My favourite road tyres ranked (in early 2026)

You can spend anything from £20 to £120 on a single tyre for your road bike, but how do you know which ones are good? There are numerous ways, of course, but for no other reason than to make a fun YouTube video and comment piece, I’m going to attempt to rank all of the main road tyres that I’ve ridden in recent years. 

Ahead of the nice weather arriving in a month or two, this is also a good chance to look at what equipment I want to use on my bike this year.

Given that my road riding is almost exclusively group riding, most of the tyres are designed for such a purpose, though there are some harder wearing models from days gone by which I thought deserved a mention.

Before we dive in, I’ll reiterate that this is all my opinion and my opinion only – we’ve reviewed plenty of these tyres, and some road.cc reviewers have differing observations to me. If you’d prefer a slightly more structured approach to the round-up process with a wider selection of tyres – and from a wider pool of road.cc reviewers –  then why not have a look at our road tyres buyer’s guide. We’ve also just announced our road.cc Recommends Tyres of the Year if you want some award-winning rubber on your bike. 

I’ve used the Japanese ranking system here, with ratings from S through to D. S-tier is sort of like an A+, but fancier. 

GP5000 S TR (£85)

Continental’s GP5000 S TR is a belter of a fast road tyre. They’ve served me for many happy miles since I first got my hands on them.

These are grippy, fast, and I have found them to be relatively robust, though my front tyre did get slashed by glass in France last autumn. Throughout, I have been impressed by their ride quality, though a slightly more supple casing would be nice.

The RRP price on this tyre is a bit high, but online you can find a set for under £100, which I don’t think is too bad.

Rating: A

S-Works Turbo (£55)

Specialized’s basic S-Works Turbo tyres are what you’ll find on the brand’s more budget-friendly road bikes, but there is little that I like about this tyre.

The casing and compound both feel very firm, creating a ride that is just a bit dead. Add in that Specialized sends its SL8 out of the door with these in a 26mm size and I’d be looking to get them replaced very quickly.

Rating: D

Michelin Power (£70)

Back in my early road.cc days, I tested a set of Michelin Power tyres and the experience cost me a few tyre levers and the (temporary) functionality of my thumbs. 

They were ridiculously tight to fit and the ride wasn’t much better, but now, Michelin have improved things massively. They’re nice to fit, ride well in mixed conditions and you can often find a good deal on them.

Rating: B

Continental Gatorskin (£40)

How I ever rode a 23mm Continental Gatorskin at 100psi around anything resembling a corner is beyond me. The compound and casing were both rock solid, and while the toughened shell protected me against some punctures, the tyres were so hard to remove on a cold day that you had a job to get a new tube in.

Thankfully, we now have tubeless to shelter us from most little punctures and I can’t see myself ever returning to tyres like the Gatorskins.

Rating: C

Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS (£85)

My most surprising tyre of last year was Pirelli’s top-end race model. I’d ridden a few older Pirelli models and really didn’t get on with them, but since they swapped their manufacturing base, things have improved massively.

The P Zero Race TLR RS is one of the fastest tyres according to Bicycle Rolling Resistance, and there’s also loads of grip and decent online pricing.

Rating: A

Vittoria Zaffiro (£15)

Over the years I have tested a number of bikes with the most basic Vittoria Zaffiro tyres on, and it’s always a disappointing tyre to see. The ride quality can nearly always be taken to dizzy new heights by swapping these tyres out. 

Rating: D

Schwalbe Pro One (£77)

Schwalbe was one of the first brands to get things right with road tubeless, and the Pro One quickly became popular. I like the version with the Super Race casing and the Addix Race compound.

It’s a good day when a test bike comes fitted with these tyres.

Rating: A

Specialized RapidAir TLR Race Day (£75)

I selected the RapidAirs for the budget race bike build video we did recently and while they set up easily and provide a fast ride, I never fell in love with them.

My key gripe is that they never felt great in the corners, and looking around online, it’s hard to find deals matching the likes of Continental and Vittoria.

Rating: C

Vittoria N.EXT (£70)

The Vittoria N.EXT tyre is a really tricky one for me to get my head around. This high mileage training tyre uses a 100tpi nylon casing and a vulcanised construction. There is a little more puncture protection than in the Corsa Pro race tyre, but I can’t really see a case where I’d buy this tyre for my bike over the race tyre, or its wet weather Control version.

The real-world price is up near what you’ll pay for the race tyre, it feels quite a bit slower, harsher to ride and it is tighter to fit. 

Rating: C

Continental GP5000 AS TR (£90)

The wet weather version of Continental’s GP5000 tyre, however, is excellent for one key reason. This is a brilliant road tyre that comes in widths that I find excellent for winter riding and commuting.

Like the N.EXT, it is a little slower than the racing model, but I don’t think the difference is that big with the AS TR. It’s also easy to set up and I’ve found it to be very robust. £90 is rather expensive though, Continental.

Rating: B

Vittoria Corsa Pro (£90)

The only tyre that I’d personally be prepared to honour with ‘S’ tier status is Vittoria’s Corsa Pro. This has everything I want: a beautiful 320tpi cotton casing, fast rolling speed, great cornering grip, and plenty of websites offering bundle deals for a set.

Might I also suggest that these are the nicest tyres to look at? Apart from the logos. They’re annoyingly big.

Rating: S