Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

[Dimis]

I had great luck with Kenda tyres for durability.
I use Ultremos and gp4000s cos they're readily available for clinches
But given the choice, I prefer to ride my vittoria tubulars every time I get the chance.

[macca33]

I posted this in a similar thread around a month ago:-

'Well, at 4390Km, the rear GP4000S is down to the wear indicator and when I deflated it to look for embedded items today, I could see the weave of the inside belt from the tread side, so thought that the tyre had done enough. I'll put the front one on my training bike.

Not one puncture in that time and very dependable and quick-rolling tyres - I've been impressed. They have a few decent cuts also, but nothing through to the inside, so the puncture / cut protection works well.'



I hit the scales north of 100kegs and ride over some very ordinary roads - country 'C' roads, freeways, etc, etc and the GP4000s tyres have proven remarkably reliable for me.

The only flat I've had in over 10k of cycling was with a Maxxis Re-Fuse tyre - managed to snag a wayward piece of fencing wire on my travels along one of said C roads and in the circumstances, was not a fault of the tyre. Jeez, I hope I don't upset the puncture fairy, having said that!

Sometimes you are just plain unlucky with flats - no matter the tyre choice you make.

cheers

[doggatas]

I've heard some good things about the GP4000s, so much so I bought a set for my new c24 9000 wheel set (yet to arrive). This thread confirms the view that the GP4000s has amongst my riding peers.

Note: My current set of wheels have Conti 4 Seasons, which I have found to be much better than the gatorskins. I have found the gators get shiny and therefore slippery. I have come off at 60km/h (lucky not to have been 80) due to front tyre blowout (Vittoria Open Corsa) but the 4 seasons have renewed my confidence in descending. I have put about 3000kms on the 4 seasons and plan to get a few more kms when i move these wheels over to my wet weather bike.

[rkelsen]

Not that it counts for much, but another +1 for the gp4000.

95kg, 23mm, 100psi. And they come in blue, which matches my frame.

They're comfier and grippier than the Rubinos they replaced.

Sometimes you are just plain unlucky with flats - no matter the tyre choice you make.

QFT.

[biker jk]

It all depends on how many kilometres you ride and whether you care about punctures. I ride around 14,000km per year and two of my three bikes use Vittoria Rubino Pros. I'm averaging a puncture every 18,000km or so with these tyres. Sure they don't grip as well as Ultremo ZX's, Michelin Pro 4s, etc. but in terms of durability/puncture protection they are far superior tyres. My other bike with Gatorskins punctures much more often than the Rubino Pros and durability is poorer as well (with grip in the wet pretty bad).

[Carrots]

I've not long changed from GP4000S's to Vitorria Open Corsa Evo's. They're a far softer tyre which does mean greater wear, however my main reason for change was the ability to put 145PSI into the rear tyre. So far so good with them on one bike, have just put 25s on my new Propel and have noticed they have copped a bit of a hammering due to the softness and the wide rear picking up more off the roads (no flats yet). The 23s have been great so far with no issues.

[FXST01]

Schwalbe for me, at the moment I have Marathon Pluses on the bike and they have been excellent.

[rkelsen]

145PSI into the rear tyre.

seriously?

[Carrots]

145PSI into the rear tyre.

seriously?

At over 6'4 and into the triple digits.... Deadly serious.

[Xplora]

Used Conti UltraSport 28s, got 2000-3000 before I collected a few flats because they were getting rather thin. Decent grip. Then 25cc Gatorskins, did 5000-6000 before starting to collect flats and general misery. MUCH less grip than the entry level UltraSports. They were cheap, I stuck with them. Ran Bontrager Hardshells 25cc for maybe 2000-3000 before they started to wear down, maybe a bit better than the Gatorskins - hard to say because I stopped testing my cornering abilities after using Gatorskins for a while. Currently on GP4000 25cc and THEY DRIVE ME NUTS. So many flats and miseries, although in fairness to them, I still ride thru glass and have caught a few bad bumps. I've torn sidewalls on the 4000s and the Bontrager Hardshells...

I am interested in Schwalbe, right now thinking about tubeless. I'm not a regular flatter but I'm sick of them ruining my ride.

[danny the boy]

It all depends on how many kilometres you ride and whether you care about punctures. I ride around 14,000km per year and two of my three bikes use Vittoria Rubino Pros. I'm averaging a puncture every 18,000km or so with these tyres. Sure they don't grip as well as Ultremo ZX's, Michelin Pro 4s, etc. but in terms of durability/puncture protection they are far superior tyres. My other bike with Gatorskins punctures much more often than the Rubino Pros and durability is poorer as well (with grip in the wet pretty bad).

+1 to this. Never had any puncture issues with Rubino's and the price makes me not want to look at any other brands. When I read on here what k's some people are getting out of their tyres I can't believe the money they are spending on them.

[slau73]

I had Vittoria Rubino that came with my bike ... I had so many flats that friends joked that I had stocks in Continental as I was forever getting tubes! Then finally got some Gatorskins and had only one single front tyre flat over 3,000kms (and that was understandable as I hit a pretty significant nail hidden in some road side leaf debris). Only thing was the Gatorskins were quite heavy and slow rolling. So now, I'm onto GP4000s which I heard many great things about from friends and website reviews.

[boss]

GP4000s definitely. I get between 3000-4000km from a rear tyre through summer, less in winter.

[skull]

skull uses gators and you should too.

[warthog1]

145PSI into the rear tyre.

seriously?

At over 6'4 and into the triple digits.... Deadly serious.

That is higher than is recommended for some rims. Maybe something to keep an eye on.

[Carrots]

All good. New DA 9000 C50s have a 10 bar max, conveniently the same as the Corsa's. A very, very good point though.

[GeoffInBrisbane]

4500km and counting on my current set of 23mm GP4000S'. Estimate another 1000km on the back tyre before I buy a new one and swap the front to the back. Will keep you posted on the final tally. Interestingly I got a flat on week one of this set and none since, guess it shows you can't predict it really.

Road tyres I've used - cheap 23mm Vittorias (can't remember the model but they were OEM and are about 10 bucks on c r c) - grippy and puncture resistant, but heavy, slow and not comfy. Lasted 4000km. GP4000 25mm - fast, grippy, nice feel, no flats at all. 23mm Specialized Turbo Pro 23mm- no flats, nice in the dry, too slippy in the wet for me, scary, binned after about 1000km as I didn't want to use them any longer. GP4000S 23mm - as per above. Love em...

[Semar]

Have had GP4000s and Schwalbe Durano Plus. Tough and hard waring.

Neither have the handling feel of Michelin Pro4s - especially when descending at speed. I got about 4000 km out of the first set.

[HiChris]

GP4000s have been good. I get about 4500k's from a pair. I did like the feel of the pro3's but they were a puncture magnet in the rain. Not sure if the pro4's are any better?

[Semar]

Didn't try Pro3s, but have found the 4s to be as puncture proof as GPs.

[Comedian]

Conti force and attack for me. They don't get many punctures, and they grip and roll very well.

The rear doesn't last a long time though... Typically 1500-2500 but I'm ok with that for what they are. Fronts last for ever...

[cerb]

Another vote for Conti GP4000S - for racing and everyday use. Good grip, corner nicely and have decent durability.

I get about 3500-4000km out of a set. Most of my rides are done on smooth sealed roads though, and I avoid glass/stones/sticks on the road like the plague!

[Farmer Elvis]

Have gone thru 2sets of gatorskins around 10k cycling one flat in that time, but it doesn't rain much out here so wet roads are rare. Just moved to 4000s to give them a go.

[ft_critical]

whatever is on special.

[g-boaf]

I love GP4000s 23mm. I'm careful to not ride over glass and other bad stuff if possible.

Mine have been pretty good so far. I'm not saying more, that would be tempting fate.