Tires?

[overmyhead]

I'm just wondering what everyone prefers for tires. I don't race but ride several charities and a century or two each season-1000-1500 miles per year. A few years ago I began using Conte 4 Seasons and have had great luck with them as far as flat protection goes but I'm getting sick of seeing the sidewall begin to unravel as they do. Although I'm assured by several sources that it it doesn't comprimise the integrity of the tire, it is hard to have confidence in that considering that the problem has been present for a few years now and they haven't addressed it. Any suggestions on a good, solid all day tire with some decent TPI that doesn't weigh more than my wheel?
Thanks

[palincss]

What size wheel and tire do you use?

[false_Aest]

Pro 3s.
Schwalbe Ultremo
4000s
Evo CX II

They're all good.

Pro 3s are sticky on the descents which is what I like. I get about 1500 miles out of my rear and 2000 out of my front. At 4800 miles for the year I have 2 flats that have everything to do with the fact that I ride on semi-busy streets in Los Angeles.

4000s are also very nice. They last longer (+500 miles or so) but I'm not a fan of them on tight/fast switchbacks. It could be in my head though.

Ultremos seem to be a little more sensitive to the air (pollution/salt)---they crack quickly.

EVO CX IIs feel effing awesome with latex tubes. I only tried them out though. Never wore through em.

I tried Rubino Pros. Eh. They're tires.

I tried Hutchinson Equinox cause they were 9.99 from BonkTown. I've never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever flatted so much in my life. Seriously like 10 times in 2000 miles.

FWIW, I've only ridden 700x23 cuz I'm tiny and light. SoCalSteve is bigger and heavier and swears by the 700x23 4000s.

-----

I'm also pretty sure that this has been covered a bunch of times. Other answers can be found via the search option.

Also, I commute to/from work on my Pro3s.

[Ralph]

I'm also thinking about the same thing. I ride Conti Gator Skins in 700X25 for my daily sweat on bike.....They rarely flat and they don't ever wear out. But they ride very rough. My "Sunday" bike has PR2's, in 700X23. I've still got a couple new ones. A great tire in my opinion. They ride terrific, don't flat too much, but they don't last very long. I'm interested in buying a 1/2 dozen new tires to use same tires on both bikes, maybe just one notch away from a race tire like PR3's. Thinking maybe Heliums.

[tuxbailey]

GP 4000s are nice :)

[AngryScientist]

the vittoria evo cx 320tpi tires are probably the nicest riding clinchers out there. pr3s are also very nice.

[Tim]

Michelin Pro 3 race- last a long time and are super comfortable to ride. (good in the wet too)

[Likes2ridefar]

I've had nothing but bad luck with pr3's but do agree with the others that they ride great and feel grippy.

I've had far better luck with conti 4000s and they are my most commonly used clincher tire. i also really like the 320TPI vittorias but they wear out very fast and, imo, should mostly be used for racing only or someone who rides on very clean roads and doesn't mind going through lots of tires. my father recently went from the 23 to the 25 Vitt and says they are amazing.

Consider a conversion to tubeless. Thats the way of the future. better in every way, in my experience, than conventional clinchers. Easy to set up, sigifnificant reduction in flats with sealant - basically none, better traction, smoother riding...

[sevencyclist]

Slight thread drift. How do you know the tires are wearing out?

On MTBs, the tread wear are obvious when the edges of blocks are rounded and stop to hook up well. On road tires, many tires don't have treads where the rubber meets the road. How do you determine? Is it when the tires starts to have more flats?

[Steve in SLO]

Slight thread drift. How do you know the tires are wearing out?

On MTBs, the tread wear are obvious when the edges of blocks are rounded and stop to hook up well. On road tires, many tires don't have treads where the rubber meets the road. How do you determine? Is it when the tires starts to have more flats?
On a road tire, several hints are present:
When you look at the tire as in cross section, if the center of the tread has lost its roundedness and has flattened, the tread rubber is wearing.
Take some air out of the tire (down to about 10-15psi) then push in with your fingertip at the center of the tread, then along the side of the tread, near the sidewall. If the center 'feels' thinner, then there is probably less than half of the factory tread remaining.
If you get a flat and have to take the tire off, you can run your hands along the edge of the tread rubber and down the midline for a comparative thickness. This 'manual micrometer' is usually pretty sensitive.
You can look into small glass/debris cuts for the casing. By doing this you can usually judge how much tread material is left.

[Pete Serotta]

Brett for Conti has been harping on me for the last 2 Ride the Rockies. I am sold on the CONTI 4000s for sure. Before that it was Michelin and Victoria ones,

[Steve in SLO]

Back to the original post, I have been VERY happy running Kenda Kaliente L3R Pros. For a fairly budget tire, they are grippy, sensitive, and puncture resistant. My 700x23s weigh 210g, IIRC. I got over 1500 miles on my last rear tire with lots of climbing and high speed descending over rough surfaces in those miles. At 180#, I'm no pixie either.

[Squint]

Slight thread drift. How do you know the tires are wearing out?

The flat spot on rear tires will appear quite quickly. I just rotated a front tire to the rear and it developed the flat area in just a few days of riding.

The tire is done when the casing shows or when the tread begins to separate from the casing. When you flex the tire and wrinkles form in the center of the tread, it's worn very thin and separated from the casing.

I just retired a rear Krylion with about 7,000 mi. The only other tires to be retired due to wear were Armadillos which got like 8-9,000 mi (rear).

[overmyhead]

Thanks to everyone for all the input. Maybe I wasn't specific enough about the Conte problem. The sidewall near the edge of the wheel begins to unravel at around 500 miles. It is usually noticed by threads hanging off the wheel. It appears to be a superficial layer and doesn't seem to comprimise the tire. Has anyone else had this problem with the 4 Seasons? How about the 4000s?
I'll check into some of the other suggestions. I did try Vitorias for a season - loved the ride but they do seem to wear quickly.
Thanks again.

[veloduffer]

I have used Vredstein Fortezzas for years and have been quite happy with wear and suppleness. I also like the Bontrager Race X Lites - good value IMHO and available in both 23 and 25.

[znfdl]

overmyhead:

I have switched to a combination of velocity a-23 rims with vittoria cx tires, amazing ride.

[alexstar]

Thanks to everyone for all the input. Maybe I wasn't specific enough about the Conte problem. The sidewall near the edge of the wheel begins to unravel at around 500 miles. It is usually noticed by threads hanging off the wheel. It appears to be a superficial layer and doesn't seem to comprimise the tire. Has anyone else had this problem with the 4 Seasons? How about the 4000s?
I'll check into some of the other suggestions. I did try Vitorias for a season - loved the ride but they do seem to wear quickly.
Thanks again.

My Gatorskins never had any issues with loose threads over about 1500 miles.

I've been riding a pair of grand prix 4-seasons for about 2000 miles and they just started shedding threads last week. I'm not concerned but will monitor the situation. They still have plenty of tread, so I intend to ride them until they wear out or until the thread unraveling thing becomes alarming.

[flydhest]

I'll check into some of the other suggestions. I did try Vitorias for a season - loved the ride but they do seem to wear quickly.
Thanks again.
This is interesting. My first reaction was to tell you to get some super tires, Vittorias or PR3s. The critique is often that they wear fast, but you said you only do 1500 miles a year, so I would think that wear is not much of an issue. A teammate of mine rides fairly cheap tires. I asked why--he puts on 15,000 (he has a very flexible work schedule and a great deal of discipline) miles a year. 5 sets of tires a year, I wouldn't drop $70 per, probably. I get in about 5k miles a year, so I go for some value tradeoff. If I only did 1500, I'd buy whatever felt best.

[rickbb]

I've been running GP 4-Seasons for three years (~7000 miles) with only one flat. They, too, exhibit the thread shedding but the tread wears out long before the threads could cause an issue. It is annoying, though.

[spacemen3]

You might want to also consider Challenge Elites (http://www.challengetech.it/products/road/elite-017/en).

[russ46]

I switched to Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX 700 x 23s when my originals wore out. While subtle, the ride was vastly improved. I recently found a deal on 700 x 25s & switched about 300 miles ago. What a difference! Besides the smoothness of the 23s, the 25s added a tremendous increase in comfort & a feeling of better tracking on downhills with rough pavement. I really haven't noticed any difference in speed.

[EastCoastRoadie]

Continental 4000S

Fast, grippy, and super durable.

[Peter B]

Conti GP 4000S for best combo of durability and feel
EVO CX II when feel matters most

[false_Aest]

EVO CX II when feel matters most


http://www.trojancondoms.com/Product/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=48


These too.

[Steve in SLO]

http://www.trojancondoms.com/Product/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=48


These too.

And about the same resistance to blowouts, too. :crap:

[pdmtong]

conti 4000s wear like iron. IMNHO, great all around

PR3s...love them but don't wear as well


evo CX...these things cut like paper. heed the clean road advice or be prepared to go through tubes like crazy

[vqdriver]

i'm also a low mileage rider, so i don't worry about treadwear at all. i've been pretty happy with open corsa 25s, but i've got a pair of ultremo 28s i'll be trying next.

[swithouski]

Vittoria Open Pave...anybody? comes in black again too... Thinking about giving them a shot with my new build - Thoughts?

[rockdude]

conti 4000s wear like iron. IMNHO, great all around

PR3s...love them but don't wear as well


evo CX...these things cut like paper. heed the clean road advice or be prepared to go through tubes like crazy



You speak the truth...

Don't worry about the threads coming off the tire, the tread will wear out before the threads are an issue. The Conti 4-seasons are a great wearing tires and with reasonable good ride. PR3's are a better ride but will not last as long. Then their are the EVO CX's and Veloflexs etc.. Great rides but not very durable. I have moved from the less durable tires to the more durable one over the last several years. Heck, when you ride 20 hours a week durablity becomes more of importance