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Tyres for winter? Gatorskins? Marathons?

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  • September 16, 2015 at 6:31 pm #24809
    roadgenius4

    I have a specialized Sirrus with stock 28mm espoir tyres on at the moment. They are ok in the dry weather however now winter is approaching and the rain is starting I am in need of some winter tyres.
    I would like to go for 32c as I think this will give best grip and comfort. I mainly cycle city roads and a few tow-paths and gravel tracks.
    I have considered the following:
    Schwalbe Marathon Greenguards
    Schwalbe Marathon Plus
    Continental Gatorskins

    I understand the Schwalbe’s are a lot heavier and don’t roll as well however have excellent puncture protection.
    I previously used 35c Schwalbe Greenguards on an old hybrid bike and they were quite slow and heavy. Also cornering wasn’t as grippy and nippy due to the thick treads.
    I like the look of the gatorskins as they are light and I favour speed over puncture protection. My question is which tyres will have the most grip on wet roads?
    Open to other suggestions as well -If 32’s are too wide then i could use 28’s etc.
    I am assuming gatorskins will be equal to the dry performance of the current espoirs.
    Thanks

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  • September 28, 2015 at 5:08 pm #859929
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    Exup

    I prefer Conti GP 4 seasons
    I prefer Conti GP 4 seasons over Marathons. In my experience they seem to have much better wet weather grip, better puncture resistance and roll faster.

    September 28, 2015 at 11:00 am #859927
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    S13SFC

    I use Michelin Endurance Pro
    I use Michelin Endurance Pro 4s.

    Tough & glued to the road but with good rolling resistance.

    Rode 1000s of KM last winter both on shitty urban roads and shitty country lanes and suffered 1 puncture and that was from our friendly hawthorn hedge trimmers in the early Autumn.

    September 24, 2015 at 11:04 pm #859925
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    tjm160

    Recommended by a friend, I
    Recommended by a friend, I use Vredestein Fortezza Senso All Weather 25mm on my best/summer bike. I’ve only done 600km, but love them. They roll and grip just great and the colour options add a bling appeal.

    Having got on so well with these, I ordered the Vredestein Fortezza Senso Xtreme in 28mm for the wet/winter bike this evening.

    September 24, 2015 at 6:13 pm #859923
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    mike the bike

    Never ridden on Vredesteins
    Never ridden on Vredesteins Nick but they had a very, very good review in last month’s Cycling Plus.

    September 23, 2015 at 9:26 pm #859921
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    Nick0

    http://road.cc/content/review
    http://road.cc/content/review/126182-vredestein-fortezza-senso-xtreme-tyres

    Gatorskins are EVIL in the wet. These ^ are really very very good winter tyres but oddly take a while to wear in. Grip is excellent in all conditions, as is puncture protection. And they can be had for a bargain price (check Ribble)

    September 22, 2015 at 6:43 pm #859919
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    greenlight

    Conti 4 Seasons for me,
    Conti 4 Seasons for me, commuting every day in central london not a single conventional puncture for two years solid. However the sacrifice is the side walls are not the toughest but the flexibility and weight benefit from this and that is the trade off that must be made. So despite a sidewall tear last year required a tyre replacement i couldnt go back to heavier, styrdier sidewall tyre.

    September 22, 2015 at 6:36 pm #859917
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    nortonpdj

    Conti 4 seasons 28mm. 260g
    Conti 4 seasons 28mm. 260g and 330 tpi. Light, comfortable and built for Paris-Roubaix.

    September 22, 2015 at 8:21 am #859915
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    230548

    have used gatorskins for the
    have used gatorskins for the past two winter seasons and had one puncture total,i am doing three rides a week aprox. 50/60 miles per ride, all on new forest roads with a lot of grit and flooding

    September 21, 2015 at 4:52 pm #859913
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    mike the bike

    Or you could find some
    Or you could find some Ultremos, which were reputedly much more puncture resistant than the new One. A truly superb tyre. And they are now commonly heavily discounted to shift the old stock.

    September 20, 2015 at 8:58 am #859911
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    Tintow

    mike the bike wrote:I was

    mike the bike wrote:
    I was averaging a flat a month on the Contis and have reduced that to one a year riding Schwalbe.

    I’ve been using Conti GP 4 seasons for a while now and the only real niggle is they are a nightmare to get on and off the wheel. I recently tried Schwalbe One as they got great reviews and they felt great, grippy and a good ride, however, after less than 200 miles I’d had two punctures, one where a small stone ripped the sidewall so badly the tyre was ruined. Back to the Conti’s for me.

    September 20, 2015 at 7:04 am #859909
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    spatt77

    hi, i`ve had durano plus on
    hi, i`ve had durano plus on my winter wheels for 2 years now, zero punctures, roll well and grippy. only downside is the ride is not as good as my summer tyres but that`s to be expected.

    September 19, 2015 at 9:27 pm #859907
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    Morat

    Two punctures on the last
    Two punctures on the last ride with Gatorskins (one standard, one hardshell).
    One tiny 3mm flint and one thorn.

    That was on a heavy tandem though!

    September 18, 2015 at 11:11 pm #859905
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    bikerdavecycling

    Gatorskins for me were just
    Gatorskins for me were just far, far too sketchy. Found some forums called them Skatorskins. Puncture resilience excellent, grip terrible. I’d look at anything else. I use Vittoria Pave which are very comfortable, and have supreme grip. But I have punctured on them, and they don’t last over about 2k miles.

    Good grip and long lasting wear are not compatible in my opinion.

    September 18, 2015 at 5:22 pm #859903
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    mike the bike

    You are not alone Batchy, in
    You are not alone Batchy, in your amazement at my intense disappointment with Gatorskins. I have a good pal who has just bought a £2800 titanium bike and he specified that tyre as he loves ’em so much. And I could name at least a dozen others who swear by the things; they do indeed have many fans.

    I have a couple of theories that might account for some of this loyalty. First, many of my friends are teetering on the edge of old age, I myself am retired, and we grew up in an age when tyres were, well, complete crap. Some, I swear, were made of black cardboard or possibly old lace curtains. And along comes Conti with a half-good product and the older generation laps them up. If they only kept up with more recent developments they would soon appreciate that things have moved on a lot in a short time.

    Secondly, I commuted for many years on my bike and a flat was more than just an inconvenience, it could make me late. So my dislike of punctures was perhaps more deep-seated than that of a leisure rider who had all the time in the world.
    Such experiences have made me much more critical of tyres than many riders, I really want the best I can afford.

    But, all that aside, the facts speak for themselves. I was averaging a flat a month on the Contis and have reduced that to one a year riding Schwalbe. (You know what will happen tomorrow don’t you?)

    All the best.

    September 18, 2015 at 2:56 pm #859901
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    Batchy

    mike the bike wrote:Batchy

    mike the bike wrote:
    Batchy wrote:
    You can’t go wrong with Gatorskins.

    It may be me, my wife says it usually is, but my 12-month adventure into the land of Gatorskin was a disaster. On our gritty, gravel-strewn roads I suffered flat after flat and I can’t say I found the grip inspiring either.
    When my patience eventually snapped and I bought some Schwalbe Durano Plus they were a revelation. I’ve had only one puncture in the last year and the bike definitely feels more planted as well as more cushioned.
    No contest.

    Well I reckon that you’re damned unlucky as Gatorskins have given me relatively trouble free winter cycling year on year !

    I have commented about my other favourite tyres on Road cc. These being Michelin Lithion 2s that IMO are terrific value for money and are in my experience extremely puncture resistant and are good performers wet or dry .

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