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Tyre Recommendation Required

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  • June 23, 2011 at 1:05 pm #13686
    mmelhorn

    Hi i’m new to road cycling and did my 2nd sportive last weekend South of Swindon. After 5 punctures in the first 60km (one was my own fault from a pinch flat)I was a dispirited man and thinking of giving up. However I’ve been told just to buy new tyres from more experienced riders and have been recommended Gator Skins. However another mate says they are too heavy and not worth it. What is the general opinion? I’m never going to set the world alight with my ability or bike ( a giant defy 2) so just want to enjoy it but still be quick enough to stick with my mates who are fairly good so i’m not left on my own (and so i get a draft when the going gets tough).

    All recommendations would be helpful – thanks

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  • June 23, 2011 at 9:21 pm #646461
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    jijiandnoah

    I have Conti Attack/Force –
    I have Conti Attack/Force – they were great to start with but the moment I found myself on a flinty road I had 2 punctures within a mile of each other, so the jury’s still out.

    Would be interested to know if anyone else has experience with these and how they’ve found them

    June 23, 2011 at 3:02 pm #646459
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    handlebarcam

    Gator Skins and Grand Prixs,
    Gator Skins and Grand Prixs, in fact probably all reasonably lightweight Continental tyres, have a reputation for weak sidewalls. Suddenly, there is a loud band, and the tyre is ruined. This is far worse than a puncture, because it requires you to improvise or carry a tyre boot, to stop the repaired inner tube from bulging out of the massive hole in the side of the tyre as soon as you pump it up again. The sidewall failures seem to happen regardless of the pressure you put into them, or whether you are riding them at the time. I can attest to this, as it is has happened to me three times, twice in my shed in the middle of the night, once out on the road. Indeed I have never worn out the tread that is in contact with the road surface on a Continental tyre, because the sidewall always went first. In contrast, I have worn Schwalbes and Vredesteins almost down to the canvas. At least that way I can see the need to replace a tyre coming, and I’m not paying for, and transporting around the place, rubber that I’ll never get to use.

    June 23, 2011 at 2:29 pm #646457
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    NorthernRouleur

    If you’re riding on flinty
    If you’re riding on flinty roads then IMHO nothing get’s close to Schwalbe Stelvio Plus’s, unless maye you’re using the later model Durano Plus’s from the same manufacturer.
    2 full winters of riding on them on small flint and gravel strewn back-roads (let’s say approx 3000 miles) in Surrey, Sussex and Hants and not a puncture to be had. What you spend on the tyre you save 3x over in inner tubes.
    Just be a bit circumspect when you first put them on, they take a couple of hundred k to “rough up”; until then they can be a tad “interesting” 👿 around wet corners.

    June 23, 2011 at 2:16 pm #646455
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    theAngusT

    My road bikes are all shod
    My road bikes are all shod with Conti rubber – all on GP4000s tyres.

    They stick like the proverbial to a blanket in all but monsoon conditions and the Vectran makes punctures a distant memory.

    Worth the money and great for the confidence.

    Go for the 25mm and enjoy the ride!!

    June 23, 2011 at 2:04 pm #646453
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    stewieatb

    I have Schwalbe Blizzards on
    I have Schwalbe Blizzards on my steel bike, they were on it when I was given it. Haven’t had a puncture in the 2 months and probably 900km, it’s done club rides, training rides, and a sportive in the Dales. Okay in the wet, run them at 110psi and they’re pretty quick.

    June 23, 2011 at 1:46 pm #646451
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    2byte

    Your right to go for the
    Your right to go for the continentals for sure, I got some Grand Prix and they haven’t had a puncture for 3 months now (After my Lugano Schwalbes would get a puncture almost every week).

    Don’t know about the Gator Skins, friend said the Armadillos were really slow too.

    There’s a good graph of the Continental range here:
    http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/road.shtml

    June 23, 2011 at 1:40 pm #646449
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    John_the_Monkey

    Gators rolled ok for me (25c
    Gators rolled ok for me (25c wire on, at the 95psi recommended pressure) but I loathed them in the wet – slippier than a slippy thing.

    I use 25c Pro Race 2 on that bike now.

    FWIW, my tyre experiences in a nutshell are here;
    http://monkeyphotomcr.blogspot.com/2010/08/rain-and-tyres.html

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