tire comments/review

[tch]

OK, so I remember that several of you were interested in Roly-Poly's and other tires. Perhaps you remember that I said I was riding the R-P's but was thinking I would replace them -- it's getting to be that time of the season where I often put my bike in my car and getting the oversized tires in and out of my fork when I removed the front wheel was becoming a chore. First, let me say that I love the Roly-Poly's ride. I did comment on their weight, however.

So I have switched over to Veloflex Paves. What a revelation! They are MUCH skinnier tires (22C I believe) and at first I was panicking about the ride. But they are very nice -- supple and sensitive and stiffer yet forgiving all at once. I would say they are about 80% of the ride of the R-P's. The big difference was weight however: if feels like I have taken off chunky approach shoes and gone almost barefoot. The spin up is noticeable, as is the general "lightness" of the bike. I think I am much more conscious of the feel of the frame (Concours) than I was before -- previously I think I mostly felt the tires and now I am conscious of the weight, resiliency, "feel" of the frame as the ride has stiffened up a fair bit.

In sum, I would say that, while I loved the ride of the R-P's and will keep them for fall/spring riding, it has been a nice, and noticeable, change to skinnier tires.

Paves: lighter, easier to deal with (this is significant for me), very nice ride, somewhat stiffer. I think a very responsive, high-quality tire. I did start thinking about how skinny they were when I went into a slightly gravelly downhill corner fast; they don't have the "beef" of the wider tire. :)
Roly-Poly's: a really NICE ride -- smooth, fast (despite the "feel" of the lighter tires I am unconvinced they are significantly faster rolling), reassuring. If you have an overly stiff bike or wheels they would be a good mitigating element. Or, if you are a general pupose rider/tourer they are the ticket. :rolleyes:

[Marron]

I have tried the RPs on my Rambouillet and had the same experience. I guess it comes down to what you like, and I like a bike to feel lively. With the RPs the Ram felt like a tourer/slow bike. Not bad, but not what I enjoy. With a variety of much lighter and skinnier tires it feels just like an Italian steel racer from the 70's or 80's. In fact, the alteration to the geometry from the reduced tire height is quite pronounced; the bike feels like a hot rod not a clod.

I originally got the Ram to serve as a winter bike, a Merckx with fenders is how I characterized it. But with a light build and a small fit it's pretty hard to distinquish it from a Merckx at all. I deliberately chose to go down in size rather than up as Riv advises and have not regretted it. (I should add that the two other people I know who followed the Riv fitting converntion have been less than satisfied with the result.) I know this is wandering a bit, but it's interesting to me to see how you can tinker with the ride characteristics of a bike.

[bcm119]

I've been wondering about Paves for a while now, can anyone comment on how they compare to Michelin Pro Races? I haven't found a clincher that rides as nice as the Michelins yet, but the concensus on Paves is that they are VERY supple. Also, where do you buy them?

[davids]

I'll be switching to some brand new Paves this weekend, after cutting a Vredstein Fortezza Tricomp this morning...

This isn't a bad reflection on the Vredsteins - I've ridden thousands of happy miles on them. But I'm excited to try the Paves!

[Don]

I tried the Veloflex tires with no luck at all. Yes, they rode smoothly and as well as Vittorias, but they cut worse than the early Vittorias. My miles were a maximum of 800 to a minimum of 57 miles on the rears. I've switched to Pro Race and have ridden more than 2,500 miles on a pair. At that point, I replaced tires as a preventative measure. Now have more than 1,000 miles on my second set of Pro Races. Maybe my Pave karma just wasn't good!

[dgauthier]

I've been wondering about Paves for a while now, can anyone comment on how they compare to Michelin Pro Races? I haven't found a clincher that rides as nice as the Michelins yet, but the concensus on Paves is that they are VERY supple. Also, where do you buy them?

You can buy them at http://www.worldclasscycles.com. While you're at it, get the free Michelin A1 butyl tubes as well, if you're not using them already.

I've never ridden the Michelin's, so I can't make that comparison. If you've ever tried the Vittoria Open Corsa CX's, the Pave's ride is similar: very supple and grippy. However, at 22 mm and 60 grams less *per tire*, the Pave's are much quicker and more precise than the Vittoria's, without any of the Vittoria's plodding slowness. They don't flat anywhere near as often as the Vitt's, either.

[Ken Robb]

plodding slowness--we're talking lightweight tires here not my sprint performance. I thought the open corse were in the low 200-230 gram range. That's as light as I would ride for the road.

[shaq-d]

You can buy them at http://www.worldclasscycles.com. While you're at it, get the free Michelin A1 butyl tubes as well, if you're not using them already.

I've never ridden the Michelin's, so I can't make that comparison. If you've ever tried the Vittoria Open Corsa CX's, the Pave's ride is similar: very supple and grippy. However, at 22 mm and 60 grams less *per tire*, the Pave's are much quicker and more precise than the Vittoria's, without any of the Vittoria's plodding slowness. They don't flat anywhere near as often as the Vitt's, either.

vittoria has a rep for plodding slowness? i like the feel of my rubino's...

sd

[bcm119]

Thanks dgauthier.

I've never ridden the Open Corsas, but I've ridden a few other Vittorias and found them to be a little "squishy" sometimes, just not as precise as Michelins. I'm going to try the Paves.

[dgauthier]

plodding slowness--we're talking lightweight tires here not my sprint performance. I thought the open corse were in the low 200-230 gram range. That's as light as I would ride for the road.

vittoria has a rep for plodding slowness? i like the feel of my rubino's...

sd

Last time I was riding Open CX's, they were around 240-something. Veloflex Pave's are 180-something. Amazingly, the Pave's aren't "stupid light" - they're much more robust than the CX's! (Maybe the CX's are just "stupid-heavy"!) Rubino's are somewhere in between, in the mid 210's, if I'm not mistaken. My comments on the CX's shouldn't be taken to apply to the Rubino's, or any other model of Vittoria tire.

[davids]

I haven't ridden them yet, but they sure look purty!

[PBWrench]

I've ridden thousands of miles on the Paves and love them. Also try Gommitalia Targas -- essentially the same tire. David -- beautiful Seven!

[Jeff N.]

Davids: Can you tell me what king of barrel adjusters you have on your SEVEN? Mine are too small and I was considering a switch. Mine are on the head tube also, and some barrel adjusters are too big to really fit right. How do you like yours? Jeff N.

[Jeff N.]

Anyone try the new Specialized S-Works road tires? Very, very nice. They add a little extra livliness to the ride of my Seven Axion Ti. . Jeff n.

[jrm]

Just ordered a set of specialized Mondo for my road bike. They have the dual compound with a durometer of 75 down the center and 64 on the sides. I am looking for longer life since I only get about 1k out of a rear tire. See ya John. :banana:

[Jeff N.]

Just ordered a set of specialized Mondo for my road bike. They have the dual compound with a durometer of 75 down the center and 64 on the sides. I am looking for longer life since I only get about 1k out of a rear tire. See ya John. :banana:Right. Thats the tires I'm talking about: The Specialized S-Works Mondo's. You're gonna like 'em a lot! Jeff N.

[Kevin]

I like both the Vittoria Open Corsa and recently the Gommitalia Targas. I think the ride and the cornering of the Gommitalias is slighty better. I need to put a few more miles on them in order to opine on durability. The Vittorias are bullet proof.

Kevin

[MikeS]

I have been trying these for the past 1K miles and they are one of the best tires I have ridden. They can be run at higher pressure and ride smoother than other tires I have ridden. They are also confidence inspiring as far as cornering- to match my Ottrott ST. If you get the chance try them out.
I am riding the Stelvio Evolution front & rear set up - the first company to do 2 different compounds for front& rear.

[Lanny R. Levenson]

I've been very happy with the Michelin Pro Race tires. They seem to corner well and don't cut like the Vredestein TriComps. They are much easier to get on the rim than the Conti 3000 and I can get between 2000 and 2500 miles on the rear. I was wondering if anyone has tried the Tufo clincher tubular tires? I look at them and wonder if they would be easier to roll.

Lanny

[PBWrench]

Lanny -- I'm riding Tufo Jet Elite (closed) tubulars on a set of wheels. They are remarkable. I suspect that at 160 grams their durability will be limited, but I'll enjoy them while I can. I assume that their handling characteristics flow through to their open tubulars as well.

[ChamUK]

I'm riding on a pair of Schwalbe Stelvios. Very nice ride. Haven't seen anyone else riding them.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/racing.php?Nickname=STELVIO&Image=TireImages/stelvio.jpg

[froze]

I have tried the Vittorias and they are no where near bulletproof! You want a bulletproof tire then you need the Specialize Armadillo...but they are heavy. A tire I now like that has very good flat protection yet fairly light at around 228 grams is the Conti 4 Seasons; Conti has now extended one layer of flat protection into the sidewall-the only tire that has this feature besides the Armadillo! And Conti's flat protected sidewall is not anywhere near as stiff as the Armadillo but probably not as good since it is thinner. But so far the Conti 4 Seasons is far better than the Vittorias or Michelin or Vredestein or even the all the other Conti's.

I thought about trying the Spec S-Mondo but will have to wait at this point for tires to wear out.

[davids]

Davids: Can you tell me what king of barrel adjusters you have on your SEVEN? Mine are too small and I was considering a switch. Mine are on the head tube also, and some barrel adjusters are too big to really fit right. How do you like yours? Jeff N.
...uhhh... No idea, actually. :confused: Whatever Seven was using back in '99. I haven't had much call to tweak them, but they turn fine - A little resistance, but nothing difficult.

[ericmurphy]

I seem to be pretty easy on components (got 11,000 miles out of a Dura Ace 9-sp chain once), but the Axial Carbon (now just Carbon) Michelins on my Trek just seem to go and go and go.

The front tire has over 6,000 miles on it, and it still looks like a new tire. The rear has about 2,600 on it and looks like it might get twice that much before I need to replace it.

Michelin claims 30% more wear out of a Carbon than out of a Pro Race, so I'll have to see what kind of wear I get out of the Pro Races on my Legend.

I rode on Conti 2000/3000s for several years before I switched to Michelin, and I never got much wear out of the Contis. They'd be ready for the glue factory after a couple of thousand miles. When I switched to the Michelins, it felt like they maybe weren't quite as supple as the Contis, but I liked the feel of them nevertheless. They felt more solid, somehow, as if they made the bike feel more "planted." Better traction, maybe?

[Lanny R. Levenson]

Lanny -- I'm riding Tufo Jet Elite (closed) tubulars on a set of wheels. They are remarkable. I suspect that at 160 grams their durability will be limited, but I'll enjoy them while I can. I assume that their handling characteristics flow through to their open tubulars as well.

The tires look interesting. I wonder if the tire could come off the rim while cornering. I looked for your tire but I'm not familiar with the term "closed" tubulars. Reading about the Tufo clincher, it says that you can put 220 psi in the tire. I rode a set of Strattus rims with Conti Sprinter's and 160 psi. That is an impressive pressure and I still remember the vibration transmission.
Lanny

[dbrk]

Tires are one of the things that have actually gotten noticeably better over the years and since so much of the ride is in the rubber, this means that great tires can make an even so-so bike really much better, at least imho.

I ride allll sorts of tires, but very fat 35c Six Fifty Bee balloon style (on the '61 Herse) to skinny clinchers, including the fabled Veloflex Paves. My only complaint is that the more supple and beautiful a tire gets (at least a clincher likely because of the high pressure?), the worse they wear. 'Tis true that a light tire removes the Evil Rotational Weight, a rakshasa (N.B., Skt., "demon") no one particularly likes, but to fly with these angels will cost'ya'.

I've gotten to like so many different sorts of tires that I just buy what is on sale, especially on closeout. It's just not worth it to me to pay full pop when the difference between a Conti, Michelin, or Veloflex, etc. can be 50%. At heart I am a cheapskate and so likely to hoard the expensive stuff in a certain way.

With this new Tufo tape, I am not shy of tubulars anymore but you simply have to buy the very best of those to win their advantages. As for clinchers, I like ones that are round and have less tread in the center or height in the center. Among the worst offenders are Panaracer Paselas, though many swear by them, I find them too tall. I suppose that's about my only real peeve among my tire pets...

dbrk