Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Comedian wrote:Well I've been running continental force/attack. They seem pretty good. They roll super well and I haven't had much in the way of punctures with them. They grip really well and are confidence inspiring in the handling department.

However, they are very prone on the back to cuts and tears. So much so that I lost the first one after 600k with a hole that had the tube popping out. The second one lasted about 2.5k but was pensioned due to a flat spot. The third one has less than 1000k on it and a few tears that have me a bit worried. Hmmmm.... I'm considering trying Schwalbe Ultremo DD's. Thoughts?

I'm a fan of the Ultremo's, but only have R.1s not DD's. One puncture in 1440km and that was a flint during a wet ride. Cut up a bit but not as bad as Michelin Optimum Pro, which I know you have had.

Ultremo's roll beautifully, light, smooth, just plain lovely

Longevity? Mostly use mine for racing but they seem to be as good puncture wise as my Rubino training tyres and better puncture wise than the Michelin Optimum's so rather than switching backwards and forwards I am thinking once all the training tyres are worn out I may just stick to Ultremo's but time will tell a tale.

But they are the nicest to ride on closely followed by the Schwalbe Durano S that came on the Cannondale.

bosvit wrote:

Comedian wrote:Well I've been running continental force/attack. They seem pretty good. They roll super well and I haven't had much in the way of punctures with them. They grip really well and are confidence inspiring in the handling department.

However, they are very prone on the back to cuts and tears. So much so that I lost the first one after 600k with a hole that had the tube popping out. The second one lasted about 2.5k but was pensioned due to a flat spot. The third one has less than 1000k on it and a few tears that have me a bit worried. Hmmmm.... I'm considering trying Schwalbe Ultremo DD's. Thoughts?

I'm a fan of the Ultremo's, but only have R.1s not DD's. One puncture in 1440km and that was a flint during a wet ride. Cut up a bit but not as bad as Michelin Optimum Pro, which I know you have had.

Ultremo's roll beautifully, light, smooth, just plain lovely

Longevity? Mostly use mine for racing but they seem to be as good puncture wise as my Rubino training tyres and better puncture wise than the Michelin Optimum's so rather than switching backwards and forwards I am thinking once all the training tyres are worn out I may just stick to Ultremo's but time will tell a tale.

But they are the nicest to ride on closely followed by the Schwalbe Durano S that came on the Cannondale.

That's pretty interesting. I'm thinking of the DD's for training only. The "DoubleDefense" side of things should be better for chip resistance. I may just put one on the rear and see how it goes.

bosvit wrote:

Comedian wrote:Well I've been running continental force/attack. They seem pretty good. They roll super well and I haven't had much in the way of punctures with them. They grip really well and are confidence inspiring in the handling department.

However, they are very prone on the back to cuts and tears. So much so that I lost the first one after 600k with a hole that had the tube popping out. The second one lasted about 2.5k but was pensioned due to a flat spot. The third one has less than 1000k on it and a few tears that have me a bit worried. Hmmmm.... I'm considering trying Schwalbe Ultremo DD's. Thoughts?

I'm a fan of the Ultremo's, but only have R.1s not DD's. One puncture in 1440km and that was a flint during a wet ride. Cut up a bit but not as bad as Michelin Optimum Pro, which I know you have had.

Ultremo's roll beautifully, light, smooth, just plain lovely

Longevity? Mostly use mine for racing but they seem to be as good puncture wise as my Rubino training tyres and better puncture wise than the Michelin Optimum's so rather than switching backwards and forwards I am thinking once all the training tyres are worn out I may just stick to Ultremo's but time will tell a tale.

But they are the nicest to ride on closely followed by the Schwalbe Durano S that came on the Cannondale.

I ran the Durano Marathons for a quite while which only had one puncture when a nail went through they tire and tube. Would recommend them for commuting. Currently running the Durano S just because they roll a bit nicer, and my rides are now a little more predictable with regards to the roads I travel.

Grant

I have had good success with Vittoria Diamante Pro 23mm clinchers. These are classed as a race tire, but i train on them regularly. They seem to have good life but can get cut by glass, but what Tyre wont. Run them at 110 PSI and they will give a great ride.

I have also heard that the Schwallbe Ultremo ZX are a great Tyre.

Just had my first puncture in 7750 km - Hutchinson Intensives tubeless.
The Stans sealant took a while to work and I had to pump it up. I managed to ride home on ~70psi, enough for a ride around Mt Coot-tha.
When I pumped it up to 90 this morning the hole blew open again and I ended up taking the tyre off and fixing a patch to the inside.
I reckon there may be another 1k km in that tyre before I toss it. We'll see.

~2500kms on it and this is what the Halo looks like now, still a lot of life left in it even though it's lasted twice as long as any tire i've ever used.

ldrcycles wrote:~2500kms on it and this is what the Halo looks like now, still a lot of life left in it even though it's lasted twice as long as any tire i've ever used.
]

Seems to have outlasted your saddle!!

fringe_dweller wrote: I ran the Durano Marathons for a quite while which only had one puncture when a nail went through they tire and tube. Would recommend them for commuting. Currently running the Durano S just because they roll a bit nicer, and my rides are now a little more predictable with regards to the roads I travel.

Grant

Don't wanna nitpick here, but as far as I know the Durano Marathons does not exists...
So wich one is it, the durano or the marathon..??

I personally am running the durano plus.
A rock solid tyre... , and it rolls nice...

I started commuting to work on the Sunshine Coast a few weeks ago and got punctures on the my first, second and fourth trips home. The puncture rate has settled down now but I have ordered some Gatorskins on the recommendation from a mate. I am a little intrigued as to why they are hardly mentioned in this thread. Did I make a good choice?

Christina Brinkmann wrote:I started commuting to work on the Sunshine Coast a few weeks ago and got punctures on the my first, second and fourth trips home. The puncture rate has settled down now but I have ordered some Gatorskins on the recommendation from a mate. I am a little intrigued as to why they are hardly mentioned in this thread. Did I make a good choice?

Gatorskins or 4 Seasons are my choice for training.
Cannot remember the last time I punctured one but it must be nearly 3 years.

Christina Brinkmann wrote:I started commuting to work on the Sunshine Coast a few weeks ago and got punctures on the my first, second and fourth trips home. The puncture rate has settled down now but I have ordered some Gatorskins on the recommendation from a mate. I am a little intrigued as to why they are hardly mentioned in this thread. Did I make a good choice?

You mean like this one!

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=24870&hilit=gators ... +trye+ever

Foo

foo on patrol wrote:

Christina Brinkmann wrote:I started commuting to work on the Sunshine Coast a few weeks ago and got punctures on the my first, second and fourth trips home. The puncture rate has settled down now but I have ordered some Gatorskins on the recommendation from a mate. I am a little intrigued as to why they are hardly mentioned in this thread. Did I make a good choice?

You mean like this one!

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=24870&hilit=gators ... +trye+ever

Foo

Wow.
No idea where they are riding to have those issues.
I have ridden mine on some pretty crappy roads including some roughish dirt and as I said it would be around 3 years since my last flat.

Christina Brinkmann wrote:I started commuting to work on the Sunshine Coast a few weeks ago and got punctures on the my first, second and fourth trips home. The puncture rate has settled down now but I have ordered some Gatorskins on the recommendation from a mate. I am a little intrigued as to why they are hardly mentioned in this thread. Did I make a good choice?

Hi. If you are having a lot of problems check that your tyre pressures are high enough. You didn't post the size but if it's a normal road type bike you'd want to have it very close to if not over 100psi.

If the pressure is right and you're still getting flats remember to look for the cause. The most common cause of flats is little shards of glass or metal and if you don't get them out of the tyre they will just puncture the new tube. If you're getting them at the rate of one a ride I'd be suspecting something like that.

It's also good practice to look at your tyres under bright light once a week and look for pieces of glass. When you see one pick it out before it becomes a problem.

Comedian wrote:
It's also good practice to look at your tyres under bright light once a week and look for pieces of glass. When you see one pick it out before it becomes a problem.

Or get a Halo Twin Rail that can't be penetrated by glass

ldrcycles wrote:

Comedian wrote:
It's also good practice to look at your tyres under bright light once a week and look for pieces of glass. When you see one pick it out before it becomes a problem.

Or get a Halo Twin Rail that can't be penetrated by glass

Or dont ride through glass.

Thanks for the tips. That link on Gatorskins made me a little ill.

Comedian, they are 700 x 23c and I run at 100psi, checking each morning. I took your advice and checked my tires and noticed a deformed bulge in the rear. (I am not usually on the look out for bulges) Not sure if tube bulge caused tyre bulge or other way around. Either way I won't be riding to work tomorrow, but better to be safe than having an issue (boom) out on the road. Looks like I have to buy a new tyre tomorrow while I wait for the "tator-skins" to arrive.

sumgy wrote:
Or dont ride through glass.

Round these here parts that isn't an option . And for glass also see loose gravel from poorly laid coarse chip bitumen.

ldrcycles wrote:

sumgy wrote:
Or dont ride through glass.

Round these here parts that isn't an option . And for glass also see loose gravel from poorly laid coarse chip bitumen.

Sorry but you dont have a monopoly on glass or poor roads.
Not saying your roads are better than mine but as I said it is nearly 3 years since the last flat on my Gatorskins.
I read of people having problems with flats all the time and just scratch my head.
They all cant be riding on worse roads than me.
Either they are doing something very wrong or I am doing something very right.

I love my Gators, best commuter tyre I've ever used.

^^ Yeah but you're special!^^

Foo

So my kids tell me
Not sure whether they mean "special" or "spairrrshul".

I think Gators are OK if you don't ride fast in the wet and don't run your tyres at lower pressures. I found running 95 psi or less (I'm 80Kg) tends to wear the sidewalls out relatively quickly.

Another similar tyre that I've heard nothing but good reports about is Schwalbe Durano. I believe they are dual compound.

I'm running Rubino Pros now because I wanted something a bit faster and a bit grippier.

sumgy wrote:

ldrcycles wrote:

sumgy wrote:
Or dont ride through glass.

Round these here parts that isn't an option . And for glass also see loose gravel from poorly laid coarse chip bitumen.

Sorry but you dont have a monopoly on glass or poor roads.
Not saying your roads are better than mine but as I said it is nearly 3 years since the last flat on my Gatorskins.
I read of people having problems with flats all the time and just scratch my head.
They all cant be riding on worse roads than me.
Either they are doing something very wrong or I am doing something very right.

Just luck I think. I have not had a flat riding around the Border Ranges and lots of Byron rides on the expressway but cut a tyre up badly enough to want to replace it here on the Centenary at Ipswich. Replacement tyre promptly flatted on the first ride. Just tons of glass and other tradie crap on the verge on that road. I didn't ride through any visible glass, but I see a lot of smashed bottles, so no doubt there is tons of glass shards laying quietly in wait.

Another vote for Continental 4 seasons, I wanted something a little tougher than the GP4000s tyres I see a lot of people using and these were going for a good price (two tyres and two tubes) online from a UK store. I've only been 350km on them but no punctures and basically no wear, the mold flashing is still coming off the middle of the front tyre

So after approximately 3500kms the time has come for me to replace my Halo. I stopped while riding home this arvo as i thought i had a flat (may have just been the melting bitumen providing the much rougher than usual ride) and on inspecting the rear tire, found it was worn down to the puncture belt for about 20% of the entire tire!

I'm converted, an average of 500-700km life out of ordinary tires, and more than 3,000 for the Halo!? I'm ordering another 5 right now, i want it as the rear tire on all my bikes, for the front i'm going to try out Maxxis Refuse, Schwalbe Lugano and Durano.