Tyre recommendations

[Bean Long]

Hi all,

There was a recent thread on Conti GP4000's and tyre blow-outs to which
I added my support for said tyre. I'd managed to ride over 4000 k's on
a tyre with a huge tear. However, last week I had two flats on my new
rear tyre (well 1600 k's old) and a mate of mine with the same tyres had
a side-wall blowout on his rear tyre of about the same age. We are now
looking to try alternatives to see if we can find a better road tyre.
Can anyone make any recommendations?
--
Bean

"I've got a bike
You can ride it if you like
It's got a basket
A bell that rings
And things to make it look good
I'd give it to you if I could
But I borrowed it" Pink Floyd

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

 

[Mick]

"Bean Long" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> looking to try alternatives to see if we can find a better road tyre...

I currently have Michelin Pro2 Race tyres but I would not buy these again.
They handle/roll well but for a tyre with only around 1000k's on them they
seem to puncture easily.

Prior to that I had Bontrager RaceLites which I put about 15000k's on
without a puncture. And I had pulled bigger bits of glass out of these
tyres than the ones that are going right through the pro races.

 

[DeF]

Bean Long wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> There was a recent thread on Conti GP4000's and tyre blow-outs to which
> I added my support for said tyre. I'd managed to ride over 4000 k's on
> a tyre with a huge tear. However, last week I had two flats on my new
> rear tyre (well 1600 k's old) and a mate of mine with the same tyres had
> a side-wall blowout on his rear tyre of about the same age. We are now
> looking to try alternatives to see if we can find a better road tyre.
> Can anyone make any recommendations?

Right, for no other reason than "they feel nicer than
the other tires I've ridden", I recommend Michelin
ProRace 2. I've used Vittoria Rubino Pros (feel hard)
and GP 4000s (feel better than Rubinos) but for soft
road feel and confidence in cornering, I like the Michelins.
Can't say I've noticed any difference in puncture
resistance between those three.

I've also got a Conty Ultra Gatorskin on the front of one
of my bikes at the moment (cheaper than pro race or GP4000),
feels a bit nicer than the rubino pro but hard to tell.

Tyres a re so cheap from PBK I think I'll just get the
pro races from now on - they ride nice.

DeF

--
e-mail: d.farrow@your finger.murdoch.edu.au
To reply, you'll have to remove your finger.

 

[Bleve]

On Mar 26, 4:23 pm, DeF <""d.farrow\"@your finger.murdoch.edu.au">
wrote:
> Bean Long wrote:
> > Hi all,
>
> > There was a recent thread on Conti GP4000's and tyre blow-outs to which
> > I added my support for said tyre. I'd managed to ride over 4000 k's on
> > a tyre with a huge tear. However, last week I had two flats on my new
> > rear tyre (well 1600 k's old) and a mate of mine with the same tyres had
> > a side-wall blowout on his rear tyre of about the same age. We are now
> > looking to try alternatives to see if we can find a better road tyre.
> > Can anyone make any recommendations?
>
> Right, for no other reason than "they feel nicer than
> the other tires I've ridden", I recommend Michelin
> ProRace 2. I've used Vittoria Rubino Pros (feel hard)
> and GP 4000s (feel better than Rubinos) but for soft
> road feel and confidence in cornering, I like the Michelins.
> Can't say I've noticed any difference in puncture
> resistance between those three.
>
> I've also got a Conty Ultra Gatorskin on the front of one
> of my bikes at the moment (cheaper than pro race or GP4000),
> feels a bit nicer than the rubino pro but hard to tell.
>
> Tyres a re so cheap from PBK I think I'll just get the
> pro races from now on - they ride nice.

I used to shred prorace's in about 1500km. sure, they're sticky, but
that has a cost ... and it's lifetime. I ride the Bontrager racelites
almost exclusively for road training and racing, and get 5-8thou out
of a rear. I can't remember my last puncture or problem with them.

 

[Bean Long]

Bleve wrote:

> I used to shred prorace's in about 1500km. sure, they're sticky, but
> that has a cost ... and it's lifetime. I ride the Bontrager racelites
> almost exclusively for road training and racing, and get 5-8thou out
> of a rear. I can't remember my last puncture or problem with them.

Many thanks for the recommendations everyone. I might check out the
Bontrager's.

--
Bean
Remove "yourfinger" before replying

 

[RoadCyclist]

"Bean Long" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all,
>
> There was a recent thread on Conti GP4000's and tyre blow-outs to which I
> added my support for said tyre. I'd managed to ride over 4000 k's on a
> tyre with a huge tear. However, last week I had two flats on my new rear
> tyre (well 1600 k's old) and a mate of mine with the same tyres had a
> side-wall blowout on his rear tyre of about the same age. We are now
> looking to try alternatives to see if we can find a better road tyre. Can
> anyone make any recommendations?
> --
> Bean

depends what kind of riding - training or racing?

I have GP4000 on one of my road bikes and so far no problems after >1800km,
no flats etc. But a number of cuts for sure. The sidewalls seem ok so far.
The wear seems decent.

If you was a long lasting and puncture resistant tyre (size 700*23c) then
try Michelin Krylion Carbon. I have those on my second road bike, zero flats
and very few cuts after ~2500km but they do not roll or grip as well as
GP4000 but they will last longer and have fewer punctures than GP4000.
Neither tyre is very good in wet or racing (cornering). Krylion carbon shows
very little wear after ~2500km. I think they might even last up to 8000km on
rear and 10,000km+ on front. They are about the same price as GP4000.

ProBikeKit.com and Chainreactioncycles.com sell them at good prices.

I had Bontrager RaceXLite tyres on my Madone (OEM tyres), they do roll and
grip better but they are not in the same league as GP4000 or Michelin
Krylion Carbon when it comes to wear and puncture resistance. But they are
better in wet and cornering. My RaceXLite lasted about ~4500-5000km (rear)
before I started to get frequent punctures.

I perform weekly tyre "dental" cleaning though - I let air out of tyre down
to ~30psi (so you can squeeze it) and use a fine point screwdriver to pick
out all glass and debris from inside the cuts. Do this more frequently if
you ride on wet roads. Prevention, IMO, is better than cure. I have pulled
out bits of glass from my tyres that would have caused punctures - just a
matter of time.