Tyre weight

[sannesley]

I'm trying to find some information on tyre weight for various brands. At the moment I have the stock SR-4 tyres on my Giant Defy 3. I am planning to change them for something a bit more puncture resistant as come the autumn and winter there are lot of hedge cuttings on some of my routes.

Now I've been told that puncture resistance will come at a price, namely a heavier tyre than the stock ones. What I'm trying to figure out is the weight of new tyres relevant to my current tyre to see how much more heavier they would be? Or am I getting too wrapped up in this? Surely the difference won#t be that noticeable?

 

[the_mikey]

You will notice a difference between tyres, but only you can decide what you want from a tyre, good grip, low weight, puncture resistance and low rolling resistance, you can get tyres that will meet some of your expectations, but in general puncture resistance comes with either a weight, grip or rolling resistance cost, for example Continental gatorskin tyres are quite resistant to punctures, and aren't boat anchors when it comes to weight, they roll well but grip is compromised in order to provide a stronger tyre. Unfortunately giant Don't seem to publish the weight of their own brand tyres, but the s-r4 isn't a high spec tyre, expect a good road winter tyre to weigh between 220g and 260g, commuting tyres need to be stronger and heavier, so 250g to 400g is normal .

 

[Apollonius]

Yes, you do notice a difference. Rolling weight counts for a lot. Generally speaking, as you suspected, the more puncture-resistant the tyre the less pleasant the ride. The most puncture resistant tyre I have is on my old steel winter hack and those are Bontrager Hardcase. The ride is pretty horrible and the puncture-resistance by no means perfect. I previously had Panaracers on that bike, but they have flimsy sidewalls, even though they are fast and have good puncture resistance. I currently use Schwalbe Duranos on my most-ridden bike. I like them a lot, but they are only about 3/10 for puncture resistance. Personally, I would rather fix the odd puncture than ride a heavy tyre, but each to his/her own. Softer tyres give better grip too, so that is a factor. I strongly suggest you use your current tyres until they get a bit thin. Frequent punctures will tell you when this happens.

 

[vickster]

I use Michelin pro 4 endurance on two bikes, they roll very well. Indeed one pair replaced the giant stock tyres on my 2012 avail 2. They were far better in my experience. Not the cheapest but can shop around and find for a little over £20 a tyre

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Yes, you do notice a difference. Rolling weight counts for a lot. Generally speaking, as you suspected, the more puncture-resistant the tyre the less pleasant the ride. The most puncture resistant tyre I have is on my old steel winter hack and those are Bontrager Hardcase. The ride is pretty horrible and the puncture-resistance by no means perfect. I previously had Panaracers on that bike, but they have flimsy sidewalls, even though they are fast and have good puncture resistance. I currently use Schwalbe Duranos on my most-ridden bike. I like them a lot, but they are only about 3/10 for puncture resistance. Personally, I would rather fix the odd puncture than ride a heavy tyre, but each to his/her own. Softer tyres give better grip too, so that is a factor. I strongly suggest you use your current tyres until they get a bit thin. Frequent punctures will tell you when this happens.

How much does rolling weight count for ?

 

[Apollonius]

OK, it may be all in the mind, but I think you notice a livelier ride with a bit of weight taken off the wheels. In exactly the way you don't notice a full bottle, which of course counts for much more real weight in a scales kind of way!

 

[outlash]

I currently use Schwalbe Duranos on my most-ridden bike. I like them a lot, but they are only about 3/10 for puncture resistance.

Yet I've been running Duranos all winter and they've been absolutely superb. IME, puncture 'protection' is more luck than judgement. I've better wear and so-called protection from a pair of light, apparently flimsy tyres than a so-called winter tyre. Unless you're running a pair of touring type tyres that weigh north of 500g, there's other factors to consider than just weight and what protection the tyre offers.

Tony.

 

[User6179]

How much does rolling weight count for ?

Heavy tyres usually have thicker less pliable sidewalls so would think though indirectly that tyre weight is really important though it is more to do with suppleness of the sidewalls than the actual weight , you agree?

 

[Sharky]

I know everybody will recommend the tyres they ride themselves, but my current favourites for winter riding over rough roads, with pot holes etc are http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-contact-ii-city-road-tyre/
Mine are 700*28 and on a Ribble winter bike. A bit slower than a pair of 23's, but the extra air gives a good comfort factor and so far not had and P's.

 

[winjim]

I would imagine that most manufacturers would quote weights in their catalogue or on their website. Here's the 2015 Vittoria catalogue for instance: http://www.vittoria.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Vittoria-Tires-Cat2015_low_EN_small.pdf

 

[MikeW-71]

I'm trying to find some information on tyre weight for various brands. At the moment I have the stock SR-4 tyres on my Giant Defy 3. I am planning to change them for something a bit more puncture resistant as come the autumn and winter there are lot of hedge cuttings on some of my routes.

Now I've been told that puncture resistance will come at a price, namely a heavier tyre than the stock ones. What I'm trying to figure out is the weight of new tyres relevant to my current tyre to see how much more heavier they would be? Or am I getting too wrapped up in this? Surely the difference won#t be that noticeable?

S-R4's grip quite well, but they are pretty heavy and not that supple. I weighed mine at 250g when I took them off. I replaced them with GP4000S, which are 205g. I didn't think there would be as much difference as there was, they had much less rolling resistance, a nicer ride and better grip. Still haven't had a puncture in them after 3000+ miles.

Others I would happily go for: Conti GP 4 Seasons (a smidge slower than the 4000's but extra puncture resistance) and Vittoria Rubino Pro (same as 4 Seasons but cheaper. Not so good when it's very cold and wet though)

Weight matters to a point but it's not the only consideration to use.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I would imagine that most manufacturers would quote weights in their catalogue or on their website. Here's the 2015 Vittoria catalogue for instance: http://www.vittoria.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Vittoria-Tires-Cat2015_low_EN_small.pdf

Here's the problem. Tyre weight is directly proportional to size. In other words, a 28mm tyre with all else being equal, is heavier than a 23mm tyre. Ever since bicycle magazines started weighing stuff like a bunch of cocaine dealers, tyre manufacuters have caught onto the trick. Some now cheat on the sizes to make their tyres look lighter. A 28mm tyre (mounted on a typical 19mm rim) often only comes up as 24 or 25mm if you measure it. The biggest fraud seems to be in the 25 and 28mm range. A couple of years ago the American tyre company Avocet exposed the game and pledged honesty. No other company even responded to the challenge since Avocet is not a challenger and since then I've seen lots of such nonsense. I have a set of Specialized supposedly 28s, here that are only 25mm.

The gist of my point is, why weigh?

 

[sannesley]

only you can decide what you want from a tyre, good grip, low weight, puncture resistance and low rolling resistance, you can get tyres that will meet some of your expectations.

At the end of the day I want something that has puncture resistance and reasonable grip with minimal increase in weight over the current stock tyres. At the end of the day I'm a leisure mamil and don't race so weight isn't the main issue as long as any new tyres aren't massively weightier than my current tyre

I strongly suggest you use your current tyres until they get a bit thin. Frequent punctures will tell you when this happens.

I probably will end up doing that as it will give me more time to do a bit of research

S-R4's grip quite well, but they are pretty heavy and not that supple. I weighed mine at 250g when I took them off. I replaced them with GP4000S, which are 205g. I didn't think there would be as much difference as there was, they had much less rolling resistance, a nicer ride and better grip. Still haven't had a puncture in them after 3000+ miles.

Others I would happily go for: Conti GP 4 Seasons (a smidge slower than the 4000's but extra puncture resistance) and Vittoria Rubino Pro (same as 4 Seasons but cheaper. Not so good when it's very cold and wet though).

I was initially interested in the Conti GP 4 seasons as they came out top in a test of road tyres in a recent copy of Cycling active and were quoted as being able to run all year round. I fancy this aspect as I personally couldn't be bothered changing tyres with the seasons.

The gist of my point is, why weigh?

Sure doesn't it give us all something to post about??

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Sure doesn't it give us all something to post about??

Yeah, I agree, but getting the formatting right in a table with tyre sizes on the horizontal axis and weights on the vertical axis is a real pain in the butt. Rather fight about chains, I say.

 

[vickster]

I'll throw pro 4 endurance into the ring again

Quite hard to find though. Crc have in 25mm