Advice on tyres

[Jamespenk]

Hello Peeps, I just started road cycling with my racer, just wanted to know some decent brands for tyres, and some details from personal experience just so i can maybe upgrade my previous tyres i have at the moment.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Welcome James

Tyres are an emotive subject (mind you, never ask about chain maintainance...), however generall agreement is that they offer one of the best upgrades for your money.
It also depends where you're going to ride, so a winter commuting tyre suggestion might be different to a lightweight summer club-riding tyre.
For all-round zippiness with reasonable p*ncture protection, the Michelin Pro-Race 3 is very hard to beat. For winter commuting, the Schwalbe Marathon is almost unbeatable... but a bit ponderous. Between these 2 extremes are many suggestions.

And here they come now...

 

[Slim]

I've used Specialized Armadillo before - V Good puncture protection but grip isn't the greatest.

I've currently got Continental GP4000S' and they've been excellent. One slow leak so far and that was the tube.

HTH

 

[gavintc]

I have Conti 4000s on both my bikes at present. I believe the 4000s are much better than the tyre they superseded, the 4000. If you keep the pressures up (I run with 110psi), you should not get more than a couple of punctures a year. But, there are lots of opinions on this as FF has stated.

 

[beachcaster]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus........after a bout of punctures I decied on these......certainly heavier....BUT ....no punctures since. A great touring tyre.

barry

 

[raindog]

I'm riding Michelin Lithions at the moment which are supposed to be a good comfort/speed compromise, and I certainly have no complaints so far.
I'd like to try the Pro-Race 3s next to make a comparison - will I feel the difference?

 

[accountantpete]

I use Veloflex Record 20mm's for Summer and Michelin Pro-Race's in the Winter. The former are a bit lighter but more prone to puncturing and wear out a lot quicker(which I can happily live with).

 

[gaz]

I currently run continental Grand Prix's weather or not i change them for winter is a matter i have yet to decide. But they roll well, and have only had one puncture which i actually suspect as foul play

 

[buddha]

I've tried a lot of tyres - and have quite a collection hanging up in the shed For a while I settled on the Michelin Krylion Carbon - which get good reviews for puncture resistance, durability, grip in the wet etc. (They're going for £20/ea at CRC at the mo.) However, this years lot of Krylion's seem to cut more than the ones I had before. Maybe I was unlucky though. And they went out of stock at the beginning of last winter - which was a pain.

Anyway, someone recommended Vittoria Rubino Pro's. And I've been using them for about 6 months now with no issues. They are much more comfortable than the Krylion's (even at 100/120psi front/rear) and roll well enough for me. Aparrently though they are not so good in the wet (I haven't really noticed). The Rubino Pro Tech are supposed to be better for winter conditions - I may start a separate thread as ask.

 

[Kestevan]

I've been running the Michelin Lithiums for a while now - Good tyre at a decent price.

I'd avoid the Rubino Pro's... they're OK in the dry, but lethal in the wet.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I'm riding Michelin Lithions at the moment which are supposed to be a good comfort/speed compromise, and I certainly have no complaints so far.
I'd like to try the Pro-Race 3s next to make a comparison - will I feel the difference?

Yes, undoubtably.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I've tried a lot of tyres - and have quite a collection hanging up in the shed For a while I settled on the Michelin Krylion Carbon - which get good reviews for puncture resistance, durability, grip in the wet etc. (They're going for £20/ea at CRC at the mo.) However, this years lot of Krylion's seem to cut more than the ones I had before. Maybe I was unlucky though. And they went out of stock at the beginning of last winter - which was a pain.

Anyway, someone recommended Vittoria Rubino Pro's. And I've been using them for about 6 months now with no issues. They are much more comfortable than the Krylion's (even at 100/120psi front/rear) and roll well enough for me. Aparrently though they are not so good in the wet (I haven't really noticed). The Rubino Pro Tech are supposed to be better for winter conditions - I may start a separate thread as ask.

I use Krylion Carbons as my winter tyres (after a lot of paise from the yacf fraternity) I find them a bit dead-feeling and a bit slippy in the wet compared to the PR3's (which is not surprising I guess), P*ncture resistance is OK but they have cut in a few places but not surprising being mainly used for dark and wet riding on city streets where glass etc is harder to spot than in the summer.