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

GAV!N
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Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby GAV!N » Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:07 pm

Howdy.

Relatively new to road biking and after 1 year, I'm not having much luck with road bike tyres. I've gone through a few sets already.

After going through the initial supplied pair, I bought a pair of continental GP4000s. They were ok, but the tread wear indicators got quite low after only about 1200km and I started to get a few punctures.

So I bought a pair on continental Ultra Gatorskins, thinking I'd get at least a few thousand K's. I'm up to 1700km's, and have had 3 punctures on the front tyre in the past month (since about 1400km). I always ensure my tyres are 100-110 psi prior to riding. Is continental just !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!???

Speaking with a guy yesterday, he suggested buying a good pair of race tyres ($100+ per tyre) saying he never gets punctures. At the rate I'm going, I'm willing to pay more if I'm going to get 3000+ km's out of a pair. I guess there's also the added comfort of a good set of tyres.

So. What do you use? What's good and what's not?

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

Postby SuperSix » Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:20 pm

The GP4000s are good tyres. The Gatorskins are tough tyres. Pull the Gatorskin off and just check inside the tyre. Make sure nothing is poking through.
You could try another tough tyre like a Maxxis Re-fuse or Schwalbe marathon green guard. But these are quite heavy.
Avoid the outright race tyres if tyre life is a concern.

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

Postby twizzle » Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:27 pm

Punctures is more of a weight issue. The more you weigh, the more punctures you tend to get. Unfortunately for roadies, there is no "magic puncture-proof tyre".

It sounds like your 4000's were pretty good for you, so I'd probably go back to those.

As a rider at the "very heavy" end of the scale, I am partial to the Panaracer Race Type D, but I only get around 1000 - 1500km out of a rear before wearing it out. But heaps cheaper than a Conti 4 Seasons, my previous choice.

Just for fun at the moment... and because they were getting really old and hadn't been used... I'm rolling on Maxxis Re-Fuse. Surprisingly, they are nowhere near as crap as I expected. (Hutchinson Intensive tubeless springs to mind as "worst" in terms of grip).


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

Postby GAV!N » Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:37 pm

Cool.

I still have one of the GP4000's in ok nick, so I'll put that back on the front and see how much longer it lasts

And yes. I always give the inside of the tyre a good checking after a puncture to make sure there's nothing in there to cause further punctures, so I don't believe that's the issue. Isn't there a tape you can buy to put on the inside of tyres as well to increase puncture resistance?

And I'm about 83kgs so there's a bit of extra weight there...

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

Postby gabrielle260 » Sun Sep 29, 2013 2:30 pm

I am tempting the puncture gods by even posting.... But here goes:
I fluctuate between 95 and 105 kg and am hard on bikes. I ride between 800 and 1200km a month and get 6-8 months out of my Conty GP4000s.
I would suggest you reduce the pressure to 95-100 psi and go to the 25mm wide version. That works amazingly well for me!
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby DoogleDave » Sun Sep 29, 2013 3:09 pm

I ride Conti GP4000 23's and my last rear tyre did just over 3000 km's.
It was still fine to ride on but the tyre's profile was starting to flatten so I put a new one on 2 weeks ago (even though there is still some wear indicator left - I'll keep it as a backup/spare tyre)....I thought I was tempting fate so decided it was time to run a new tyre.

I find the GP4000's are a pretty decent all-round tyre. Not the best nor worst in any category, but quite grippy in the dry and the wet and somewhat puncture resistant.
I have ridden straight over glass on the road before and was lucky not to receive a puncture - though I put this down more to luck than the tyres.

I weight about 81kg's and run about 105-110psi in the rear.

Some of it comes down to where you ride, how much crap is on the sides of the road you frequent and how lucky/unlucky you are.

On a club ride this morning a friend was riding behind me and managed to get a huge sidewall cut (making the brand new Vredestein Fortezza tyre she'd just put on her bike a throwaway item on it's maiden ride) - about 4km's from the start....thankfully whatever was on the road I missed but unfortunately, she copped it.

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

Postby ldrcycles » Sun Sep 29, 2013 3:36 pm

I'm the same weight as you Gav!n and there are only 2 700C tyres I've found to do an acceptable job, the Halo Twin Rail Courier (which is supposedly rear only as the hard compound reduces grip, but the only time grip was an issue was on a wet downhill at 60+kmh) and the Maxxis Refuse.

The Halo I got about 2500kms out of as a rear tyre, the Refuse about 3500kms. My local roads seem to be made out of sandpaper and I go through rear tyres jolly quickly though. As a front tyre I've had over 5,000kms so far and it's still going to be on there for a while yet. Never had a puncture with the Halo, with Refuses only 2 or 3. With other tyres I've tried like Maxxis Detonators and Continental Ultrasports the tiniest speck of gravel was enough to cause a flat, better off walking unless you lived on a velodrome. There's no way i'd use race tyres for regular road riding, they are light because they are thin, no amount of miracle snake oil mumbo jumbo can stop that from being more puncture prone.

The 25mm version of the Refuse would be a good option if you have enough room in the frame, they are seriously fat.
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby thearthurdog » Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:02 pm

I train on Vittoria Rubino Pros and race on Vittoria CX tubulars and Vittoria Open CX clinchers. I just punctured a Rubino (front) a week ago and that was my first flat in pretty close to 25,000 km.
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby lobstermash » Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:12 pm

I'm a big fan of Maxxis Re-fuse. I'm 81-82kg, running 23mm tyres at 100-110psi. I find the rolling resistance and the puncture resistance to be exceptional. The grip in the wet is nowhere near as bad as some make out, though I have noticed they are quite slippery around intermittent water (for example, leaking pipe or sprinkler runoff). As for wear, I guess they're a little soft - I've done a bit over 1500km on this set, with the front one only just having worn off the thin flashing in the center line, however the rear has worn the tread off (but still got a bit of life left). My commute (36km round trip) includes the notorious Adelaide Ave in Canberra. *cover puncture fairy's ears* No flats yet...
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby andione1983 » Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:20 pm

Loving continental gp4000 and also schwalbe ultremos

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

Postby Leiothrix » Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:30 pm

I like my 25mm Continental Gatorskin Hardshells

Make sure there is nothing protruding on the inside of the tire.

Also make sure that your rim tape properly covers the holes in the rim.

Make sure that the tube is the appropriate size for your tire, and that you don't pinch it with the tire lever when installing it. I like a bead jack for this because it's very easy.

Also spread a bit of talcum powder on the inside of the tire before fitting it. It will stop the tube from sticking to the tire.

Edit:
Also make sure that you don't have any broken spokes. It's a pretty obvious one but also easy enough to overlook ( :oops: )
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby Squigs » Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:41 pm

I have Gatorskin Hardshells 23mm width. I have done about 8000km on them and I still haven't gotten a puncture! The rear tires tread is starting to get a little flat but other than that they are still going well. I mainly like the Gatorskin Hardshells because they are very puncture resistant.

I weigh 53kg and run my tyres anywhere between 90-110psi.

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

Postby flex5150 » Sun Sep 29, 2013 5:30 pm

Veloflex corsa open tubular 23mm nothing better. Even retired the ultremos. Contis overrated imo.
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Ross
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby Ross » Sun Sep 29, 2013 6:56 pm

twizzle wrote:Punctures is more of a weight issue. The more you weigh, the more punctures you tend to get.
Wut?! How does weight have any connection with punctures? Maybe pinchflats. Most punctures are caused by debris such as glass piercing the tyre and tube.

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

Postby Cul » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:20 pm

I've been using Michelin Lithion 2 clinchers for about 3,000km now; the roads around here are pretty rough chip seal but these have held up fairly well only now starting to show signs of tread ware. Had the odd pinch flat after banging potholes but only one flat attributable to road matter. They might not be the lightest, nor the grippiest but at the $15ea I paid for them (folding from Torpedo 7) they have been a great tire.
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby twizzle » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:34 pm

Ross wrote:
twizzle wrote:Punctures is more of a weight issue. The more you weigh, the more punctures you tend to get.
Wut?! How does weight have any connection with punctures? Maybe pinchflats. Most punctures are caused by debris such as glass piercing the tyre and tube.
For the same reason most punctures are on rear tyres. More weight = greater probability of initial penetration and water reduces the amount of force required.


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

Postby Derny Driver » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:35 pm

Ive just been uploading some GoPro footage of my son and nephew descending some of the big mountains and short fast hills around our area at 90kph. The GoPro is mounted on my scooter handlebars and conveniently shows the speedo reading in the bottom corner of the screen.
When buying young DD's tyres I always go for grip over hardness. A Rubino Pro on some of the training rides we go on would spell a trip to hospital or the morgue. I use Michelin Pros or Schwalbe Duranos for training and Schwalbe Ultremos for racing. Had 1 puncture in the last year that I can remember, and that's doing about 500km a week.
Using reasonably soft grippy tyres for training has given Young DD a lot of confidence descending and cornering, so Im happy to pay slightly more and replace them more often.

Im coming from outside the box as per most of my posts, but something to consider perhaps.

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

Postby thearthurdog » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:39 pm

You don't like the Rubino's? I regularly go down some pretty ugly descents on them in the wet and have found them okay - not the best I have ridden to be honest - but still pretty good. If I could justify the cost I'd be training on Open Pave CGs.
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Re: Road tyre's - What's your rubber of choice?

Postby thecaptn » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:44 pm

3500km on 25mm GP4000s, 1 puncture on the rear and I'm about 95kg. Rear tyre looks pretty sad now but if I look really hard I can still see the wear indicators.

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

Postby KL. » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:53 pm

GAV!N wrote:Howdy.
Relatively new to road biking and after 1 year, I'm not having much luck with road bike tyres. I've gone through a few sets already.
...
So. What do you use? What's good and what's not?
Hi GAV!N, I like to use the following ...

Rear Tyre ... Kenda Kaliente LR3Pro 23mm (1 puncture in 4000Kms and 189g), Vredestein Fortezza Quattro TriComp 23/25mm or Vredestein Fortezza TriComp Slick 23/25mm ... these tyres have good puncture resistance and are long lasting.
Front Tyre ... Michelin Pro3/Pro4 23mm, Continental GP Attack 22mm ... these tyres have excellent grip and ride.

thanks KL :=)
Last edited by KL. on Sun Sep 29, 2013 11:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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

Postby Derny Driver » Sun Sep 29, 2013 9:58 pm

thearthurdog wrote:You don't like the Rubino's? ...
No mate, I find they get hard and slippery when they get old.
Mind you GP4000s are a good tyre, I just cant get them on the Mavic rims. The Michelin Pro 3s will only just go on .... Schwalbes don't even need levers to put on and off :D

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

Postby cyclotaur » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:25 pm

I have never punctured my Vittoria Rubino or Zaffiro 25s, or my Conti Gatorskin 28s. They would each have done 5-6000 kms at least.

The original tyres on my CX bike lasted about 3500kms before becoming puncture prone but they were lightweight race type tyres.

I'm about 77kg and never run my tyres at more than 85-90psi. I don't race but I do ride hard and fast on occasions. I'm generally pretty easy on bikes and components though, and do most minor maintenance myself.


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

Postby Nobody » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:27 pm

Derny Driver wrote:
thearthurdog wrote:You don't like the Rubino's? ...
No mate, I find they get hard and slippery when they get old.
Don't you mean worn? At 500Km a week, they'll wear out before they get a chance to get old. Wouldn't they?

Agree that the Duranos are grippy, as you'd expect from a dual compound.
http://road.cc/content/review/58178-sch ... urano-tyre" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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

Postby Derny Driver » Sun Sep 29, 2013 11:04 pm

Nobody wrote:
Derny Driver wrote:
thearthurdog wrote:You don't like the Rubino's? ...
No mate, I find they get hard and slippery when they get old.
Don't you mean worn? At 500Km a week, they'll wear out before they get a chance to get old. Wouldn't they?

Agree that the Duranos are grippy, as you'd expect from a dual compound.
http://road.cc/content/review/58178-sch ... urano-tyre" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Worn and old ... 500 a week spread over 3 sets of wheels, 2 x training and 1 race set.
The Duranos are the heavier version of the Ultremo, supposedly better puncture protection for training. But our race course is very rough and potholed, and DD Jnr often uses the training wheels with the Duranos to race on rather than the carbons with the Ultremos. And the Duranos are fine for racing ...damn good all round tyre I reckon. Ultremos are very light, too light for everyday use.
For training AND racing, if you only have 1 pair of wheels, I like Duranos, GP4000 and Michelin ProRace .....Gatorskins are apparently ok too but Ive never tried them.

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Postby warthog1 » Mon Sep 30, 2013 12:09 am

GP4000S and durano are the best fast and relatively durable clinchers I have tried.
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