to you?
>
>It seems to me all I ever do is add weight to the bike. If
>I can reasonably

Same here.

>take some weight off I would like to do so. After all, the
>difference between 510g (Scwalbe Marathon) and 290g (IRC
>Road Winner II Duro) may not seem like much but it's 220g
>more per tyre I have to pedal around over who knows how
>many thousands of kilometres.

That weight savings is nearly equal to a set of Planet Bike
Freddy full coverage fenders with mud flaps, or a rear rack,
or any of a million other items you might hang on the bike
(per your comment about adding weight). A pound is nothing
to sneeze at, especially when it's as inexpensive as a set
of tires that you need to buy anyway.

>OTOH, the shop where I bought my bike has the Radonneurs
>(490g) discounted and will waive the fitting fee if I get
>it done at the same time as my scheduled service.

By "fitting fee", do you mean that if you bought other tires
from them, they would charge you to mount them while you've
got it in for other service? That sounds a bit out of line.

Any comment from the LBS people here? Would you charge for
mounting a tire bought at your shop while already charging
for some other service?
--
Rick Onanian

 

Rick Onanian <[email protected]> wrote in message
[email protected]
> On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 08:02:46 +1100, "DRS"
> <[email protected]> wrote:

[...]

>> take some weight off I would like to do so. After all,
>> the difference between 510g (Scwalbe Marathon) and 290g
>> (IRC Road Winner II Duro) may not seem like much but it's
>> 220g more per tyre I have to pedal around over who knows
>> how many thousands of kilometres.
>
> That weight savings is nearly equal to a set of Planet
> Bike Freddy full coverage fenders with mud flaps, or a
> rear rack, or any of a million other items you might hang
> on the bike (per your comment about adding weight). A
> pound is nothing to sneeze at, especially when it's as
> inexpensive as a set of tires that you need to buy anyway.

Yep, 440g is pretty close to a pound.

>> OTOH, the shop where I bought my bike has the Radonneurs
>> (490g) discounted and will waive the fitting fee if I get
>> it done at the same time as my scheduled service.
>
> By "fitting fee", do you mean that if you bought other
> tires from them, they would charge you to mount them while
> you've got it in for other service? That sounds a bit out
> of line.

Ok, my bad. The service is free, part of the warranty on
the bike. Please don't beat up on my local bike shop, I
like them. Normally there's a fitting fee if you only
buy the tyres.

Anyway, does anybody know anything about the Randonneurs?
Apparently they're fairly new and I can't find reviews on
them anywhere. http://www.vittoria.com/index3.asp?lingua=en
then Products > City Trekking.

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

 

"DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My hybrid came with Cheng Shin OEM 700x38 tyres and
> they've got to go (I guess the shop had to compromise
> somewhere). Just about all of my riding
is
> on bitumen, except maybe for the gravel bike path around
> the lake near
where
> I live, and I live in a city with a real winter so wet
> weather handling is an issue. I'm doing my homework and
> I've come up with a list of tyres
that
> I'd like opinions on, for or against:

Have you looked at the Avocet Cross II's? I have those
(700x38C size) on my Shogun hybrid, and I've been happy
with them.

-- Paul

 

Paul A. Steckler <[email protected]> wrote in message
[email protected]
> "DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> My hybrid came with Cheng Shin OEM 700x38 tyres and
>> they've got to go (I guess the shop had to compromise
>> somewhere). Just about all of my riding is on bitumen,
>> except maybe for the gravel bike path around the lake
>> near where I live, and I live in a city with a real
>> winter so wet weather handling is an issue. I'm doing my
>> homework and I've come up with a list of tyres that I'd
>> like opinions on, for or against:
>
> Have you looked at the Avocet Cross II's? I have those
> (700x38C size) on my Shogun hybrid, and I've been happy
> with them.

They're nice and light at 350g (Cross IIK 700x28) but it's
hard to find anyone here in Oz who actually sells them. The
list I gave are all tyres I know I can get. I'm also not
sure I want or need a true "cross" tyre. 99% of my riding is
on bitumen - I live in an area that's very popular with
cyclists because of the quality and extent of bike paths and
bike friendly roads, and as I said before, the closest I
come to off-road riding is the gravel bike path around the
lake near where I live, which is why there's a number of
road tyres in the list.

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

 

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 09:23:31 +1100, "DRS" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>Anyway, does anybody know anything about the Randonneurs?
>Apparently they're fairly new and I can't find reviews on
>them anywhere. http://www.vittoria.com/index3.asp?lingua=en
>then Products > City Trekking.

I'll jump into this thread for a moment-

I had the Randonneurs on a city bike. Bianchi Volpe used for
commuting. The shop told me that they were popular with
commuters and messengers. They were the right size so I
tried them.

I was very unimpressed with their ride quality. Very dead no
matter what the pressure. And for some reason I never
figured out, I could almost feel them fighting me when
accelerating. Hard to explain, know. I have some 700 gram
tires on a 26" commuter and they don't feel anywhere near as
hard to accelerate as the Randonneurs were.

If you need lots of puncture resistance and ride quality is
secondary.... uh, tertiary? then go for them. Other than
that, I would not recommend them.

 

"DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in
messagnews:<[email protected]>...
> Paul A. Steckler <[email protected]> wrote in message
> [email protected]
> > "DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> >> My hybrid came with Cheng Shin OEM 700x38 tyres and
> >> they've got to go (I guess the shop had to compromise
> >> somewhere). Just about all of my riding is on bitumen,
> >> except maybe for the gravel bike path around the lake
> >> near where I live, and I live in a city with a real
> >> winter so wet weather handling is an issue. I'm doing
> >> my homework and I've come up with a list of tyres that
> >> I'd like opinions on, for or against:
> >
Are those knobbies or like that? I did well with Cheng Shin
Nylon's 700 x 35 front and back for about 3 years. They are
not knobby, just simple "street" type tread, but tough and
long lasting. Had to replace the rear only because the
sidewall got cut while riding on railway ballast. BTW the
replacement tire lasted only one winter and was clearly done
in. It was a cheapie, but not worth using. I ordered
another Cheng Shin. BTW the originals were also OEM on
my Marin hybrid.

Regards, Bernie

 

The Continental Ultra Gatorskin are a great compromise for
a road bike. They have reasonably good protection without
being as rock like as most of the Kevlar belted tires.
Anything that makes a tire tough is going to have some
adverse influence on the road feel. If you are commuting on
rough roads with glass, etc. you might want to get a
tougher tire, but if you have reasonable roads the
Gatorskin is great.

Alan Acock "DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> My hybrid came with Cheng Shin OEM 700x38 tyres and
> they've got to go (I guess the shop had to compromise
> somewhere). Just about all of my riding
is
> on bitumen, except maybe for the gravel bike path around
> the lake near
where
> I live, and I live in a city with a real winter so wet
> weather handling is an issue. I'm doing my homework and
> I've come up with a list of tyres
that
> I'd like opinions on, for or against:
>
> 700x28 Continental Sport 1000 350g 700x28 Continental Top
> Touring 2000 430g 700x28 Continental Ultra Gatorskin 320g
> 700x28 IRC Road Winner II Duro 290g 700x30 IRC Tandem Duro
> 305g 700x28 Michelin Dynamic 380g 700x28 Michelin
> Transworld City 390g 700x28 Schwalbe Marathon 510g 700x28
> Vittoria Randonneur "double shielded" 490g 700x28 Vittoria
> Zaffiro 350g
>
> Right now I'm leaning towards the IRCs largely because of
> their weight.
>
> --
>
> A: Top-posters.
> Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

 

Alan Acock <[email protected]> wrote in message
[email protected]_s54
> The Continental Ultra Gatorskin are a great compromise for
> a road bike. They have reasonably good protection without
> being as rock like as most of the Kevlar belted tires.
> Anything that makes a tire tough is going to have some
> adverse influence on the road feel. If you are commuting
> on rough roads with glass, etc. you might want to get a
> tougher tire, but if you have reasonable roads the
> Gatorskin is great.

They look very cool but they seem to polarise people. The
reviews at sites like www.roadbikereview.com vary wildly
from love to hate with no inbetween. I've had it suggested
by one experienced rider that Continentals are particularly
susceptible to even moderate drops in pressure. IOW, if you
keep them at 120psi they're virtually bullet-proof but the
moment they drop to say 100psi, which they tend to do quite
quickly, they become highly vulnerable to punctures. He only
half-jokingly suggested the recommended pressure for Contis
should be 120psi - 120psi.

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

 

Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote in message
[email protected]

[Randonneurs]

> I was very unimpressed with their ride quality. Very dead
> no matter what the pressure. And for some reason I never
> figured out, I could almost feel them fighting me when
> accelerating. Hard to explain, know. I have some 700 gram
> tires on a 26" commuter and they don't feel anywhere near
> as hard to accelerate as the Randonneurs were.

Could that be because of their low pressures - 60-70psi -
is not high enough to compensate for their narrow width, do
you think?

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

 

On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 08:32:16 +1100, "DRS" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote in message
>[email protected]
>
>[Randonneurs]
>
>> I was very unimpressed with their ride quality. Very dead
>> no matter what the pressure. And for some reason I never
>> figured out, I could almost feel them fighting me when
>> accelerating. Hard to explain, know. I have some 700 gram
>> tires on a 26" commuter and they don't feel anywhere near
>> as hard to accelerate as the Randonneurs were.
>
>Could that be because of their low pressures - 60-70psi -
>is not high enough to compensate for their narrow width, do
>you think?

I tried higher pressures and they just turned into bouncing
bricks. I have no problem ignoring labels like 'max
pressure' There was just something about those tires and
my riding that weren't meant to be together.

 

"DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> araby <[email protected]> wrote in message eOk2c.163524$Qg-
> [email protected]
>
> [...]
>
> > How important is weight to you?
>
> It seems to me all I ever do is add weight to the bike. If
> I can reasonably take some weight off I would like to do
> so. After all, the difference between 510g (Scwalbe
> Marathon) and 290g (IRC Road Winner II Duro) may not seem
> like much but it's 220g more per tyre I have to pedal
> around over who knows how many thousands of kilometres.

I don't see any reason to buy such heavy tires. I've used
the IRC tires, they're very nice, and very inexpensive
(~$12). I also like Panaracer tires, the Pasela is similar
to the Road Winner. Avocets are a bit nicer (better casing),
but they've become a bit pricey and can be hard to find.

 

Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote in
message [email protected]_s01

[...]

> I don't see any reason to buy such heavy tires. I've used
> the IRC tires, they're very nice, and very inexpensive
> (~$12). I also like

That would be the non-Kevlar version, surely?

> Panaracer tires, the Pasela is similar to the Road Winner.
> Avocets are a bit nicer (better casing), but they've
> become a bit pricey and can be hard to find.

I sent an email to Schwalbe about the weight of the Marathon
700x28 (510g) and Marathon Slick 700x30 (500g). Here's the
bulk of the (very swift) response:

"You are right if you say our Marathon tyres are mostly
heavier than other high performance tyres. Reason for this
is, that the Marathons are made for long life, low wear and
safe riding. All tyres you are mentioning are light weight
skin tyres with thin tread and without sidewall rubber. The
Marathon, as well as Marathon Slick are very strong due to a
special sidewall rubber film reinforcement and long lasting
because of a thicker tread with special compounds. I think
this is a key for our success all over Europe, as bicycles
purpose here is mostly everydays use. We can of course also
provide real lightweight tyres. For example our Stelvio 28-
622 is only 325g with Kevlar breaker. Please be advised,
that the TPI's mentioned by Continental can not be compared
with TPI values from other manufacturers. Conti adds up the
TPI's of all carcass layers of one tyre. If we would do so,
our Marathon would have 150 TPI whereas Marathon Slick would
be 201 TPI. Stelvio is at least 335 TPI as there are two
additional carcass layers (overall 5) for puncture
resistance."

It's interesting what he says about the way Conti
calculate their TPI. And Schwalbe do claim 6,000 to
12,000km for the Marathon!

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

 

"DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote
> in message [email protected]_s01
>
> [...]
>
> > I don't see any reason to buy such heavy tires. I've
> > used the IRC tires, they're very nice, and very
> > inexpensive (~$12). I also like
>
> That would be the non-Kevlar version, surely?

Nashbar has the "IRC Road Winner II Duro Tire" for $12.95. I
think it has a Kevlar belt (I would prefer it without). They
also have the "Panaracer Pasela Road Tire" (no belt) for the
same price. Both are pretty nice tires for the money. The
Pasela TG has a belt for a little more money. The Avocets
can be had for ~$25, and are somewhat nicer. All are pretty
high quality Japanese tires.

> I sent an email to Schwalbe about the weight of the
> Marathon 700x28 (510g) and Marathon Slick 700x30 (500g).
> Here's the bulk of the (very swift) response:
>
> "You are right if you say our Marathon tyres are mostly
> heavier than other high performance tyres. Reason for
> this is, that the Marathons are made for long life, low
> wear and safe riding. All tyres you are mentioning are
> light weight skin tyres with thin tread and without
> sidewall rubber.

I would rather use a tire with less weight and lower
rolling resistance, I think most of them are durable
enough. If you're staying on pavement, "skin wall" (as
opposed to "gum wall") tires are more than adequate. I have
cut a sidewall or 2, a tragedy on a $50 tire, but worth the
risk on a $13 one.

 

Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote in
message [email protected]_s04

[...]

> Nashbar has the "IRC Road Winner II Duro Tire" for $12.95.
> I think it has a Kevlar belt (I would prefer it without).
> They also have the "Panaracer Pasela Road Tire" (no belt)
> for the same price. Both are pretty nice tires for the
> money. The Pasela TG has a belt for a little more money.

$24.95 at Nashbar.

> The Avocets can be had for ~$25, and are somewhat nicer.
> All are pretty high quality Japanese tires.

Which Avocets? The Cross IIK?

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two
hours of bloody, barbarous torture in gloating detail is
considered indicia of religious piety, whereas a mere second
gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for outraged
apoplexy." Betty Bowers,
http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html

 

"DRS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote
> in message [email protected]_s04
>
> [...]
>
> > Nashbar has the "IRC Road Winner II Duro Tire" for
> > $12.95. I think it has a Kevlar belt (I would prefer it
> > without). They also have the "Panaracer Pasela Road
> > Tire" (no belt) for the same price. Both are pretty nice
> > tires for the money. The Pasela TG has a belt for a
> > little more money.
>
> $24.95 at Nashbar.
>
> > The Avocets can be had for ~$25, and are somewhat nicer.
> > All are pretty high quality Japanese tires.
>
> Which Avocets? The Cross IIK?

No, those are pretty heavy tires also. I was thinking of the
regular Avocet slicks, not usually carried by Nashbar.
Harris Cyclery always has them. They also have an even
higher grade, similar tire: the Roly-Poly (Harris also
carries the Paselas). I haven't tried the R-P's, but I like
the Avocets a lot for fast/long rides, the RW's or Paselas
for more utilitarian bikes.