Tyres

macadam

Lads and Ladettes,

Where is the best value in road tyres , puncture resist and suitable for wet conditions.

Maca

blorg

Commuting/training/racing?

Gatorskins are probably the best for commuting
For racing/training Schwalbe Ultremo or Continental GP4000S

Stark

Gatorskins just aren't up to the task puncture protection wise imo. I seem to average a puncture one in every five trips or thereabouts. After having to walk home last Sunday after picking up punctures on both tires (luckily I was only about 3km out the door), I've decided to it's time to change them. Going to go with Schwalbe Marathon plus on the recommendation of posters here. Armadillos are supposed to be excellent puncture protection wise as well, though I've been told the Schwalbes handle better in the wet.

Caroline_ie

blorg wrote: »

Continental GP4000S

the ones with the chili inside ... I am told the chili makes all the difference.

DirkVoodoo

Caroline_ie wrote: »

the ones with the chili inside ... I am told the chili makes all the difference.

I have the regular GP4000s, like them a lot.

Also, my Felt commuter came with Vittoria Zaffiros which were nearly bomb proof if not the best in the rain (one bad fall, but it was on a very slick surface). I have run over all sorts of crap on these, they are "N11 cycle lane" certified. I bought gatorskins thinking these were giving up the ghost, but they kept on going.

Nietzschean

blorg wrote: »

For racing/training Schwalbe Ultremo or Continental GP4000S

I wouldn't recommend the Ultremo's in the wet...very good in the dry but mine have been sliding about the place in the wet quite a lot

macadam

Again this evening after 24klms another feckin puncture, where can i get the schwalbe marthons, asap.

biomed32

i bought the racer gatorskins suit me grand never had a problem with them

bcmf

Conti's gp4000s with the black chili.
Bombproof.And I should I have ridden over everything that North County has to throw. Only 1 puncture in tons and tons of kms and that was a pinch flat. Superb grip in wet or dry.
You wont be sorry.

flickerx

Specialized Armadillos.

blorg

OK no.1 you still have not answered your intended use. As a result you are getting half answers on racing tyres and half on commuting ones. What sort of bike, what tyre width do you have. You would not put Marathons on a race bike for example.

@Stark- If you are puncturing once every five trips on Gatorskins you are doing something very wrong. Possibly inflation pressure. OP- you could well be the same, it may not be the tyres but something you are doing wrong.

Marathons are better for routes where you have a bit of off-road, they have a bit of a tread which is useful for that but utterly unnecessary on the road. They are good but NOT puncture proof, I have punctured on them myself. They are also a fair bit heavier than Gatorskins. I refer here to the standard Marathon, they have lots of different variants depending on use. The Marathon is certainly the most versatile tyre but it is overkill if you do not leave the road.

If puncture protection is your only concern and you don't care about ride quality then Armadillos are best.

I prefer to deal with the occasional puncture and get a nicer ride. It is all a tradeoff, and I find for commuting Gatorskins are the best tradeoff of price, puncture protection, ride quality and wet handling for a commuter tyre.

As for race tyres, Ultremos are fine in the wet, Tour tested a whole load of racing tyres including Ultremos and GP4000s and there was basically no difference between any of them in terms of wet handling.

quenching

Schwalbe Marathon Plus, in stock in various sizes.

I've used Continental Sport Contacts for the last 800 miles without a puncture, just put them on a new bike also. Come with a free tube and a years puncture guarantee - they'll replace the tyre tube if you get a puncture.

Stark

blorg wrote: »

@Stark- If you are puncturing once every five trips on Gatorskins you are doing something very wrong. Possibly inflation pressure. OP- you could well be the same, it may not be the tyres but something you are doing wrong.

I have a track pump and always inflate to the recommended pressure. It's always been glass piercing the tyre and tube when I've had a puncture. I need something that won't puncture every single time I lose attention and run across some.

Have gone with the Marathon Plus+smartguard so hopefully that works out better.

googlehead

quenching wrote: »

Schwalbe Marathon Plus, in stock in various sizes.

I've used Continental Sport Contacts for the last 800 miles without a puncture, just put them on a new bike also. Come with a free tube and a years puncture guarantee - they'll replace the tyre tube if you get a puncture.

sounds good, had another bloody puncture today myself, starting to really piss me off.:mad:

macadam

blorg wrote: »

OK no.1 you still have not answered your intended use. As a result you are getting half answers on racing tyres and half on commuting ones. What sort of bike, what tyre width do you have. You would not put Marathons on a race bike for example.

Blorg,

I have a Trek 1.9 with 700x23 standard Bontager tyres, I am currently doing about 25-30 klms tues and thurs and 50-60klms sat and sunday , working upto the 100 klm mark.

The roads i cycle on are all in the Louth area , got punctured sunday on the old N1 top of killineer and today got punctured along the coast from clogherhead.

Checked the tyre twice for glass and debris , fitted a new tube and inflated to 120psi, rear wheel as it supports 14stone 5lbs

blorg

@Macadam- personally I would NOT put Marathons on that bike. Go for Ultremos or GP4000S. Both are good race bike tyres with decent puncture protection. You may still puncture but it might be every few thousand km rather than every hundred. I had Bontrager tyres (Race Lite) on a Trek myself, I found them nice to ride but really quite puncture prone.

If you had said a hybrid or a touring bike with wider tyres then Marathon Plus would be more of an option. You will find a big drop off in performance moving from the Bontrager tyres to Marathons, they will be unbelievably heavier and slower on the road. Ultimately it is a trade-off but no point getting something that makes your bike feel like crap.

I have used Marathons before touring where there was an off-road component and would do so again, perfect tyre for that application. I have nothing against the tyre but FFS not on a racer.

redmenace1

I'm using Michelin Pro 3 and have no probs. Previously used Pro 2's and same. Maybe get 3 punctures max for life of tyre, 3-5000 km. Believe it is about tyre pressure if you want good puncture resistance.
Also watch tyres for evidence of nicks & imbedded flints which will cause you probs.
Brand is usually a matter of choice as long as you aren't using really cheap tyres.

stevie_b

i wouldn't recommend ultremos for everyday use. they're a bit lightweight and easily damaged from my experience. not doubting their use as a race tyre though.

there was a recall on the new ultremo-R's recently. lots of people had problems with them literally exploding (some mid descent), and schwalbe are sending out replacements to those who bought faulty ones. i also noticed that the big basket of ultremo's in cyclesuperstore was empty during the weekend - either they're sold out or all sent back.

ROK ON

Hi - Have been a very big fan of Armadillos - have them on my commuter.
I have never believed what was said about handling in the wet. (I have cycled on them in wet, snow and icy weather w/o a problem).

This morning I had two rear wheel slips with them where bike almost went from under me while cornering (saved by my superiour bike handling skills or more than likely low centre of gravity). Both occurred in the park on relatively new tarmac. Will think about putting back on the gatorskins I had (which kept puncturing!!!).

Just wanted to share that - have never had it before, but maybe what folks say about armadillos in the wet is true. I recant.

keith_d99

quenching wrote: »

Schwalbe Marathon Plus, in stock in various sizes.

I've used Continental Sport Contacts for the last 800 miles without a puncture, just put them on a new bike also. Come with a free tube and a years puncture guarantee - they'll replace the tyre tube if you get a puncture.

+1 on the Sport Contacts .... yet to get a puncture with them!

Stark

ROK ON wrote: »

This morning I had two rear wheel slips with them where bike almost went from under me while cornering (saved by my superiour bike handling skills or more than likely low centre of gravity). Both occurred in the park on relatively new tarmac. Will think about putting back on the gatorskins I had (which kept puncturing!!!).

Just wanted to share that - have never had it before, but maybe what folks say about armadillos in the wet is true. I recant.

I've had an occasional slip in the rain in the Gatorskins as well (didn't come off the bike thankfully). I wouldn't let a once off slip put you off a tire.

macadam

Ordered the continental GP4000s tyres should have them tomorrow, so i decided to fix the two punctured tubes, both had a pin hole and when i repaired them , they both blew out about an inch same side of the valve with only 20 psi.

Cheap tubes?

redmenace1

macadam wrote: »

Ordered the continental GP4000s tyres should have them tomorrow, so i decided to fix the two punctured tubes, both had a pin hole and when i repaired them , they both blew out about an inch same side of the valve with only 20 psi.

Cheap tubes?

Or bad luck. assuming there isn't any debris causing the problems, put it down to one of those things.

macadam

No debris in the tyre and both punctures were in different places.

Are there any tubes you guys can recommend, quality wise that is , the ones i tried to repair were thrown in by the dealer and they seem bad quality.