Vredstein tires?

[benb]

Anyone use these... ? Are they any good?

Nashbar is blowing some of them out.. if I'm willing to ride around with yellow or blue tires or something I can save $50 or so.

They all advertise the capability to run 160psi.. I've been running 115psi on my 700x23 Michelins... I'd probably try 115-120 on these too.. or go to the 700x25s and run 100 or so... the roads just suck here..

The tires on sale seem to be various models of the Fortezza.

Reviews on roadbike review seem to complain a lot about sidewall failure & bulges.. but I'm wondering if that is when folks pump up to 160psi trying to go for that rock hard ride and high rolling resistance.

[Birddog]

I run some Fortezza Tri Comps. I have had no sidewall issues and I run them at my standard 110# rear 100# front. They seem to be a reasonably good tire. Not great mind you, but OK. I Prefer Michelin's Pro Race, but I use the Vreds on a Campy wheelset that is almost impossible to mount Michelins on. I believe they even recommend running them at the higher pressure, but I never have.

Birddog

[OtayBW]

I run TriComps on the rear at pretty high pressure (~140 psi). Not the cushiest of rides, but it's been very rugged with low rolling resistance.

[TMB]

I run TriComps on the rear at pretty high pressure (~140 psi). Not the cushiest of rides, but it's been very rugged with low rolling resistance.

Well,

No tire at 140 PSI is going to be cushy ........................

I fail to understand why anyone would ride a tire when it has the consistency of a brick and then expect it to be "cushy"

Run Vreds at around 110 or so and they are a very nice riding tire.

[tuco]

i ran the tricomps several years back ... or more. at the time, these were rated to 145 lbs/psi and i had them running quite close to that. else, pinch-flats (me > 210 lbs at the time). i don't consider this to be a great tire for rough roads.

seems to me the tricomp was euro-made and imported. later (c2002?) made in the u.s. (or not). price kept going up.

the "sticky" compound was nice, except that it wore out too fast for me to use as an all-around tire.

the prices at nashbar are good. $30 is about the price point for me. yellow sidewalls at $25? hmm.

[93LegendTG]

The TriComps are a nice tire and that $25 price for a black 700x25 is very nice. Stay away from their Fortezza SE version. The SE has half the TPI of the regular or TriComp Fortezza and wears quickly. Having said all that, I prefer the ride and durability of a Michelin ProRace tire.

[TAW]

Since everybody's experience is a little different, I'll throw mine in and you can decide. I've run them now for about 3 years and I love the Fortezza Tri Comps. I've had the Michelin Pro Race 2s on the same set of wheels, (along with some other tires) and I like the Tri Comps best. They feel softer to me, ride better, and I've had them anywhere from 115 to 145. They're not as durable in my experience than the Pro Race 2s, but I like the feel much better.
I'd highly recommend them.

[michael white]

nice tires. . . I agree with others that they don't seem as durable; they wear, fade, cut, show their age pretty soon . . . but I always thought the ride and quality is about as good as anything

[Mr. Butterworth]

One of my favorite tires. I've run Tri-Comps for years with good success and recently started using the standard Fortezza model in 700x25, which are great for the busted up city streets and seem to last a good, long time.

I typically run around 115 to 125. Any time I've gone up to the 145 level I feel like they run with less comfort but no greater speed that I can tell.

Plus, the Tri-Comps come in cool colors...

[Orin]

The TriComps are a nice tire and that $25 price for a black 700x25 is very nice. Stay away from their Fortezza SE version. The SE has half the TPI of the regular or TriComp Fortezza and wears quickly. Having said all that, I prefer the ride and durability of a Michelin ProRace tire.


I agree about the SE. I consider it to be a cheap tire that's marked up in price so they can sell it "on sale" at $25 or so and still make a profit...

Orin.

[regularguy412]

I highly recommend the Fortezzas. I've used 2 sets and had a good experience both times. In fact, I'm still running both sets. One tire (the one with the cut) is on the back wheel of my trainer bike. The other one is on the front of my rain wheelset. The second set is still on my OPs that see duty on my CSI.

I run them at a more normal 120 psi. The 23s seem to have a nice round profile and appear to end up being slightly wider than 23 mm (tho I've never actually measured them on my OPs). I've experienced practically no tread cuts and the one cut I did have, did not go thru to the casing, nor did it get any worse. They wear like iron and roll really well. The only real drawback, IMHO, is that they are a bit on the heavy side, if you're counting grams on wheels. For the money, I can't recommend a better training touring tire.

I've never used the TriComps, so I can't comment. They advertise that they are a bit lighter.

Mike in AR:beer:

[Ti Designs]

Everybody makes different demands of a tire. Some expect them to wear like iron, some want the cushiest ride, others want them to stick like glue and still others want them to coast uphill. You're just not going to get all that in one tire. If you want the one tire that does well in every catagory, try the Michelin Pro2's (the jury is still out on the Pro3's). Conti GP4000's roll better than most, but nobody is saying great things about their ride quality. The parameter I pay close attention to is grip - they need to stick. Again Michelin has the top position there with the Pro Grip, the the life of that tire is measured in meters, not miles. The TriComps are second only to the Pro Grips, and for the amount of traction they afford, the wear isn't that fast. There are a few corners on my normal rides which require serious grip. I've tried out a lot of different test ride tires, most of which I've given back. If I can't keep it on the road on a fast corner, no cost savings or extra mileage is going to make up for it.

As for the ride, there are plenty of studies on tire pressure, rolling resistance and ride quality. I have yet to see one that finds any reason to go above 120 PSI. If you're looking for a softer ride, try a wider tire.

[Louis]

If you want the one tire that does well in every catagory, try the Michelin Pro2's (the jury is still out on the Pro3's).

Are the 2's still in production, or will they be discontinued in favor of the 3's?

[thinpin]

Ive ridden fortezza and found them fine. Better than C4000 on corners not as good as Michelins pros or maxxis courchavel for grip but still good age/cracking now after 300kms but still OK. I run them at 110

[skatzman]

Anyone use these... ? Are they any good?

Reviews on roadbike review seem to complain a lot about sidewall failure & bulges.. but I'm wondering if that is when folks pump up to 160psi trying to go for that rock hard ride and high rolling resistance.

I have been lurking here for a while but didn't feel like I had a lot to contibute until I saw this thread. So here goes my first post on this forum.

I have been using Vreds - both the Fortezza and the Tri-Comp, but mostly the Fortezza for 10+ years and have raved about them. They were, for me, the best combination of what I look for in a tire. I recommended them to my cycling friends and most agreed that they were an awesome tire.

The tire boxes used to have on them "Hand Made in Holland". About 3 years ago I heard that they moved their manufacturing to the far east, presumably to save money. They now say only "Hand Made". I should have been more astute when Danny from CritUSA told me he stopped carrying them because of their drop in quality, but I just found another source and kept buying them.

I even used the 25's on my tandem until about a year or two ago. I bought my usual half dozen and had a big tread delamination on my first ride. Replaced it and less than 5 miles into the first ride with the replacement, I got a sidewall failure blowout. I went home and checked out the rest of the batch, mounting and inflating the remaining tires and every one had a defect - either a bulge or an out-of-round.

I do not use more than 110-120 psi on my singles and only 125 psi on the tandem so that was not the issue. Fortunately Biketiresdirect was very cooperative and took back the entire lot. I ended up paying the difference to go with Conti Gran Prix 4000's and have been very happy with them. ATMO, they are better in every way than the Fortezza, even when the Fortezza's weren't defective.

Additionally, I have seen instances where other cyclists have had premature failures on Fortezza's or Tri Comps.

So to sum it up, I would no longer recommend Vredstein Fortezza and in fact would recommend that people stay away from them. BTW I have no ulterior motives for the above recommendation.

[tuco]

I have been lurking here for a while but didn't feel like I had a lot to contibute until I saw this thread. So here goes my first post on this forum.
...
The tire boxes used to have on them "Hand Made in Holland". About 3 years ago I heard that they moved their manufacturing to the far east, presumably to save money. They now say only "Hand Made". I should have been more astute when Danny from CritUSA told me he stopped carrying them because of their drop in quality, but I just found another source and kept buying them.
...

Nice post :)

About the "quality" issue: I noticed the quality change too, but thought (and was reticent to suggest) that this was due to US manufacturing. My bad.

I'm still curious to know if there are Vreds made in "Holland" today. The TriComps are often advertised that way.

I just pulled out an old wheelset with one "Handmade in Holland" (TriComp) and one "Handmade" (Fortezza). Never noticed this before.

[edl]

I've used at least 4 sets of $25 Vreds from Performance/Nashbar. I've never had any sidewall/bulge problems with them, they are good tires with strong flat resistance, slightly wider than your average 23 (which is a good thing in my opinion). Run them around 100-110 and you should be fine. I've never tried running them above 125, ride is too harsh and the increased psi doesn't make me go any faster.

I've also run 3-4 sets of Michelin Pro Race tires. IME, they have excellent grip and road feel but tend to flat anytime you start thinking about flatting. Only the Hutchinsons flat easier than Pro Race.

[benb]

Thanks everyone..

I've generally been a huge Michelin fan.. I tried Continental several times but hated them.. otherwise I've been doing the same thing as a lot of riders.. Axial Pro -> Pro Race -> Pro Race 2.

For the last 3500 miles or so I've been riding Krylion Carbons.. they really don't have noticeably worse grip then the "Race" Michelins.. and they are the only tire I'm going to have worn out without a single flat. Amazing.

But I pulled the trigger, I bought 4 of the Fortezza Tricomps in Red/Black 700x25 @ $29. Hopefully they work out fine. That was the cheapest combo and I have red decals on my bike so it won't look too ridiculous.

I also bought 2 Hutchinson Scorpion Tubeless tires for my MTB @ $22 each ($55 normally) I've had the tubeless rims for 2 years and have yet to try tubeless tires.. hopefully that works out well.

The Nashbar page claims handmade in Holland.. it'll be interesting to see what the sidewalls say.

[rickygarni]

I have been riding Fortezzas (primarily TriComps) since 1999. Yesterday my mechanic pointed out that my rear tire tread was flat after 1600 miles (I keep track of these silly things.) Several years ago, I could ride the same tire (same bike, same riding conditions) and get at least 1000 more miles out of them. And so, like many of you, I am returning (happily, I suppose) to Michelin (ProRace 2's – my natural suspicion keeps me with the tried and true!)

Ricky

[jemoryl]

When buying car tires I was told that Vredstein is a division of Michelin. Now Michelin recently moved bike tire production from France to Thailand (going from ProRace 2 to 3), so maybe the same thing has happened with Vredstein?