tyres for winter use?

I have Cont GP 4 Seasons and have just bashed round Cornish lanes, including the Camel Trail (plenty of mild rocky sections and gravel), with no shortage of mud and slurry.  Plenty of grip and good mileage until the odd random puncture means a new tyre is needed.  There's usually an on-line deal to get them at around £30 a tyre so they get my vote.  Can't be bothered with summer and winter tyres so they're my all-year round option.

Luxury choice would be the old Vittoria Pave CG 27mm+ latex tubes (greater puncture resistance IME than butyl as they seem to deform around sharps rather than get pierced by them). Maybe with a bit of sealant too if the roads are really bad.

I've been using the 4 season Conti's (25s)  for years and have found them excellent - think I've had one puncture in perhaps 5 winters of hard use, and the ride and handly perfectly well.  Similarly, I have Schwalbe Durano Plus (40% off on Wiggle at the mo) on my commuter and they have been very good.  I've just put Hutchinson Epsilon 28s on one bike, and though the winter's not really here yet, so far so good - they are widely on offer at the mo too.   The Yksions however, are totally hopeless unless you like standing in puddles mending punctures, and I've never met anyone who's done anything other than hate them from the get-go and got shot asap.  My last pair just went from rim to bin - I wouldn't even give them away because noone I really hate rides a bike.

Depends how much and where your riding is. If you do mostly road riding, commuting and occasional weekend warrior thing...even GP 4000 S2 can push you through the winter (if not at the end of the life). To be honest, I'm planning the same.

On the other hand, if you anticipate a lot of "wet and filthy" road riding, maybe go for one of the heavier duty ones (Armadillo, Gatorskin etc.). Otherwise, I wouldn't bother and waste money but it seems you already got 4Seasons. They should be great tyres. Enjoy!

I had the GP4000 Sii' on my new cross bike 1½ years ago. Terrible puncture protection - 3 of them within a month. Then got Schwalbe Durano Plus - a double puncture on one ride and impossible to fit in near freezing temperatures is not fun. Dumped them after 1 month.

By accident I stumbled upon Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite. All I can say is: no punctures in one year so far. Never had that expereince before and they sit on said cross bike which I use from October through March=winter time and wet roads on most days. I know we all have our stories about punctures but might be worth a try.

I had Vittoria Rubino Pros on my winter bike, switched them for Conti 4 seasons which made a HUGE difference - super grippy and fairly supple, not as good as my Vittoria Open Corsas or the GP 4000 SII's that I replaced the Corsas with.

The 4 seasons are durable as well as fairly fast and supple if you ask me.

conti 4 seasons are fine durability wise but are horribly rigid and give no real feedback. Sold mine after a couple of rides as they made a noticeable negative feel.

I used Schwalbe Ultremo double defence, these are better than the Duranos grip and performance wise and much lighter too but still offer good puncture protection.

depends on what you want the most, some offer more than others and you have to sacrifice a little in some aspects to gain in others. 

some still swear by Vittoria Rubino pros, I had them for years on my commuter in all weathers without any issues and are a bargain these days at circa £14.50 for the pro III variant.

My earlier comment from this article:

http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/205166-15-best-winter-tyres-%E2%80%9...

dottigirl wrote:

I'm not entirely convinced you need to change your rubber for winter riding. 

I've been riding Conti 4000s for the last five years, throughout the year. To my thinking, in winter, when it's damp and the road surface is poorer, you need tyres with better performance, not worse. Opting for harder rubber with less grip in poor conditions leads to accidents. I've seen it happen.

What I prefer to do is reduce pressure by 10-15psi instead, and check my tyres religiously for any shards that are likely to work their way through.

As others say, you can do a lot worse than the pro4 endurance which if rolling resistance tests are to believed, are also very fast.

From road.cc's review of the Mavics:

"The single compound doesn't offer quite the same high level of speed and traction of more expensive dual and triple compound tyres, but these are good winter and commuting tyres that will go the distance,"

They are probably fine.  Most importantly, experiment with pressures to see what suits you. For 28mm I suggest starting with psi of rider weight (in kg) and try 10 psi either side of that. For 25mm I'd add 10 psi to the starting point.

I'd agree with StraelGuy re. Michelin, found the Pro4 Endurance an even better tyre than the Durano, the winter/commuting benchmark. I'm sure its replacement, the Power Endurance, won't be any less good. But in the end opinions on tyres are as varied than one could imagine and there's no substitute for trying them for yourself.

The key thing for me in winter is wet grip. I had Conti 4 seasons for the last two winters which are superb - pretty much designed for grip. On a whim I replaced them with Michelin Power Endurance and they seem to have good wet grip and roll a LOT faster than the 4 seasons. Just my 2p.