What Road Tires Do You Suggest?

[Chicken Little]

Gatorskins all the way.

[Dogmama]

Conti 4-seasons for me. But I think any continental tire is good. I just hate flats. Conti's also come in colors.

If you're concerned about flats, get some decent tubes too. I ride butyl michelins & like them. Race tubes are too thin. I buy the tubes from Amazon for a fairly good price.

[KerryCrow]

Conti 4 seasons for me...put over 3 k of pretty tough NC,SC roads on them last year. No flats, just started to lose their tread shape.

[goldfinch]

What do people recommend for 650 tires in 23 or 25cm?

[goldfinch]

How about these?

Hey, I should have looked! Thanks.

[Sky King]

ok, I just have to chime in. Just got back from riding 35 miles on my 650B X 2 inch Grand Bois Hetre's - average speed just under 16mph on my all steel touring bike (unloaded), no tailwind, no drafting. I am an average 56 year old bike rider.
HUGE smile on my face. Our roads are all chip seal. I can't imagine riding a 23cm tire, ever. Even the pro's ride at least a 25cm and sometimes a 28cm in road races.
For me, comfort, no pinch flats, no getting bucked off at the slightest bump or pot hole.
I hope you decide on at least a 25cm and hopefully a 28cm.

Feel free to go read the Schwalbe website about speed and tire width and rolling resistance. OH and go have fun

[goldfinch]

ok, I just have to chime in. Just got back from riding 35 miles on my 650B X 2 inch Grand Bois Hetre's - average speed just under 16mph on my all steel touring bike (unloaded), no tailwind, no drafting. I am an average 56 year old bike rider.
HUGE smile on my face. Our roads are all chip seal. I can't imagine riding a 23cm tire, ever. Even the pro's ride at least a 25cm and sometimes a 28cm in road races.
For me, comfort, no pinch flats, no getting bucked off at the slightest bump or pot hole.
I hope you decide on at least a 25cm and hopefully a 28cm.

Feel free to go read the Schwalbe website about speed and tire width and rolling resistance. OH and go have fun

I would like to get 25s for my Madone that also has 650 wheels. But I can't seem to find the Continental GP4000s in that size, only the 23s. Any other good tires to recommend?

(If you are average I am very below average. Which I guess I am for a rider that rides quite a bit.)

[Sky King]

[QUOTE=goldfinch;642567]I would like to get 25s for my Madone that also has 650 wheels. But I can't seem to find the Continental GP4000s in that size, only the 23s. Any other good tires to recommend?

you aren't below average silly, you just need a NEW BIKE - KIDDING

okay I did some research, Terry makes a 650C in 28mm. Not finding any 650C in a 25. TELLUS TT TIRE 650 X 28C (28-571)by terry MSRP is $45.

To determine if they would fit, measure the clearance (where your tire goes thru the frame) Look at your existing tires and see how much room you have
on the front fork and two spots on the frame on the rear (where the tire passes thru) The bike hermit is thinking you'd want to have 32 mm at bare minimum to fit a 28 mm.
Typically tires will measure slightly smaller than stated - around 26 mm as opposed to 28 mm.

Hope that helps, how frustrating to be limited to only a 23mm.

[goldfinch]

[QUOTE=Sky King;642698]

I would like to get 25s for my Madone that also has 650 wheels. But I can't seem to find the Continental GP4000s in that size, only the 23s. Any other good tires to recommend?

you aren't below average silly, you just need a NEW BIKE - KIDDING

okay I did some research, Terry makes a 650C in 28mm. Not finding any 650C in a 25. TELLUS TT TIRE 650 X 28C (28-571)by terry MSRP is $45.

To determine if they would fit, measure the clearance (where your tire goes thru the frame) Look at your existing tires and see how much room you have
on the front fork and two spots on the frame on the rear (where the tire passes thru) The bike hermit is thinking you'd want to have 32 mm at bare minimum to fit a 28 mm.
Typically tires will measure slightly smaller than stated - around 26 mm as opposed to 28 mm.

Hope that helps, how frustrating to be limited to only a 23mm.

Thanks Sky, I'll measure for clearance.

EDIT: nope, not going to fit

[Sky King]

[QUOTE=goldfinch;642711]

Thanks Sky, I'll measure for clearance.

EDIT: nope, not going to fit

crap, if I come across anything I will PM you.

[Helene2013]

An old thread but it may do just the same instead of inventing the wheel. hihi

As recommended here somewhere on the forum for me, I am going to change my 23mm tires for some 25mm.

I called my LBS to see what they recommended for my Kuota's wheels (I have Amercican Classi Aero 420 wheels)
http://www.amclassic.com/en/products...els/420-aero-3

They said what is left in stock are the Roubaix Armadillo Elite at $80Cdn and the Armadillo All condition at $70. I will certainly shop on line before as prices are always a lot, even with the 15% rebate I get (it only covers our taxes here).

Now, I'm looking for comfort, grip and better control on my bike. I don't care much for speed, tight corners, etc. He said both are good but in my case, the all around would do just the same. The Elite is foldable. That would be the main difference.

I printed the specs of both tires and I don't understand all of it. ie. casing of Elite is 120tpi vs 60 for the all condition.

So which one would you opt to purchase for what I am looking for? Or would it be something different?

Price is not really an issue (although money does not grow on tree) as I like to have the best quality/value for the $ possible.

Thank you very much.

[Trek-chick]

I just bought some Continental GP 4000S for a great deal--got 2 for $80. Plan to use them with my new custom wheel set when it arrives, I heard great things about these tires.

[Owlie]

I have a set of Continental Gatorskins for both my road and CX bikes, though the CX bike still has the knobblies on there. 25mm for the roadie, 28mm for the CX.

I have a set of Continental Grand Prix 4000S for the road bike as well, once I've gone through the Gatorskins.

The TPI is "threads per inch" and is essentially the weave on the cloth that makes up the body of the tire. High TPI means that it'll roll more easily, but is less puncture-resistant. If you're going for puncture resistance and don't care so much about the rolling resistance, go for a low-TPI tire. Folding tires (probably the Elite) are lighter (in general) than a wire-bead tire. Wire beads are heavier, but they stay on the rim better. (Which is a plus if you ride hard, but it's a bear changing flats.)

I'm a Continental fan, myself. I don't know about the durability of Specialized's tires (I think that's what those are). For the Continental tires we've mentioned, the Gatorskins are higher rolling resistance (I think), less "grippy" compound, but are hard-wearing. The GP4000 is softer, a bit grippier. It's a "faster" tire. The downside is that it's not as puncture-resistant, though they may have changed something with the 4000S to fix that.

[Helene2013]

Thank you. I love your explanation too on the TPI.

So for me, I will look for a low TPI. I want to avoid flats. (told you somewhere I paranoid on that hahaha).

I was reading this to hubby and he said he would prefer not to use wire ones. He knew about changing flats and he'd be the one having to do this for me (lucky me I know!) I don't ride hard either. For time being, I mostly do bike paths (we have some nice ones around area) and I'm just fine for now with this. I am very careful where I "step" with my wheels. But I told him I wanted comfort and a tire that grips to the ground vs one that is barely touching the ground. I want to feel the road. Not fly over it.

Someone at work was telling me about the Continental Gatorskin Clincher. I'll have to look it up.
http://www.probikekit.ca/bicycle-tyr.../10780033.html

[TrekDianna]

I personally worry about avoiding flats more than anything. I like the Continental Gatorskins for that.

Currently I'm still using the tires that came the bike that I bought in September 2010. They're Bontrager Race Lites and I've been very happy with them.

Once I wear out the tires I currently have, which are 700x23, I plan to switch to 700x25, since everything I read about tires indicates that wider tires are more comfortable and also a bit faster. If 700x28 fits on your bike, it would be even better.

Agreed. I put 28's on my bike before leaving for Cycle Oregon - over 400 miles this last week and not a single flat! There were a couple guys I saw who seemed to be constantly changing flats.