Giant stock road tyres - any good...?

Alek · 06-10-2015 9:57am #1

... or immediate exchange?

I'm most worried about grip in the wet. Currently my wife is on Conti Sport Contacts and find them adequate.

What can I expect from Giant S-R4?

lennymc · 06-10-2015 10:10am

they are ok - i got lots of punctures in them and went to continental ultra sport that were about 12 quid on one of the german sites. Use them all throughout the winter without issues. I have giant track tyres on the track bike and they are good and grippy, but that's a track bike with no road riding.

Alek · 06-10-2015 10:20am

Ah sorry, she's on the Ultra Sports not Sport Contacts.

If you're say they are better I'll swap them then. Will Giant Avail take narrowish 28mm tyres?

lennymc · 06-10-2015 10:25am

I dont have any problems with the ultra sport - YMMV.
My wife has an older avail and afaik it is running on 28mm kendas.

irishrover99 · 06-10-2015 12:23pm

I found them fairly decent in the wet Alek but they only lasted me about 500km before i had to ditch them. Not much rolling resistance either.
My giant defy has 28mm on them at the moment so i'm sure they would fit ok

crosstownk · 06-10-2015 12:41pm

irishrover99 wrote: »

I found them fairly decent in the wet Alek but they only lasted me about 500km before i had to ditch them. Not much rolling resistance either.

Similar here. They came with my Defy but only lasted 700km. The rear tyre had worn flat. I replaced them with Pro4s and the difference in rolling resistance was instantly noticeable.

nialljf · 06-10-2015 12:48pm

just replaced the stock defy 0 tyres with a pair of conti gp4000 s ii. went for a quick run to the chipper last night on wet roads and they felt both smoother and more grippy.

Alek · 06-10-2015 1:09pm

It seems then that they're decent enough, just not lasting - once they're gone on wife's bike I'll upgrade them to GP4000SII.

Cheers guys!

Wishbone Ash · 06-10-2015 7:25pm

irishrover99 wrote: »

... Not much rolling resistance either....

Did you mean too much rolling resistance?

crosstownk wrote: »

... the difference in rolling resistance was instantly noticeable.

i.e. Less rolling resistance?

crosstownk · 06-10-2015 8:45pm

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Did you mean too much rolling resistance?

i.e. Less rolling resistance?

Sorry, I should have been clearer.

The rolling resistance of the Giant stock tyres is higher than that of other tyres I've used. I've used both Michelin Pro4 25s and Mavic Aksion 23s and they roll a lot better than the Giant tyres. Both tyres also lasted more than four times as many kms as the Giants.

TonyStark · 06-10-2015 9:37pm

Alek wrote: »

... or immediate exchange?

I'm most worried about grip in the wet. Currently my wife is on Conti Sport Contacts and find them adequate.

What can I expect from Giant S-R4?

My Defy had something similar to them, they were like paper! Binned them after the first puncture. :-/

Unknown Soldier · 06-10-2015 9:42pm

I was considering starting a similar thread...

Are the Bontrager R1 tyres OK for winter? They came on the missus Trek bike and they seem to have good grip, and while there are no rave reviews on the net about them, they seem to be an OK all rounder?

If I thought they were dodgy for the coming season... I have a set of Vittoria rubinos I could put on her bike? If they are better?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Mr Rubicon Conundrum · 07-10-2015 10:22am

I had a Defy, plagued with problems with that bike, the biggest one being the tyres. After 6kms on my first ever ride I got a puncture, and it just got worse after that. I switched to Marathon Plus and then no more puncture issues. However, the Defy is gone now, only had it 18 months and I went through a lot of parts on that bike. My new Felt is a much better bike, I feel.

laraghrider · 07-10-2015 12:22pm

The tyres Giant give you with a bike are provided with the full assumption that anyone who buys a road bike usually replace the tyres as a first port of call. They are ok but just good enough so that they can legally sell you a bike that you can cycle away on. They offer reasonable grip, good rolling resistance but due to their cheap compound last no time at all.

irishrover99 · 07-10-2015 3:20pm

Mr Rubicon Conundrum wrote: »

I had a Defy, plagued with problems with that bike, the biggest one being the tyres. After 6kms on my first ever ride I got a puncture, and it just got worse after that. I switched to Marathon Plus and then no more puncture issues. However, the Defy is gone now, only had it 18 months and I went through a lot of parts on that bike. My new Felt is a much better bike, I feel.

Agree with the parts been rubbish as but the frame is fantastic and when it all clicks together for you i think its a good bike

comete · 07-10-2015 3:28pm

lennymc wrote: »

...but that's a track bike with no road riding.

Or track riding for that matter :P

Alek · 07-10-2015 3:49pm

What parts do you mean specifically? I have experience with the groupset, its really good for noncompetitive cycling. Wheelset? She's 45kgs, I doubt she would be able to kill even a flimsiest one if she tried

Stem/handlebar/seatpost?

irishrover99 · 07-10-2015 3:59pm

Wheels specifically. Groupset is not so good but maybe your wife's one is better than the one i got. BB lasted about 2000 km but i see the avail has the newer type BB and not the square taper.
I suppose i got what i payed for but i've seen many bad reports about the wheels and i had the whole back wheel rebuilt by the shop as i was getting so many broken spokes. They replaced them with DT swiss spokes and they still broke so i just put a set of aksiums on it and really improved the bike

Alek · 07-10-2015 8:22pm

Groupset on Avail 3 is the new Sora 3500, she has it on her current bike and its very good. I'd say Tiagra quality, just 9 speed.

No wonder you destroy entry level spokes with your power output

crosstownk · 07-10-2015 9:42pm

irishrover99 wrote: »

Agree with the parts been rubbish as but the frame is fantastic and when it all clicks together for you i think its a good bike

I'll just throw in my 2c.

Myself and a buddy bought Defy 4s about 3 months apart. I'm more of a fussy fcuker than my mate so after a year I upgraded the bike with a 105 5800 groupset and a pair of Zondas. I wanted more (less gappy) gears and I also wanted rid of the cables that were like a spiders web at the front. I noticed a massive difference in shifting, braking and rolling with the new kit. I had no problems with the original kit from a functional point of view. I was proabably suffering from GAS to some extent but it was worth it, IMO.

My mate, however, doesn't give a crap about components and just grinds out the kms and is happy to do so. He has over 6,000km on his bike with the original Claris groupset. All he changed was the tyres - nothing else. OK, he doesn't clean regularly and it can be noisey but he's happy out.

Different strokes for different folks and all that......

irishrover99 · 08-10-2015 8:38am

Alek wrote: »

Groupset on Avail 3 is the new Sora 3500, she has it on her current bike and its very good. I'd say Tiagra quality, just 9 speed.

No wonder you destroy entry level spokes with your power output

Remember not so long ago i said i destroyed a wheel last winter. That's the one. Some of the spokes brokes just accelerating out of corners and i suppose i caused some to break. Its in the shed now needing a new freehub and ill keep it for a emergency

Macy0161 · 08-10-2015 10:44am

Well I picked up a new Giant this week - LBS didn't jump at the opening I gave them about upgrading the tyres, they reckoned they were ok, but just didn't have any specific puncture protection. I'm more worried about some of the other comments on this thread than the tyres tbh!

irishrover99 · 08-10-2015 11:55am

Macy0161 wrote: »

Well I picked up a new Giant this week - LBS didn't jump at the opening I gave them about upgrading the tyres, they reckoned they were ok, but just didn't have any specific puncture protection. I'm more worried about some of the other comments on this thread than the tyres tbh!

What type of Giant bike was it you got?. I only paid 600 for mine so its relevant to how much you pay

Hu Deman · 13-10-2015 9:15pm

I had a giant defy 4 with 6000km and absolutely no problems.I bought a defy 1 last year and the tyres don't seem half as good the sidewall seems paper thin, Also the spokes kept snapping on the rear wheel. which seemed to be a common issue with 2014 pr2 wheels

crosstownk · 13-10-2015 10:02pm

Hu Deman wrote: »

the spokes kept snapping on the rear wheel. which seemed to be a common issue with 2014 pr2 wheels

I'd the same problem. I'd put up about 3,000km then spokes snapped avery 200km or so. After the 4th spoke snapped I replaced the wheels.

Giant stock road tyres - any good...?

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