Looking for some new tyres

Tobzlerone · Post by **Tobzlerone** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:48 am

Hey,
Looking for some new tyres. budget unfortunately is £23 so not that much.
what do people reccomend, i intend doing both racing and some of the longer rides this year.

cheers

tobz

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:02 am

I was using 23mm Continental GP 4000S and found then to be very good, good puncture resistance and rolled well but as they got older the side walls cracked and they started to puncture more. I have now changed to 23mm Michelin Pro Race 3.

First impressions of the Michelin's are they roll fast but not given them a good ride yet so can't make many comments, they do seem more of a race tyre though. Both tyres can be had for around the £23 mark each if you shop around.

cath · Post by **cath** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:12 am

Message from Paul: check these out http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ICHTYRF420 which are okay. They are heavier than Pro Race so youcan't pump them up as hard but they are cheaper.

Cyan Skymoos · Post by **Cyan Skymoos** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 11:17 am

£23 will get you Michelin PRO3 or Conti GP4000 if you shop around. The Conti Ultra race is a good tyre for around £15 each.
My favorite brand is Continental, but I've been using big fat PRO3's over the winter and they've been great, the 25mm measure 28mm wide for some reason, but they make for a nicely cushioned ride.

Jon G · Post by **Jon G** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 11:39 am

Personally I don't rate the pro race 3 for winter riding as the rubber is to soft and really only good for dry summer weather but hey what do I know. Really any folding tyre is not good in winter weather because as Dan mentions the side Walls tend to crack over time. I do have pro race 3 on my summer bike but use a bontrager racelite rigid tyre for winter riding which have good punture resistance.

Jon

Cyan Skymoos · Post by **Cyan Skymoos** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:02 pm

I can only speak from my own experience of course, but I've have the michelins on most of the winter and I've done serious mileage this winter. They don't have a mark on them.

tomf · Post by **tomf** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:03 pm

I liked Stelvios - good balance of low resistance and some puncture protection. Schwalbe seem to have discontinued them but Planet-X have a bunch for less than 20quid:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/TYS ... lding-tyre

Dr Dave · Post by **Dr Dave** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:15 pm

Bit of a thread hijack I know but on a related subject how do people rate longevity of various brands? All rubber perishes to a degree but do certain brands last longer (ignoring wear-rate issues)?

I find that I tend to swap my tyres long before I'm getting near the wear-marker limit as the rears get squared off and the side-walls get a few small cracks (bikes stored in garage in dark/dim light levels).

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:21 pm

Dave, Up until recently I was running Conti's 4000S GP's on all my road bikes (I like to keep things the same!) and all the tyres developed cracks in the sidewalls long before the treads wore out. I've not tried any other Conti tyres so can't comment on all but I'm not that impressed with the longevity of the 4000S GP's.

Time will tell if the Pro Race 3's last any better.

Tobzlerone · Post by **Tobzlerone** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:22 pm

Thanks all,, real useful, il give it some thought