how much difference do tyres make?

[jifdave]

Im running the btwin tyres that came on my triban 3 done 800 miles or so.

My question is if i was to spend a few quid(and i mean a few) would it make much difference to my ride? im considering luganos as i like the idea of puncture protection.any good?

 

[e-rider]

Luganos are good budget tyres but they are cheap - they are not high quality tyres so I doubt you'll notice much difference to what you already have.

 

[ianjmcd]

for winter you cant beat vitorria pave or conti gp4000 not cheap though looking at 70-80 a pair depending on where you buy them

 

[biggs682]

people have to remember what is cheap to 1 cc er is expensive to another cc er

lugano's have never caused me any issues

 

[Cycleops]

The tyres that came with your Triban will probably serve you well for some time. You can pay a lot of money for tyres and the manufactures make all sorts of claims for them, chiefly puncture resistance, grip and low rolling resistance. You can end up paying maybe three or four times as much as for a budget tyre. Personally I thonk over a certain price the law of diminishing returns kicks in and while advantages can be had they are not in direct relation to price.

 

[jifdave]

thanks for the help guys. real useful, even those with different perspectives

 

[HLaB]

If your changing the type of tyres (knobblies to slicks) IME that makes a lot of difference but if your changing your slicks on the triban for other more expensive slicks; there will be marginal gains only and probably not clearly definable. At 800 miles you should have a lot more miles, wear them out before considering something new, unless you are getting too many p'tures with them at the moment

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

We have found that the Triban 3 tyres have started to disintergrate at the side walls on my OH's bike at about 750 miles (with 2 punctures). the rubber is physically perishing and breaking off. Maybe we were unlucky, I don't know, but I have now changed all of the tyres on our 2 T3's. Not sure if I made the right decision with choice, but I went with something that will withstand my OH and his blind approach to hitting anything and everything that happens to be in his way (not helped by commuting in the dark in the countryside), so went with durano pluses in a slightly wider 25mm.
Handling on the new tyres has been exceptionally good so far, with me able to trust it on wet tarmac around corners at speed and so far no major issues with white line that the orginal tyres had given me. We also have a 1 mile long single track lane to do in both directions to get to our home and that includes mud. handling again has been really good.

The original plan had been to wear them out - he has done that IMO with a sidewall failure being a serious consideration now after only 750 miles, if that.

 

[Zakalwe]

I'm of the opinion that the contact points on a bike are not worth scrimping on. That's saddle, bar and bar tape, shoes and tyres for me. I only really ride on narrow tyres but I've grown to be pretty loyal to Vittoria, I stick nice and cheap Rubino Pro's on my rough weather bike and they see me right all year round with minimal blow outs, Corsa's on the best bike and they are a pleasure. Better rubber may well exist, but I've never found myself yearning for it.

 

[Edwards80]

I had a couple of thousand miles out of my stock T3 tyres and they still look perfectly serviceable, I've kept them as emergency spares. I only switched them out because I upgraded the wheels.

I'd just ride on them until they show signs of wear/damage then swap them. I've used Vittoria Zaffiro Pro's on mine/the Mrs bikes this year and haven't had any problems.

 

[PpPete]

In general....and like all generalisations there are a few noble exceptions..... manufacturers will put on whatever appropriate tyre that costs them the least.
It's not just entry level bikes like the T3. I've seen it on bikes costing 6 times as much.
Some cheap tyres are fine to ride on, but cut up or puncture easily, others are more durable but are heavier and have greater rolling resistance.
IME you are unlikely to find a tyre that performs really well in all respects for less than £20.

My favourite was the Michelin Krylion... and as those wear out I'm switching to the Pro 4 Endurance model which replaces the Krylion in Michelin's range. They are the equal of anything else I've found in terms of balancing out weight, rolling resistance, grip, durability, puncture resistance, but also they seem easier to get on and off rims (if you should have a flat) than anything from Continental or Vittoria.

 

[ianrauk]

I'm of the opinion that the contact points on a bike are not worth scrimping on. That's saddle, bar and bar tape, shoes and tyres for me. I only really ride on narrow tyres but I've grown to be pretty loyal to Vittoria, I stick nice and cheap Rubino Pro's on my rough weather bike and they see me right all year round with minimal blow outs, Corsa's on the best bike and they are a pleasure. Better rubber may well exist, but I've never found myself yearning for it.

+1 for the Vittoria Rubino's. Do many thousands of puncture free riding with them. Though I probably wouldn't use them on my daily commute.

 

[Nebulous]

I got my bike with cheap specialized tyres and they kept puncturing. I then switched to Specialized turbo elites and noticed a significant difference in puncturing and cornering. I moved to Michelin pro 3s and again noticed a difference in rolling resistance / handling, but they didn't last very long. Stock tyres on most bikes should be your first upgrade in my opinion.

 

[pac-man]

I'm of the opinion that the contact points on a bike are not worth scrimping on..

Totally agree...
that little rubber patch that touches the road is all that keeps you upright.

 

[Manonabike]

Interesting points to think about. I am going to need a 23c and 25c set of tyres very soon.

I've been running Michelin *Pro2 :-) for a long time, sadly I'm on my very last set and these are not going to last me much more. I missed completely the *Pro3 but I remember that at the time people used to say that the *Pro3 were not as good as the *Pro2. So am I for a shock if I were to get *Pro4?

I have Gatorskin on another bike and I like them very much but they are on the heavy side I think, mind you they are 28c.