time to shop...

Ladies,

Once again, I turn to all of you for your expertise :) My 50cm Bianchi Eros Donna (with 700cc tires) is due for a new pair of road tires. I use this bike for road riding only - I have another bike for tooling around town. I think I would like to balance speed / lightness with sturdiness insofar as there is a fair bit of ... [/I]crap[/I] on the sides of the road here. I would prefer not to flat all the time. I don't think I need to go as far as kevlar belted, but I don't know. I ride sprint and olympic distance tris too, but if I flat during one of those, I will just call the race over. I suppose what I'm saying is, I ride a steel steed, not terribly concerned about weight, but I also don't want to ride slugs. Suggestions? I did search for road tires threads before posting this, but it's possible I missed a key thread. Thanks!

I have Continental Ultra Gatorskins (or is that Gatorskins Ultra?) on my road bike and am very happy with their puncture resistance.

I'm partial to Vittoria Rubino Pros and, more to the point, to the price that I can usually get them for at www.probikekit.com.

thanks! Good places to start - and cool web site! Thanks for the link :D

I tend to go through alot of tires in the course of a season(multiple bikes). I have found that I have had very good luck with Maxxis and Schwalbe tires. In the Maxxis line, I ride the Courchevals and love them!! I also sell alot of the Detonator model in the shop. In the Schwalbe line, I'll sell a lot of different models... anything from the Lugano to the Ultremos that I ride. At any rate, any of the above are a good choice, it simply depends on what type of tire you want to ride and of course how much you want to spend.

I'll vouch for the gatorskins. I ride 25 and enjoy it. A lot of the people I ride with use Conti 4000 and like those too.

actually I am still riding around on 700 x 40 from MD hillslug. Quite the workout.

Love my new Vittoria Open Corsa's!

CONTINENTAL GRAND PRIX 4000!!!!

They have gotten me through 3 years of ironman training and racing, and I have yet to have had a flat. Oh wait I had one once!!

And we live in the desert- so lots of pokey things around here.

I sell a ton of the GP 4000's here, and have yet to have anyone complain.

+1 on the GP4000s... although they're by no means flat-free in my experience, they're reasonably sturdy, have gobs of tread life, and have a very quick feel. Plus they come in groovy colors, which will force you to scrub your freakin' tires whenever you wash your bike. :rolleyes:

I'd also say Conti GP4000's. They won't have the longest life, but for a good racing tire, they are quite durable. I prefer the grip of Michelin Pro Race tires, but they (especially the newer Pro3's) are kinda soft and subject to getting small cuts and glass stuck in them. I still find them to be durable enough for training for me, but if I was regularly riding through a ton of crap on the roads, then I would opt for something like the Conti's for training and Michelins for racing.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

I'd also say Conti GP4000's. They won't have the longest life, but for a good racing tire, they are quite durable. I prefer the grip of Michelin Pro Race tires, but they (especially the newer Pro3's) are kinda soft and subject to getting small cuts and glass stuck in them. I still find them to be durable enough for training for me, but if I was regularly riding through a ton of crap on the roads, then I would opt for something like the Conti's for training and Michelins for racing.

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I do love DC streets.

Did I ever tell you about the Fifty states ride? All fifty state street names in the District, all four quadrants, tons of glass, potholes, iron slabs covering those potholes, and, yes, heckling.

Hi,
you can try the Vredestein tricomp - I use them on all clincher wheels and they do great.

thanks everyone! During my reading yesterday, I happened upon good reviews for the Vittoria open all weather clincher - any opinions here? I will also look at those continental GP 4000s

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Originally Posted by madscot13

I do love DC streets.

Did I ever tell you about the Fifty states ride? All fifty state street names in the District, all four quadrants, tons of glass, potholes, iron slabs covering those potholes, and, yes, heckling.

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haha a former teammate did that ride last year. took him a long time.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

haha a former teammate did that ride last year. took him a long time.

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I had completed my first century the week before and I thought piece of cake. most miserable ride EVER. Nothing should take as long as that ride. Somehow I imagine the perfect scenario is a pair of sprinters who can pound it through the green lights and where one person knows the route perfectly.

besides all that my friend's bike started acting up, she got it fixed, but took a dive over her bike while going over an overpass.

I did the 50 States ride the first year they held it. It was a super hot day in June and I thought I was going to die. Every time we had to wait at a red light, the heat coming off the cars and off the pavement was like a blast furnace.

I got a flat tire during that ride when I hit a pothole near Eastern Market. That was back when I was still using the stock tires that came on my bike.

I'll be in DC in July - anyone want to take me on the 50 states ride while I'm there? ;) ... it should be NICE and cool in July :cool:

While I love the Vredestein Tricomps-they feel light and fast, and have an almost sew-up feel to them-not as jarring as others I have used- they cut really easy. I was inspecting mine last week (about 1000 miles on 'em), and found something stuck in the front tire. It was a pointy rock. On looking closer, I found multiple cuts in the rubber. So I looked at the rear and found a cut over 1/2" long that went almost all the way through. I don't know how it held together like that. I was bummed as I tossed them away and put on Corsa CX's. They ride like crap compared to the Tricomps. Not that they are bad, they just don't have the give, the smoothness and the feel. Gonna ride them till they wear out or get cut up, then buy Tricomps again. Cuts or no cuts, they feel better and I am going to have to get used to replacing them often.

I have now the Schwalbe Ultremo's and they are absolutely great! Very good grip, fast... and i did the female Tour of Flanders on Sunday with them (cobble stones et all) and no problems at all!

http://www.schwalbetires.com/ultremo_r

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Originally Posted by ginny

I'll be in DC in July - anyone want to take me on the 50 states ride while I'm there? ;) ... it should be NICE and cool in July :cool:

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how bout I mail you the 4 page cue sheet and say that I am there in spirit?