Upgrading Tyres

jasonb · 17-02-2025 10:24AM #1

Hi all,

I have a 3/4 year old Trek Domane AL2. I use it for a couple of Sprint Tri races I have done. I don't have money/plans to upgrade the bike, but some research online has suggested that changing the tyres is a good "bang for buck" upgrade. The bike came with Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite 700x25 on the front, and Bontrager AW3 Hard-Case 700x28 on the rear. I hear a lot of good things about the Continental GP5000s, and wondered if upgrading both tyres to GP5000 700x28 would be a good idea? I'm not expecting to suddenly be really fast, but I have heard the upgrade can help, and can also help how the ride feel (and right now the bike just feels sluggish)

Looking for any advice, thanks! Is the upgrade worth it (BikeInn have the GP5000s for €50 each at the moment). Do I go with 28s on both, or skinnier on the front, like it currently is?

Thanks!

68 lost souls · 17-02-2025 10:40AM

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews - They don't have the R1 but the R3 is there which is already an improvement over the R1. Theres is roughly a 5 watt advantage of a GP5000 and it will handle in the wet better. Tyres can be a great bang for buck upgrade alright. Jsut amke sure that the fork ahs clearnace for a 28. I'm pretty sure the Domane should have plenty of clearance but worth checking.

jasonb · 17-02-2025 11:01AM

Thanks for your quick reply. I would assume the fork has clearance as the back wheel is 28, and I found a datasheet online that I think is for my version of the Domane AL2 (as there are different Generations etc.) that says the max tyre size is 28, but I'll check to make sure.

CramCycle · 17-02-2025 12:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123179870#Comment_123179870

Also make sure that your wheelset won't cause them to ballon out past 28mm. It is quite likely that the max tyre size is conservative so get a ruler and check is the best thing to check first.

I love the GP5000s, find the grip and confidence in cornering to be exceptional, not sure about the speed differential between your current tyres and them but I found that having that confidence allowed me to push harder into corners and so on.

Definitely the best bang for buck you will get.

jasonb · 17-02-2025 12:29PM

Two positive votes, thanks!

As it happens, I've just realised that I could actually go down the Bike to Work scheme route and get a new bike, but that's a whole other research rabbit hole to get lost in. For the moment I'll keep it simple and go with a tyre upgrade. Looks like two 700x28 GP5000s are the way to go, once I make sure the fork has clearance for the 28s.

Bluejohn1 · 17-02-2025 12:44PM

I run the cheaper Grand Prix on my road bike. Think they've slightly better puncture protection and only slightly slower going by the bikerollingresistance, but they've been great and never had a puncture. Set up with TPUs.

I do have a pair of Schwable Pro Ones TLE waiting to go on whens these wear out. Got them in a sale on Mantel for around €35 each before xmas.

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Continental/Grand-Prix-28-Folding-Tyre-p26223/

MojoMaker · 17-02-2025 02:10PM

Another vote here for a tyre change - those tyres you have are bricks.

Switch up to high-end Conti or Schwalbe tyres and you won't know yourself.

You'll also automatically feel faster, which is half the battle 😃

jasonb · 17-02-2025 02:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123180279#Comment_123180279

There's another question, should I also look at changing the tubes in the tyres to Latex or TPU? Or is that less of an upgrade for the money?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123180571#Comment_123180571

Joking aside, that's kinda what I am thinking… If you feel like you're going faster/moving easier whatever, that probably ends up with you actually going faster. So much of it is mental! I think €100 on Conti (look at me, using the lingo!) GP5000s is something I can afford that will be a clear uprage.

CramCycle · 18-02-2025 02:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123180620#Comment_123180620

Less of an upgrade in my opinion and increases chances of issues (latex pinch flats, TPU have been a bugger for me with faults and stiffness). Go with the tyres first and enjoy the change.

jasonb · 18-02-2025 03:10PM

Thanks a lot, I have the tyres ordered, we'll see how I get on with them when they arrive!

this.lad · 20-02-2025 10:00AM

I'm late to the party here but I think that the stock wheels in the AL2 are tubeless ready if you wanted to go that route.

jasonb · 20-02-2025 07:09PM

Thanks! They are indeed, but for the moment I think I'll stick with what I am familiar with, and maybe look into tubeless at a later date.

jasonb · 24-02-2025 11:40PM

Well, so far the new tyres have gone from Spain to Denmark to Germany, so hopefully they will make it to Ireland at some stage!

jasonb · 02-03-2025 06:13PM

Sigh… According to the tracking website the tyres have been in Germany for the last week with with no progress. Will have to contact Bikeinn to tell them the delivery is lost…

CramCycle · 02-03-2025 08:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123225290#Comment_123225290

That will happen with some shippers, they won't treat it as lost just yet.

jasonb · 02-03-2025 08:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123225696#Comment_123225696

Yeah, I am sure they will make me wait a certain amount of days before they accept that it's not going to arrive. But with no update in a week, I really doubt it's gonna get here. Rather frustrating, as I was looking forward to trying them out, but I'll get my hands on them eventually!

CramCycle · 02-03-2025 09:44PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123225790#Comment_123225790

I've had that on one or two deliveries, where they get stuck in Germany. I presume its a cost saving measure from one of the Couriers who bank the cheap no guaranteed delivery date into a container. Got stuck in Germany for about 5 to 8 working days from memory.

jasonb · 02-03-2025 09:53PM

Ah, thanks for that, maybe it's not lost and just "not important enough to ship yet"! :)

jasonb · 03-03-2025 02:23PM

Looks like you were right CramCycle, the parcel "has now reached Ireland" :)

ratracer · 03-03-2025 02:40PM

I was chasing a delivery that was supposed to have been here last Monday, there was a port workers strike in Cherbourg last week so no freight was shipped. Should be getting back on track now, just need to clear whatever backlog will be there. I’m told I should have delivery on Friday/

MojoMaker · 03-03-2025 08:12PM

BikeInn normally take around 3 weeks to get an item to Ireland, so hang on!! Worth waiting for, but deffo one of the slowest online retailers out there.

Alltricks aren't much better to be honest.

jasonb · 03-03-2025 09:55PM

Thanks a lot, it's looking more positive now that it's in Ireland!

jasonb · 04-03-2025 08:50PM

And they finally arrived, and are now on my bike, so we'll see how they feel the next time I go out! Thanks for all the advice, it's much appreciated!

jasonb · 05-03-2025 08:59PM

So, I went out for a spin this evening with the new Continental 5000 GPs on, and I had also took a chance and got some Tubolito TPU tubes at the same time, so they were on too.

Obviously I had read reviews and got advice here that it should be faster, but I was more hopeful than expecting that to be the case. I did my usual 20km route, and notwithstanding the fact that it's hard to compare one day's cycle to another, but I was 4.5 minutes faster than I was last week! It's the fastest I have done 20k since 2022. I think some of it was the tyres, and some of it was the feeling I was going fast, which encouraged me to go fast! So thanks to everyone for their advice in this thread, I am very happy I made the upgrade! :)

Bluejohn1 · 07-04-2025 01:56PM

I decided to head out for a quick spin with the Schwable Pro Ones TLE with tpus in. My usual quick run up to the view point on top of military road from Firhouse. PRs the whole way up and I got to the top nearly 8 mins quicker.

Dunno if its the new tyres or the 8 odd kilos i've lost since the new year 😅. The suppleness of them compared to the standard Grand Prix I had on before. They're not even setup tubeless yet…

MojoMaker · 07-04-2025 02:38PM

And don't send them tubeless either!!

The 8kgs lost, plus some fitness gained, would have a pretty large effect on your climbing speeds alright, but the tyres are probably kicking in something around 2%.

Pro Ones are lovely rubber alright.

MangleBadger · 07-04-2025 03:47PM

I took my good bike out for its first spin of the year on Sunday. I had just fitted 32mm GP5000s and TPU tubes.

Bike obviously felt better since its carbon and deep wheels over alu/alu. But fatter tyres were definitely a noticeable comfort improvement.

CatLick · 13-04-2025 07:51PM

My recent tyre/tube history...

Zaffiro 30s basic but cheap. Ok for commuting.

Conti Grand Prix 28mms Nice and reasonably priced. Only 28 size I think which might be a bit narrow for Irish "tarmac".

Pirelli Cinturato 32 bullet proof but slow and average ride quality.

Vittoria Corsa N.EXT 32. Comfortable and fairly fast. Puncture free so far.

Re Tubes ,

Butyls were grand, best for day to day use

Latex were faster and nicer feel but pressure loss is a dose for day to day use. Maybe put on a spare wheel set if you have that!

TPU was a waste of money. Both tubes failed near the valve and I don't trust them enough to repair.

monkeyslayer · 13-04-2025 11:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123353769#Comment_123353769

How did you find getting those Vittoria Corsa N.EXT tyres onto a rim? and more importantly have you tried taking them off?? I literally had to use a screw driver to get them off here at home, if they'd been carbon rims I'd have had to cut them off. Had to change, couldnt ride them with any sense of confidence that I could cycle home if I punctured.

CatLick · 14-04-2025 01:04PM

Actually ok. I guess it's down to the rim and the tyre. I wouldn't have an issue going out with them. There was a bit of a depression on one but I pumped it up to max, left it overnight and it was gone by the morning

magicbastarder · 27-04-2025 06:50PM

tyre question - i've been riding zondas (rim brake) with 25s for years, and just copped that the rear tyre is showing degradation; 2018 zondas would take 28s with no issue, i assume?

FWIW the tyre is a michelin pro 4 and i'd have hoped to have gotten more mileage out of it than this; it's not badly worn, but the rubber looks like it's perishing.

Upgrading Tyres

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