tyre advice

[cityfan]

Hi,

I am looking for some tyres that are fast and also give excellent puncture resistence, with maybe a slight leaning towards to puncture protection.

Up to now i have used Bontrager Hardcase Racelites 700 x 25- also had these on my old bike (700 x 32)- great puncture protection - i dont know really know if they are good rollers or not as i have nothing to compare them too.

some others i have been looking at
Schwalbe marathon plus
Spesh roubaix armadillo
michelin krylion carbon
conti gatorskins
conti GP 4000S
Vittoria Rubino

does anyone hae any views/recommendations on these or indeed any others.

any advice greatly appreciated

Ian

 

[2wd]

I asked a similar question a while back and was recommended the Cont Gatorskins, which I bought.

The roads where I live are very poor with many potholes and up to now they have been a great tyre.

 

[HLaB]

Search the forums and you'll find some good comparison on here of all the tyres you mentioned. To quickly sum up for me:
the Rubino's were treacherous for me grip wise, Ive heard reviews similar and opposite !
I've heard reviews that Gator Skins are skittish in the wet, I found the exact opposite, very grippy on wet roads, roll well and have good p'ture protection, I never had a p'ture when I borrowed one for nearly 1500mls.
My brother has Marathon +'s, he finds them bomb proof but heavy and changed them again this spring.
I find the GP4000s very grippy and good rolling and for me good p'ture resistance (I've only had one in circa 3500, the etape Caledonia & 1000 carpet tacks) my brother got a bit more p'tures though with his.
I've found Armadillos a little to hard wearing (being relatively p'ture free) as a result they became a little skittish in the wet.
Another contender is 4 seasons, IME grippy, roll well & relatively p'ture free but expensive for my tastes just now.
When I was considering new tyres I considered these but opted based on reviews for Mitch Krylion and they were far cheaper too. IME 1800miles no p'tures I say they were right, good grippy well rolling tyres and look good wear wise and their grip seems to be improving with age but that may also be my confidence in them.

 

[jowwy]

conti gatorskins on both bikes for me - feel good, roll well and puncture free so far

 

[Blue]

+1 for Conti GP 4 seasons

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

With the Marathons I'd suggest the standard ones rather than the plus as these are lighter, easy to fit, roll and grip well (in my opinion) and still give good puncture resistance.

 

[jay clock]

conti gatorskins on both bikes for me - feel good, roll well and puncture free so far

+1 for these, but I am not a fan of brown sidewalls. I now have two pairs of Schwalbe Blizzards for which I paid about £5.99 per tyre and they are excellent all round tyres, and come in lots of colours. May not be made now, but hunt around https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=s....,cf.osb&fp=23ea5ef47bc3b399&biw=1024&bih=579

 

[StuAff]

With the Marathons I'd suggest the standard ones rather than the plus as these are lighter, easy to fit, roll and grip well (in my opinion) and still give good puncture resistance.

+1.
Durano Plus are my choice- same puncture protection material as the M+, in a thinner version, but a lot lighter and faster. Still tough as old boots.

 

[cityfan]

thanks for the input chaps. I guess it's one of those things -people have thier own favourites and swear by them.

i have been very happy with the Bontrager Racelite hardcase in respect of the puncture protection- found them to be pretty bomb proof. Are they good rollers? i dont know- if I can get something as tough but faster that would be great- may look into GP 4 Seasons or Durano Plus (neither of which were on my original list). FYI i am not a racer- I have a Spesh Sectuer Elite i use for fitness/pleasure but just seeing if i can give myself a boost

 

[the_mikey]

Given your previous tyre selection, I'd opt for 25c continental gatorskins, either wire or folding bead (depending on how much the weight difference bothers you) but they're tough, roll well but are a bit more forgiving on rough roads than a 23c tyre.

My personal favourite right now are 23c Michelin Krylion Carbon - tough tyres that roll well.

 

[cityfan]

Given your previous tyre selection, I'd opt for 25c continental gatorskins, either wire or folding bead (depending on how much the weight difference bothers you) but they're tough, roll well but are a bit more forgiving on rough roads than a 23c tyre.

My personal favourite right now are 23c Michelin Krylion Carbon - tough tyres that roll well.

cheers - am i ight in thinking Michelin have now replaced the Krylion Carbons with Pro 4 Endurance?

re the gatorskins i see there is a hardshell version- i presume they are even more puncture proof? -are there any other differences between the 2?

 

[Joe--23]

You are correct krylion are being replaced by pro4 endurance, but for the value the krylion carbons are fantastic. I luckily got some in 25mm and they have been a revalation