Tyre info

[country joe]

I purchased two sets of tyres a couple of years ago, they have never been used,are they just for Winter, can they be used in the Summer,
Which would be the best for winter use.
They are Victoria Rubino Intreped 700x25
And Conti 4000 Grand prix 700 x23c
And finally my tyres on my bike are 700 x 23c will the 700 x25fit im sure when i bought them i was told yes,
Do you need a Winter and Summer tyre?

 

[HJ]

I just use Conti GatorSkins year round...

 

[Blue]

And finally my tyres on my bike are 700 x 23c will the 700 x25fit?

Probably - unless your clearances are only enough for 23s

 

[Blue]

,are they just for Winter, can they be used in the Summer?

Do you want to use them in Summer? If so, then use them!

 

[Blue]

Do you need a Winter and Summer tyre?

No. Having said that, I now use a heavier tyre with a tougher compound and better puncture protection in Winter as the Winter roads cut the crap out of the lighter/faster tyres I used in the Summer and carried into the Winter a few years ago.

 

[country joe]

I just use Conti GatorSkins year round...

Is there much difference between the Gator skins and the conti 4000 grand prix?

 

[Randochap]

Is there much difference between the Gator skins and the conti 4000 grand prix?

Yes.

 

[country joe]

So should i get rid of the vittoria rubino and the conti 4000 grand Prix and replace them with Gator skins, its punctures im concerned with i know that no tyre is puncture free, but do the Vittoria and the Conti 4000 have any protection?.

 

[HLaB]

So should i get rid of the vittoria rubino and the conti 4000 grand Prix and replace them with Gator skins, its punctures im concerned with i know that no tyre is puncture free, but do the Vittoria and the Conti 4000 have any protection?.

The conti web site says the 4000's do.
I'm using conti 4 seasons (25mm) on my all year round road bike, the summer bike has plain grand prix (23mm)

 

[andy_wrx]

Have a read of this
http://www.conti-online.com/generat...al/downloads/download/tourtest_gp4000s_en.pdf

A German magazine test which Conti publish on their website, because the result is that Conti tyres are the best !

Of course, it's saying that the GP4000S (newer version of GP4000) is the best, but the Michelin ProRace2 is very close behind it - now there's a ProRace3 and other magazine tests I've seen since say this is better than Conti...

And it doesn't include the Vittoria Rubino, it's got the Evo CX which is much more of a Summer racing tyre, so no wonder it's not so good on wet grip or p*nct*re resistance.

Personally, I don't like Conti tyres.
I've never tried GP4000, but I had GP4Season and they were awful - very poor wet weather grip, very high rolling resistance, picked up thorns in the tread pattern very easily (I had a p*nct*re on the rollers from a thorn I'd obviously picked up outside...), absolute swines to fit so I always prayed I never had to fix them with cold wet hands, and the sidewalls damaged very easily.
There have been numerous posts about how difficult Conti tyres in general are to fit to Fulcrum or Campag wheels.

But there are others, like HLaB above, who reckon they're great...
I binned my GP4S after I'd had one hairy skiddy moment too many and replaced them with...Vittoria Rubino Pro's !

Many people use these as their Winter training tyres - they're cheap, decent grip, decent p*nct*re resistance.
There's the Pro version which is a kevlar-beaded folding version for about £15, or the 'normal ' version which has steel beads and doesn't fold - about 100g per tyre heavier for £9 : both have same rubber
I wouldn't use them as my 'best' Summer race tyres, there are other lighter tyres with less rolling resistance, but as Winter tyres they're great - enough grip and p*nct*re resistance, whilst being plenty cheap enough to wear-out in Winter : GP4000S are about £25.