Road bike tyres

[braindancer]

continental gp4000- best tyres on the market bar none, their lack of armouring is made up for by a super tight weave carcass that also adds to grip and responsiveness. the best profile for cornering and the highest quality rubber inevitably comes at a price: 35-45 quid a piece

If you shop around on the web you can find gp4000s for less than that... I certainly did.

 

[newharper]

If you shop around on the web you can find gp4000s for less than that... I certainly did.

Yup,

Continental GP4000 S - 2007 Black 700x23 - £23.09

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/continental-gp4000-s-item110763.html

 

[newharper]

I'm ashamed to say I still haven't put the second new tyre on.

My fingers still hurt from the first. I wonder if a bike shop will do it for me?

Yeah, while you wait, and with a smirk.

 

[Greebo]

Shouldn't be a probem getting a bike shop to fit the tyre for you - the puncture resistant ones can be buggers to fit anyway.

When they first came out, I was given a set of hedgehog tyres (for a bike with 26" wheels) - and my dad went out into the garage to fit them. After an hour, he came back, adamant that the tyres were the wrong size because there was absolutely no way they could be persuaded onto the wheels.

So off I went the the LBS that'd sold the tyres (taking them, a book, and the bike), and asked them to either exchange the new tyres for ones which were the right size, or to (please) fit them for me.

Bloke looked at the tyres and my bike, asked me to wait, and disappeared into the back of the shop. There was a lot of banging, stifled swearwords, grunts, etc heard in the following 3/4 of an hour, but he emerged with both hedgehogs fitted. 3/4 of an hour, even with an assistant, a workshop of specialist tools and being a v experienced bike mechanic...

Sometimes it pays to make it somebody else's problem. I think they charged, but it wasn't a lot, mainly because the tyres (and the bike) had been bought there.

Even my dad cheered up when I told him how much trouble the LBS men had had.

 

[weepiper]

Bloke looked at the tyres and my bikee, asked me to wait, and disappeared into the back of the shop. There was a lot of banging, stifled swearwords, grunts, etc heard in the following 3/4 of an hour, but he emerged with both hedgehogs fitted. 3/4 of an hour, even with an assistant, a workshop of specialist tools and being a v experienced bike mechanic...

Sometimes it pays to make it somebody else's problem.

I agree with this... my boss had to fit a pair of tyres the other day for someone, now this is a man who's been a mechanic for 20 years, I've never seen him need to use tyre levers to get a tyre on before, and it took him an HOUR to get these damn tyres on the rims. The average punter wouldn't have had a hope with them.

 

[oneflewover]

This is what I use and have had no punctures and also as a recommendation, this is what are on the Paris hire bikes, Veleb?

 

[editor]

I went hundreds of miles without a puncture on my 700C Kevlar lined tyres, so I can definitely recommend Kevlar.

 

[Herbsman.]

Vélib

 

[oneflewover]

Vélib

ty

Saw them being used in Paris, all types of people all over the place. Seems a great idea.

 

[Herbsman.]

innit

 

[durruti02]

continental dura skin have always done me well

 

[nino_savatte]

I'm using Continental Travel Contact tyres. So far, so good.

 

[turing test]

SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS.

People really need to use these tyres.

I am surprised people like this tyre. I recently posted this on another board.

The most annoying tyre on the planet is the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. My wife bought a pair of these in a bike shop in Frankfurt about 2 years ago. They are on her commuter. Oddly she likes them.

They have the thickest tread I have ever seen and I swear you might just as well be riding on solid rubber. Anyway that’s not the real problem.

Because the tread is so thick they tend to slip off the rim hook. But it seems to be very unpredictable. I have blown off these tires at least 3 times. Sometimes you pump this Damned Schwalbe up leave the room and ten minutes latter-BAM. It’s like some fucking Gnome sneaks in and pulls the bead up.

Now the stupid German tire monstrosity on the back has decided they will no longer fit on the rim they were just on-or any other as near as I can tell. Why Why Why doesn’t this ****ing tire fit back on the wheel? The tubes the same, the rims the same, the rimstrip is new but essentially is the same. Right now I have it mounted and pumped (a hand pump) sitting next to me, on a older Mavic rim with a different tube. The bead popped off as I was writing this. At least I heard it and it did not blow.

Maybe if I could find an old 27 inch rim it would fit on that.

 

[Boycey]

turing test- schwalbe's QC department are shite. i remember a huge batch of BMX tyres with internally frayed carcasses, instant lumpy tyre and a puncture quick to follow. the issues with the bead on the marathon pluses not holding the rim hook have been about for a while, i get around it by inflating them in stages and reseating the tyre on the rim every 20psi or so.

WRT to getting your LBS to fit the tyres: the profile of my thumbs is now paddle shaped after 12 years fitting your tyres.

I went hundreds of miles without a puncture on my 700C Kevlar lined tyres, so I can definitely recommend Kevlar.

lolz

 

[turing test]

turing test- schwalbe's QC department are shite. i remember a huge batch of BMX tyres with internally frayed carcasses, instant lumpy tyre and a puncture quick to follow. the issues with the bead on the marathon pluses not holding the rim hook have been about for a while, i get around it by inflating them in stages and reseating the tyre on the rim every 20psi or so.

This is the shit I have been looking for.

After three tubes and fuck know how many tyre changes. I will have a drink on Boycey

 

[Herbsman.]

That;s odd turing test. I've not had that problem with mine. They fit my rims fine. I quite like the thick tread... it feels 'different' and it's not as supple as thin tyres, but at least it will outlast the other tyres I've been using. I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of ride comfort for longevity and the knowledge that I'm far less likely to get a puncture at work. I doubt I'd use the same tyres on a non-work bike.

 

[durruti02]

sorry tell i lie, i've been on "Bontrager Race X Lite Hard Case" ( 700x25) for over a year! (got conti's on my spare wheels) and NO punctures with hundreds of miles on them .. they are dual compound apparently! has to be said they are slippery in wet mind

 

[Boycey]

after killing my conti gator skin hardshell within 9 months i can safely say that bontrager race lite hard cases are the best tyres ever. i've used and thoroughly destruction tested pretty much every road tyre designed for commuting (schwalbe durano and durano plus being notable exceptions, they have very similar construction to the conti hardshells so won't be much different) and they have the best mix of puncture resistance, long life and handling.

BEST.TYRES.EVAR

 

[Biddlybee]

How long should an average tyre last do you reckon Boycey?

I didn't rate my race lites for puncture resistance, but not sure if they just needed changing sooner.

I've got a pair of panaracers on now, which are a bastard to change, but ok so far *touches all the wood*

 

[Boycey]

i usually get at least a year out of my hardcases, i probably average 100-150 miles a week these days.

 

[Biddlybee]

ah ok, that works out about right, mine lasted a couple of years. ta

 

[Mr Moose]

I went hundreds of miles without a puncture on my 700C Kevlar lined tyres, so I can definitely recommend Kevlar.

I bought my son expensive kevlar Vittoria Cross tyres for racing. One ripped 2 inches in the sidewall during his warm up. But that's cyclocross for you.

Replaced them with some agricultural looking Smart Sams which lasted a whole season and beyond.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Higher pressure rolls better & faster,

This is not the case. see here

Wide tires do not roll slower at lower pressures. In fact, testing indicated that a wide tire at lower pressures rolls faster than a narrow tire at high pressures, if all other factors remain the same. Even narrow tires can be ridden at comfortable pressures with only very small concessions to performance........Perhaps the most important result of the test is that tire pressure does not significantly affect rolling resistance. Wide tires in particular do not need high pressures to roll fast. But because many current wide tires are designed to handle high pressure, they have strong casings that lack suppleness. This results in higher rolling resistance than necessary.

 

[Greebo]

This is not the case. see here

Well done, it's only taken you nearly 3 years since I posted to find that information.

But thanks for posting it anyway.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

just because it took me three years doesn't make you any less wrong

 

[Greebo]

just because it took me three years doesn't make you any less wrong

Nor, as far as I can tell, does it make you any less smug about it. Happy now?

 

[Lemon Eddy]

I agree with this... my boss had to fit a pair of tyres the other day for someone, now this is a man who's been a mechanic for 20 years, I've never seen him need to use tyre levers to get a tyre on before, and it took him an HOUR to get these damn tyres on the rims. The average punter wouldn't have had a hope with them.

Seeing this thread's been resurrected, I always meant to ask: doesn't that mean the rider is going to be absolutely screwed if they ever need to change a flat?

 

[Boycey]

Seeing this thread's been resurrected, I always meant to ask: doesn't that mean the rider is going to be absolutely screwed if they ever need to change a flat?

if they're paying a bikeshop to fit their tyres in the first place they aren't likely to be doing it themselves any time in the future.

 

[weepiper]

Seeing this thread's been resurrected, I always meant to ask: doesn't that mean the rider is going to be absolutely screwed if they ever need to change a flat?

He did actually stop and phone the owner and say 'do you really really want me to do this' halfway through. I can't remember what the tires were now but they were something like Schwalbe Marathon Plus type things so punctures were fairly unlikely anyway.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

they were something like Schwalbe Marathon Plus type things so punctures were fairly unlikely anyway.

I'm starting to think I'm the only person in the world to fit Schwalbe Marathon Plus and not have a problem. Nokian spiked ice tires, on the other hand, were a hand shredding nightmare.