Road Tires

A rugged but fast tire? The Continental 4-Seasons are a personal favorite. Many riders used them over the dirt roads at the Battenkill road race this year. Long lasting, fast, good grip in the wet, and wearing two pairs over latex inner tubes down to smooth tread over the last two seasons riding on some pretty rough roads and the streets of NYC I haven't had a flat tire yet. They are pricey but you get what you pay for.

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I'm also wondering what the best value is in tires these days. The gp4000 is mentioned most often. Gatorskins are oft mentioned as well.

What about michelin?

I am looking for an exceptionally comfy 25 tire.

Check out the Michelin Pro 4 Endurance. I used them in the 25cm size for this season 200k,300k,400k,600k series and they held up on everything from bumpy torn up roads to 35+ mph downhills. 1 flat during the 300k. They also grip well in dry and wet conditions, no so well in the sand

The pro4's look great. ty!

The Pro4's get great reviews. But do some research the feedback on grip seems to vary greatly between the Endurance and regular Service Course. I have not ridden them myself but some riders apparently aren't thrilled with the grip in the wet on the Endurance, which makes sense as a harder rubber compound that will last more miles will probably not be as grippy as softer rubber.

Fast tire comments make me laugh. I suppose if you compare a tire with the least amount of rolling resistance to one with the most you could make that statement but for most tires there is only a 3 to 4 watt difference between the least rolling resistance to a mid level tire, and those 3 to 4 watts you will never feel. See this for more info: http://www.biketechreview.com/tires/rolling-resistance/475-roller-dataf‎

In all reality if you want a nice tire stay away from Conti's because their over priced for what you get. There are a lot of tires on the market that will meet or exceed anything Conti has and cost you less most of the time. All you have to do it read the reviews on tires and they will give you pretty good insight into how good a tire is. Vittoria, and Hutchinson routinely have tires that meet and exceed anything Conti makes and they go on sale at prices less than Conti sale priced tires will go for. There are other brands too, but those are the big ones.

Of course this is all just my opinions.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Froze
In all reality if you want a nice tire stay away from Conti's because their over priced for what you get. There are a lot of tires on the market that will meet or exceed anything Conti has and cost you less most of the time. All you have to do it read the reviews on tires and they will give you pretty good insight into how good a tire is. Vittoria, and Hutchinson routinely have tires that meet and exceed anything Conti makes and they go on sale at prices less than Conti sale priced tires will go for.

Vittorias costed more then Contis on my last check... (For folding clinchers).

You can get a pair of Conti Ultra Sport (high mileage training tire) for about 20euro each.

The GP4000s's from Conti were about 40+ euro each, whilst the equivalent from Vittoria were about 50+ euro... (The Open CX something ones)

The "Pave" series were even more expensive, the 4 seasons from conti were about 50+ euro each and the green Vitorias (Dont remember the name, it was the green ones for "Pave" [IMG]files.cyclingforums.combig smile.pngOpen ↗[/IMG]) were pretty pricey too...

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Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by danfoz
The Pro4's get great reviews. But do some research the feedback on grip seems to vary greatly between the Endurance and regular Service Course. I have not ridden them myself but some riders apparently aren't thrilled with the grip in the wet on the Endurance, which makes sense as a harder rubber compound that will last more miles will probably not be as grippy as softer rubber.

Ah, yes, the SC's are a bit lighter and a bit more performance oriented whereas the E is supposed to be wear longer.

I am definitely leaning towards the SC's as they are supposed to be very comfortable with great grip.

I have michelins on my car too, and they are so dreamy...not exaggerating.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Froze
I suppose if you compare a tire with the least amount of rolling resistance to one with the most you could make that statement but for most tires there is only a 3 to 4 watt difference between the least rolling resistance to a mid level tire, and those 3 to 4 watts you will never feel. See this for more info: http://www.biketechreview.com/tires/rolling-resistance/475-roller-dataf‎

Good resource. Though readers should note that's per tire, so the gain (or loss) is roughly doubled. Suddenly 4 watts becomes 8 watts, probably not noticeable to the weekend warrior, but maybe for that Cat 2 bucking for a state TT title. I would agree though, arguing over 2 watts is comical.

These comparisons should be taken with a grain of salt, variables like optimal tire pressure for a given tire, the amount of wear already on the tire, the smoothness of the roller (yes there is such a thing, and some editors suspect that the engineers at Michelin were only able to get their significant variation between the Pro4 Comp and the Pro4 SC using a "rougher" set of rollers, which would obviously reflect a real world scenario more closely unless of course taking our rides on a pane of glass). Here's another for [censored] and giggles:

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This comparison (per pair) is from Slowtwitch, and there is a nice review for anyone interested in the Pro4's: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Things_that_Roll/Tires/Michelin_Pro4_Review_3748.html

Re: Conti vs. Vittoria - Vittoria does make a nice tire and the CG's are good, I have ridden dozens of pairs in both tubular and "open" variation. Unfortunately I have flatted on a number before wearing the tread out, once less than 100 miles in on a freshly set of glued tubbies... not what I want from a rugged but fast tire. And while they do give a nice supple ride, the tread on the rear tire has usually evaporated by mile 1000. In comparison to many "tough" tires which usually feel about as comfortable and lively as riding on wood, the Conti's are relatively supple and roll soft (reads fast). A lot of that has to do with the breaker material. In the case of the Conti's, Vectran vs. a harsh rolling nylon strip in many other cases. And I can easily squeeze a few thousand miles out before needing to replace.

But here's another observation one will never read about in a magazine, and 99.9% of riders probably wont care about: do a hands free riding comparison back to back between the CG and the 4-Seasons (on the same bike) and something quite obvious can be observed... the 4-Season tracks straighter with quite a bit less effort. But like I said probably something no would notice unless they were planning on throwing their arms up in victory after winning Paris-Roubaix. However for a more real world application example, we may want to take off that rain jacket on the move without dismounting 😉

For the best Vittoria offers, the CX is a glorious experience, especially over a set of latex innertubes. But alas the rear tread is lucky to make it past 600 or 700 miles, and tires need to be routinely checked for bits of embedded glass. I'm not comparing a CX to a 4-Season mind you, that would be like comparing Anne Hathaway to Ronda Rousey 😉

I just put on a new set of Pro 4s. They handle well and are smooth riding but I do have pretty good pavement to deal with , so no issues with rough roads.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by jhuskey
I just put on a new set of Pro 4s. They handle well and are smooth riding but I do have pretty good pavement to deal with , so no issues with rough roads.

What was your previous pair?

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by danfoz

Good resource. Though readers should note that's per tire, so the gain (or loss) is roughly doubled. Suddenly 4 watts becomes 8 watts, probably not noticeable to the weekend warrior, but maybe for that Cat 2 bucking for a state TT title. I would agree though, arguing over 2 watts is comical.

These comparisons should be taken with a grain of salt, variables like optimal tire pressure for a given tire, the amount of wear already on the tire, the smoothness of the roller (yes there is such a thing, and some editors suspect that the engineers at Michelin were only able to get their significant variation between the Pro4 Comp and the Pro4 SC using a "rougher" set of rollers, which would obviously reflect a real world scenario more closely unless of course taking our rides on a pane of glass). Here's another for [censored] and giggles:

[IMG]cyclingforums.com700Open ↗[/IMG]
This comparison (per pair) is from Slowtwitch, and there is a nice review for anyone interested in the Pro4's: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Things_that_Roll/Tires/Michelin_Pro4_Review_3748.html

Re: Conti vs. Vittoria - Vittoria does make a nice tire and the CG's are good, I have ridden dozens of pairs in both tubular and "open" variation. Unfortunately I have flatted on a number before wearing the tread out, once less than 100 miles in on a freshly set of glued tubbies... not what I want from a rugged but fast tire. And while they do give a nice supple ride, the tread on the rear tire has usually evaporated by mile 1000. In comparison to many "tough" tires which usually feel about as comfortable and lively as riding on wood, the Conti's are relatively supple and roll soft (reads fast). A lot of that has to do with the breaker material. In the case of the Conti's, Vectran vs. a harsh rolling nylon strip in many other cases. And I can easily squeeze a few thousand miles out before needing to replace.

But here's another observation one will never read about in a magazine, and 99.9% of riders probably wont care about: do a hands free riding comparison back to back between the CG and the 4-Seasons (on the same bike) and something quite obvious can be observed... the 4-Season tracks straighter with quite a bit less effort. But like I said probably something no would notice unless they were planning on throwing their arms up in victory after winning Paris-Roubaix. However for a more real world application example, we may want to take off that rain jacket on the move without dismounting 😉

For the best Vittoria offers, the CX is a glorious experience, especially over a set of latex innertubes. But alas the rear tread is lucky to make it past 600 or 700 miles, and tires need to be routinely checked for bits of embedded glass. I'm not comparing a CX to a 4-Season mind you, that would be like comparing Anne Hathaway to Ronda Rousey 😉

You are right, tests are tests, and depending on what variables they use will alter the outcome. But my point is the difference between a whole bunch of tires tested was only about 3 or so watts, with the average difference around 1.5 watts, times that by two and you have your 3 or so watts difference which isn't noticeable. The more puncture resistant the tire becomes it seems to effect the rolling resistance which is why the Specialized Armadillo doesn't do well in that arena but it will beat all the other tires in regards to puncture resistance! The smoother riding tires like the Conti tires feel fast to people because they ride a bit smoother than most other brands, that smoothness is due to their very thin sidewalls, the same reason their sidewalls are more prone to damage then most other tire sidewalls. That is from my experience from using 3 different models of Conti tires and had sidewall issues...the only tire I've ever bought that I had sidewall issues.

I have never ridden on any tire, regardless of brand, that I have ever found one to be more difficult than another to ride with no hands; road surface plays more into that than tires do...at least from my 40+ years of experience and unknown many brands of tires I've used over those years.

Latex tubes will improve the ride quality a bit over butyl, it makes the tire ride a tad more softly. And according to reports it decreases rolling resistance, but again not that much maybe 2 or so watts. But I don't like latex because of inability to hold a patch well, and they are fragile, plus they don't last as long as butyl.

All the above is just my opinions based on my experiences, your experiences may differ.

In the US we can get almost any brand on deep discounted sale except for Conti's and Specialized. When the sales are on I can get better Vittoria's and Hutchinson (just to name a couple) at about a 1/3 to 1/2 less then the cost of Conti or Specialized when their on sale! I know the Ribble and Wiggle in England has really good prices on Conti tires though...better than the prices found in the US.

new_rider said:

What was your previous pair?

Pro 3s.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Froze
In the US we can get almost any brand on deep discounted sale except for Conti's and Specialized. When the sales are on I can get better Vittoria's and Hutchinson (just to name a couple) at about a 1/3 to 1/2 less then the cost of Conti or Specialized when their on sale! I know the Ribble and Wiggle in England has really good prices on Conti tires though...better than the prices found in the US.

I've gotten good prices on Conti GP4000 from ProBikeKit in the UK, including free shipping to the US. Considering the puncture-free mileage I get on them, they are well worth the money spent. They also seem to be more consistently round and better-balanced than other tires I've tried, which of course makes for a smoother ride.

Agree the Open Pro CX are worth experiencing for their great ride and road feel, but I also couldn't keep them on the bike very long due to wear and cuts. To be fair, the CX box has a disclaimer that they are high performance race tires, not suitable for any gravel or road debris.

Some of these outlets definitely have great sales and while I do like to support my LBS when I can I have also found eBay is a good source for low prices.

Michelin Pro4's for instance retail in my shop for $70-75 each or thereabouts, a pair could be found on eBay for roughly the same price with free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/400685421416?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

chainreactioncycles.com has been running the Pro4 SC, two tires, two tubes for like $66 for weeks now. Not sure if it's still going on.