martint235
Dog on a bike
- Location
- Welling
Ok, bear with me. So Durano Plus have been my distance tyre of choice for a few years now but after LEL (one puncture on a dark track full of all kinds of debris) I'd kind of decided my days of riding long distances, particularly solo, were behind me. So in the interests of a lighter tyre and I could get white to kind of match Lelly I went for Rubinos (used them before, commuted on them for years). Now they aren't a bad little tyre but there's always that feeling in the back of your mind as you set off for a wet Friday Night Ride to the Coast that they aren't an invincible tyre. Duranos aren't invincible either but it does take something mean to puncture them. So I purchased a couple but in 25s rather than the 23s I used to use and took them out for a 65 miler today.
Wow. I'm impressed. I was expecting them to be heavier and therefore slower (or more effort). I know rolling resistance is actually meant to be equal or better than 23s but surely a pair of Durano 25s must weigh more than Rubino 23s. Anyway off I zipped, first 15 miles in close to my record time and I was starting to feel that there was a lot, lot more grip going into bends than even on Durano 23s (I ran those at 145psi, 25s will only take 115psi so this may be something to do with it). Now, as people who know me will tell you, I'm not the best at going into corners or descending but I was going into both much quicker on these. The only downside I found was they seemed to squirm a little more when I was out of the saddle particularly on the flat. Now that could be me, it could be the pressure difference or it could be the tyre. If it's me I'll find out in time. But that was the only downside I could find. The ride was smoother, Lelly felt even more bomb proof than usual and more capable of handling the route than before so on to the pros, cons and price:
Price: £52 for the pair from Chain Reaction. Mine are the wired version.
Pros:
Wow. I'm impressed. I was expecting them to be heavier and therefore slower (or more effort). I know rolling resistance is actually meant to be equal or better than 23s but surely a pair of Durano 25s must weigh more than Rubino 23s. Anyway off I zipped, first 15 miles in close to my record time and I was starting to feel that there was a lot, lot more grip going into bends than even on Durano 23s (I ran those at 145psi, 25s will only take 115psi so this may be something to do with it). Now, as people who know me will tell you, I'm not the best at going into corners or descending but I was going into both much quicker on these. The only downside I found was they seemed to squirm a little more when I was out of the saddle particularly on the flat. Now that could be me, it could be the pressure difference or it could be the tyre. If it's me I'll find out in time. But that was the only downside I could find. The ride was smoother, Lelly felt even more bomb proof than usual and more capable of handling the route than before so on to the pros, cons and price:
Price: £52 for the pair from Chain Reaction. Mine are the wired version.
Pros:
- Grippy in corners and on descents
- Smooth the road surface out for you
- Can't report on puncture resistance but if they are as good as the 23s then they are good
- The only one I found was the squirmy feeling but that could just be me.
