Vittoria Open Corsa CX, darn a flat again!



scottdurand

New Member
Aug 20, 2006
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Ok, so here goes. My Guru road bike has Vittoria Open Corsa CX clinchers on it that seem to get flats almost everytime I ride (well almost). I have decided it's time to move on. Most of the flats i'm getting are from tiny bits of glass etc that I pick up on the lovely southern Louisiana roads. I would like a tire that is as class to a race tire as far as resistance while maintaining a good amount of puncture resistance. Reading some previous threads on here the Mich Pro 2 and the Cont GP4000 seem to almost cancel out each other in mixed opinions with most saying the Pro2 is better with rolling resistance but the GP4000 is better resisting punctures. I would just like to get some feedback from you guys on if either the Pro2 or GP4000 would be better at resisting these tiny punctures when compared to my Vittoria Open Corsa. The Open Corsa sure do feel thin when compared to my gf's Pro 2 tires. Opinions on other tires as compared to my Vittoria welcomed.

Cheers,

Scott
 
Great, I just put on a pair of CX on my nice wheels and kept the GP4000 on the training wheels. Will see how well the CX lasts. Out of that retired GP4000 over 4000+km, I've not had one glass puncture. Two punctures were due to a 1" nail and an industrial staple. One other was due to a failed patch on the inner tube. So yes, I'd say that it's pretty puncture resistant. One other thing I do is that after every ride, I would wipe down the tyres and check for embedded items. Often there are glass chips embedded within cuts. Make sure you pick them out.

Don't forget that there's now GP4000S out.
 
For what it's worth, the GP4000 in my experience has a higher puncure rate than the old Mich. ProRace, but event numbers are small with both types.
The ProRace2 has lower rolling resistance than the GP4000 and is said to have better wet grip and equivalent puncture resistance.
 
Vittoria CX are a nice fast comfortable tyre. They have bugger all puncture resistance and wear though, so they are a pure race tyre. If conditions are ****, run something like a pro2race on the rear cause vittorias get torn up with wet glass.
 
bobbyOCR said:
Vittoria CX are a nice fast comfortable tyre. They have bugger all puncture resistance and wear though, so they are a pure race tyre. If conditions are ****, run something like a pro2race on the rear cause vittorias get torn up with wet glass.
Why didn't someone tell me that earlier?!?
 
bobbyOCR said:
Vittoria CX are a nice fast comfortable tyre. They have bugger all puncture resistance and wear though, so they are a pure race tyre. If conditions are ****, run something like a pro2race on the rear cause vittorias get torn up with wet glass.
The CX is only minimally faster than the pro2race, and a hell of a lot less puncture resistant. Given the CX's price, I see no reason to prefer it over the pro2race.
 
artemidorus said:
The CX is only minimally faster than the pro2race, and a hell of a lot less puncture resistant. Given the CX's price, I see no reason to prefer it over the pro2race.
I have ridden pro2race and the CX is much nicer to ride with latex tubes. Open tubular high TPI corespun casing.
 
artemidorus said:
For what it's worth, the GP4000 in my experience has a higher puncure rate than the old Mich. ProRace, but event numbers are small with both types.
The ProRace2 has lower rolling resistance than the GP4000 and is said to have better wet grip and equivalent puncture resistance.
Have you seen any data which shows the GP4000 to have higher RR than the ProRace2? Believe I saw some test that had them both at .0044. The old 3000 was quite a bit higher. Conti also claim they improved RR with the new model.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a loyal fan of GPs. I've never had a puncture with either the 3000s or 4000s in over 15000 miles. Did have one sidewall cut that caused me to throw out a front tire early, but that's been it. Much better service than I'd gotten from the old-style ProRace tires here....but road conditions and debris is likely different than what you face. May have to give the ProRace2 a try next time.
 
dhk2 said:
Have you seen any data which shows the GP4000 to have higher RR than the ProRace2? Believe I saw some test that had them both at .0044. The old 3000 was quite a bit higher. Conti also claim they improved RR with the new model.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a loyal fan of GPs. I've never had a puncture with either the 3000s or 4000s in over 15000 miles. Did have one sidewall cut that caused me to throw out a front tire early, but that's been it. Much better service than I'd gotten from the old-style ProRace tires here....but road conditions and debris is likely different than what you face. May have to give the ProRace2 a try next time.
You've got me, just checked and I was looking at the RR for the GP3000. I was just bemoaning the fact that I was stuck with GP4000s for some months, but you've cheered me up. I believe that the GP4000 doesn't do too well in the wet grip test, but it doesn't seem in my experience to be any worse than the old ProRace.
I've had two glass cut punctures in 3 weeks with the GP4000s, and a third flat tyre when my tube split under a patch. I only ever had one glass cut and one pinch flat in 2 pairs of the old ProRaces. But these event numbers are too small to derive meaningful conclusions.
 
dhk2 said:
Have you seen any data which shows the GP4000 to have higher RR than the ProRace2? Believe I saw some test that had them both at .0044. The old 3000 was quite a bit higher. Conti also claim they improved RR with the new model.
I'm a CX fan and experienced a number of flats - still love the tire though. I switched to Diamante Pros which are almost as nice (wrt RR & ride feel) and have much more puncture resistance IMHO.

RR data? How about these:
http://www.biketechreview.com/tires/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev4.pdf
http://www.biketechreview.com/tires/images/AFM_Bumpy_Data_BTR_rev1.pdf
http://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-1503651.html
 
dkrenik said:
I'm a CX fan and experienced a number of flats - still love the tire though. I switched to Diamante Pros which are almost as nice (wrt RR & ride feel) and have much more puncture resistance IMHO.

RR data? How about these:
http://www.biketechreview.com/tires/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev4.pdf
http://www.biketechreview.com/tires/images/AFM_Bumpy_Data_BTR_rev1.pdf
http://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-1503651.html
Thanks for the informative links to some real test data. Using a real bike with a powermeter on rollers is an interesting test method. The results may be different than rolling on a flat road, but seems to me the relative comparisons should hold up.

Based on the data, looks like some ProRace2 tires are in my future. If a gain of 6-8 watts/wheel vs the 4000s is real, I'd be willing to fix some flats.

Noted that the tests were mostly done with Michelin latex tubes. Assume that's because they provide lower RR than standard butyl tubes.
 
dhk2 said:
Thanks for the informative links to some real test data. Using a real bike with a powermeter on rollers is an interesting test method. The results may be different than rolling on a flat road, but seems to me the relative comparisons should hold up.
I have the same expectation. While the absolute values would probably change, the relative ranking should not.

dhk2 said:
Based on the data, looks like some ProRace2 tires are in my future. If a gain of 6-8 watts/wheel vs the 4000s is real, I'd be willing to fix some flats.
I've ridden the Contis for years (GP3000 & Supersonics). the Supersonics were OK; the GP3000 were awful from a ride/RR perspective relative to the Vittoria CX's. Never rode the ProRace2's.

dhk2 said:
Noted that the tests were mostly done with Michelin latex tubes. Assume that's because they provide lower RR than standard butyl tubes.
That would be my guess. Either that or they a lot of those tubes laying around...
 
I think currently it looks like Continental will be my choice. My LBS mentioned maybe going with the Gatorskins instead of GP4000 (although he only had Gatorskins in stock). Anyone have any performance feedback on the two? When I called the guy who my Guru came from (shop is 100miles away though) he said the GP4000 is his favorite tire hands down but I did not ask him about the Gatorskins.
 
New bike came with Vittoria EVO Corsa something or another. 1st three rides in Floridathey flatted:mad: :mad: :mad: .Then nothing for weeks:) :) :) :) :) :) !

I am currently over here in Guam on assigment for 4 months and the main road (MARINE DRIVE) if full of more glass, wire and trash that your average dump:mad: . It is however stategically hidden in what I will call sandbars along the side of the road that are easily avoided during dayligth hours, but in the evenings and at night riding at 20+ MPH they just come up on you fast. On June 13th, 200 I mounted brand new Michelin Pro Race 2 tires and thus far I have ridden everyday since then except today (06.21.07). After working all day in a 100+ degree engine room 6 AM to 5 PM I gather my energy and head out for a 30 miler (They don't do daylight savings time here so 7:30 it is sun out/lights on. Let me review the evening/night of the 19th and 20th in as few words as possible. 5 FLATS:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: . (JFYI: 19th 2 front 1 rear; 20th 2 rear) NO patches just complete tube replacement. Tonight I am sitting here patching all of them. Oh I also lost one Michelin tire due to a large left to right slash through my tire. Ok I am done, thank you. :mad:

Cheers to you,
CJ
 
CJ, suggest it's time for you to quit messing around with race tires. The big tire brands all make heavier tires designed for "real world" roads. Try some UltraGatorskins, Armadillos, or one of the heavier Michelin's (Lithium/Krylium)? designed to favor puncture resistance over weight and lowest RR. Run them at 95-100 psi, no higher, for max puncture resistance. You might be 0.1-0.2 mph slower on your rides with these heavier tires in average speed, but you'll more than make up those seconds by not having to stop to fix flats on every ride.
 
sogood said:
Why didn't someone tell me that earlier?!?
Funny _ I just switched out from using Pro Race 2 to use the CX as well. Immediately I decided that although the CX is slightly better it is only a marginal difference and not worth the price. Wear on the CX is not even close to the Pro. I can get the Pro Race 2 for 1/2 the price of the CX!
 
vascdoc said:
Funny _ I just switched out from using Pro Race 2 to use the CX as well. Immediately I decided that although the CX is slightly better it is only a marginal difference and not worth the price. Wear on the CX is not even close to the Pro. I can get the Pro Race 2 for 1/2 the price of the CX!
If you're going Michelin you can't go past the Pro 2 Race "Limited Edition" tire (not the normal Pro 2), I've had 1500km, no flats at 105psi using Vittoria Gold latex tubes. It has the comfort and speed of the CX, with much better grip and puncture resistance. I use to use the GP4000's which are more durable (longer life) but strangley not as puncture resistant or supple as the Ltd edition.

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/UAN/1302/V/2/SP/332204698825332432534