Newbie needs help with tyres

madson

Hey, i'm a complete newbie when it comes to cycling i only started a few weeks ago.

I bought a Giant FCR4, i find the bike great and i'm enjoying cycling. Only problem is pretty much every second spin i go on i get a puncture and today i got a nice big rip in the tyre. At the moment there are Kenda Kriterium tyres on it, which came with it. I asked about getting the GatorSkin tyres but was assured the Kenda's where more then good enough.

I need to go buy a new tyre for the back and will probably get one for the front aswell as i have no confidence in the tyres now. I am considering buying the GP 4000 as they seem to be pretty good and get good reviews.

Anybody got an other suggestions for tyres, i use the bike for getting fit and only stick to main roads, i also plan to use the bike for Gaelforce West.

Thanks.

Lumen

Gatorskins are fine, and come in more sizes than GP4000s.

Fit and forget.

Deisetrek

madson wrote: »

Hey, i'm a complete newbie when it comes to cycling i only started a few weeks ago.

I bought a Giant FCR4, i find the bike great and i'm enjoying cycling. Only problem is pretty much every second spin i go on i get a puncture and today i got a nice big rip in the tyre. At the moment there are Kenda Kriterium tyres on it, which came with it. I asked about getting the GatorSkin tyres but was assured the Kenda's where more then good enough.

I need to go buy a new tyre for the back and will probably get one for the front aswell as i have no confidence in the tyres now. I am considering buying the GP 4000 as they seem to be pretty good and get good reviews.

Anybody got an other suggestions for tyres, i use the bike for getting fit and only stick to main roads, i also plan to use the bike for Gaelforce West.

Thanks.

I got puncture free 3000 miles out of my Gatorskins but had to purchase last week , they do eventually break down , and I was murdered with punctures for the last couple of weeks . If you do purchase the GP 4000's you will not regret it , I'm led to believe they are even better than Gator's . Key to the whole thing though is to pump your tyres to 100+ PSI with a good track pump and watch them potholes .......

Where was the hole in the tyre? Not the tyre wall by any chance?

Chips Lovell

I know nothing about Kenda tyres, so I've no idea if they are any good or not.

However, the most important thing is that you pump them up to the right pressure. What pressures are you using at the moment? A puncture every second spin is not good for any tyre.

Gatorskins's are great for puncture resitance, I can vouch for that. GP4000 are decent too, less resistant, but racier.

Alanstrainor

Haha. What are the chances, i was just going to post a thread with the exact same problem! Giant FCR4, punctures every 50km and looking for a solution. Happy Days. Think i'll pick up a pair of GP4000's.

blorg

I have heard that GP4000s have just as good puncture resistance as Gatorskins and are lighter and grippier. The only downside is they are more expensive. I've used both and experience would tend to bear this out, Gatorskins are no more puncture resistant than a good race tyre. Personally I would go with Ultremos although I have GP4000s on my road bike at the moment.

BTW though, I have had excellent results with the Kenda Kriteriums that came with my Giant Bowery, I think I'm around 2,000km on these now and only one puncture. And I skid on these too. So it might be bad luck, underinflation, or your riding style... You can puncture on anything (except Armadillos which feck you off the bike going around corners instead )

madson

Dónal wrote: »

Where was the hole in the tyre? Not the tyre wall by any chance?

yeah it was in the tyre wall

madson

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Haha. What are the chances, i was just going to post a thread with the exact same problem! Giant FCR4, punctures every 50km and looking for a solution. Happy Days. Think i'll pick up a pair of GP4000's.

sorry your having the same problem but kind of glad at same time i thought i was doing something wrong
I just picked up a GP4000 cyclesuperstore, but plan on ordering another 2 from CRC (i'd want to have a spare after what happened today for piece of mind)

ROK ON

Do not buy Gatorskins. I have had nothing but trouble with them. They are a disaster IMHO.
(I secretly believe that most people on this site are paid employees of Continental:)).

Sorry, I am a bitter bugger. I bought them for 2 bikes due to good reviews here and have had the worst look with them.

TinyExplosions

I have these...



...and love em

Lumen

ROK ON wrote: »

Do not buy Gatorskins. I have had nothing but trouble with them. They are a disaster IMHO.

This makes no sense. Barring user error (which seems unlikely) it must just be luck or load-related.

ROK ON

Lumen wrote: »

This makes no sense. Barring user error (which seems unlikely) it must just be luck or load-related.

2 different bikes, multiple punctures both tyres.
A lot of front punctures on my commute bike. Tyres meticulously checked and cleaned after each puncture, including using a tweezers to take out tiny fragments of glass. I put it down to luck, as the load on the bike is getting lighter, and wasn't a factor when I was 15k heavier on tyres.

Have not had this amount of punctures with any other tyre, including bog standard tyres on my old Raleigh hybrid (3 yrs of commuting w/o any puncture at all).

blorg

I have Gatorskins on two or three bikes. They are fine for a relatively cheap tyre, their puncture resistance is around the same as the GP4000 I reckon, maybe a smidge worse than the Ultremos. They are still a decent tyre for the money. The likes of the Ultremo didn't come in 700x25 and I wasn't so concerned about weight on the bikes the Gatorskins are on. I currently only use Gatorskins in 700x25s although I have used the 700x23s before on training wheels. Maybe punctured 4 or 5 times on them, which I would consider normal/acceptable.

jlang

Another question: what are you trading off between choosing 700x23 and 700x25?

madson

madson wrote: »

yeah it was in the tyre wall

Maybe check if the brake pads aren't rubbing off the tyre.

blorg

jlang wrote: »

Another question: what are you trading off between choosing 700x23 and 700x25?

Comfort and weight mainly, 700x25 are marginally heavier but can be run at lower pressure giving a more comfortable ride... The 700x23 will have less rolling resistance and feel nippier if you inflate it to a higher PSI than the 25 (as you normally would.)

Oh and damn you all as I punctured in the rain on my way home (Gatorskin 700x25c.)

Alanstrainor

This thread must be cursed. Rear puncture on my way home from work today. Worst....Day...EEVVVVVEEERRRRRRRR!!!!!

Colmhayden76

Ahh don't get me started on tyres. Just found out what was causing the 4 front punctures It's been removed.
Back tyre hit a cat eye on the road and is now torn.It's a write off damn you michlen pro 3 damn you:(

And my LBS has no contis and doing my first sportive of the year on Saturday. I think my wifes old entry level Michelans are in the shead some where. If you 'll excuse me I'm off to find them:mad::mad::mad::mad: times a thousand grumpy heads.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

ROK ON wrote: »

2 different bikes, multiple punctures both tyres.
A lot of front punctures on my commute bike. Tyres meticulously checked and cleaned after each puncture, including using a tweezers to take out tiny fragments of glass. I put it down to luck, as the load on the bike is getting lighter, and wasn't a factor when I was 15k heavier on tyres.

Have not had this amount of punctures with any other tyre, including bog standard tyres on my old Raleigh hybrid (3 yrs of commuting w/o any puncture at all).

I'm currently 9 months on a pair, cycling almost daily and no punctures as of yet.

alfalad

Was heading out for my 40km spin round Howth, was about 500m in and realized something was amiss and check my back wheel and another puncture!!! Thats the 5th in 800km, time for a new set me thinks!! So Ultremos is the tyre of choice then??

henboy

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I have these...



...and love em

I also find these good--pink seems to be the new black:pac:

alfalad

Think it's going to be the pro 3's or the GP 4000 as my next tyre! Think i'll sleep on it for now!!

TinyExplosions

Colmhayden76 wrote: »

Ahh don't get me started on tyres. Just found out what was causing the 4 front punctures It's been removed.
Back tyre hit a cat eye on the road and is now torn.It's a write off damn you michlen pro 3 damn you:(

And my LBS has no contis and doing my first sportive of the year on Saturday. I think my wifes old entry level Michelans are in the shead some where. If you 'll excuse me I'm off to find them:mad::mad::mad::mad: times a thousand grumpy heads.

I've a pair of Conti's here you can have -moderate use on them, but still puncture free -I've taken them off the road bike cos the Ultremos went on. GP4000s on the front, and Ultra Sport on the back -you're welcome to have em if you're around Dublin City Centre!

henboy wrote: »

I also find these good--pink seems to be the new black:pac:

Pink rocks, and the pink tyres look great on the Planet X!