Specialized S-Works Turbo tires question(s)

[SoCalSteve]

Hi all,

Not sure who mentioned liking this tire, but I thought I’d try a set on my new Pinarello. I really like them! The ride quality is great and they feel very grippy around curves.

If it matters, 700 x 28 on ENVE 3.4’s. I have about 100 miles on them now.

My questions are:

1.) Are they prone to flatting, side wall tears, etc? My first thought would be yes because they do ride so nicely. I’m coming from GP4000II S 700x25 which have been stellar in the not flat, not rip, not do anything but work category.

2.) Long term wear? Again, my thought is not very long for the same reasons mentioned above.

3.) Unlike other brands, Specialized stuff seems to be pretty well price protected. Any deals to be had on these tires? From where?

As always, thank you very much in advance!

Steve

[Mzilliox]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

Hi all,

Not sure who mentioned liking this tire, but I thought I’d try a set on my new Pinarello. I really like them! The ride quality is great and they feel very grippy around curves.

If it matters, 700 x 28 on ENVE 3.4’s. I have about 100 miles on them now.

My questions are:

1.) Are they prone to flatting, side wall tears, etc? My first thought would be yes because they do ride so nicely. I’m coming from GP4000II S 700x25 which have been stellar in the not flat, not rip, not do anything but work category.

2.) Long term wear? Again, my thought is not very long for the same reasons mentioned above.

3.) Unlike other brands, Specialized stuff seems to be pretty well price protected. Any deals to be had on these tires? From where?

As always, thank you very much in advance!

Steve

i have some tubular versions and they have held up well so far.

not sure as to the rest, but specialized does do a buy one get one free tires every now and again.

[ikecycke]

I can't speak to their durability as an everyday tire, but I had them on my race wheels all last year and they were fantastic (700x26 version). Weekly races from March-August and I was still on the same pair.

[AngryScientist]

excellent riding tires, but they do wear fast.

i've had good luck with durability otherwise, but that's just a matter of luck.

spec generally runs a sale about twice a year where they offer some big discount on tires. last year it was buy one/get one. wait for their sales.

it's sometimes fashionable to hate on specialized, but every product i have used of theirs is excellent. from the shoes, to the base layers, to tires and saddles - all very good. pricing is just like apple. the price is the price is the price.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

excellent riding tires, but they do wear fast.

i've had good luck with durability otherwise, but that's just a matter of luck.

spec generally runs a sale about twice a year where they offer some big discount on tires. last year it was buy one/get one. wait for their sales.

it's sometimes fashionable to hate on specialized, but every product i have used of theirs is excellent. from the shoes, to the base layers, to tires and saddles - all very good. pricing is just like apple. the price is the price is the price.

Thanks for this! I just signed up for their newsletter.

I’m hoping the durability-prone to flatting issue is minimal as I am really liking their road feel ( or lack thereof ). Wear I’m not as concerned about. I look at replacing tires as part of all the expendable parts that just go along with riding bikes. Bibs, gloves, cleats, saddles, tires, chains and cassettes.

[BRad704]

I'm totally jinxing myself by typing this, but I've been riding and racing a set of 24/26 since last year and haven't had a flat yet.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by BRad704

I'm totally jinxing myself by typing this, but I've been riding and racing a set of 24/26 since last year and haven't had a flat yet.

Thank you for the info...and fingers crossed!!!

[rnhood]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

excellent riding tires, but they do wear fast.

i've had good luck with durability otherwise, but that's just a matter of luck.

spec generally runs a sale about twice a year where they offer some big discount on tires. last year it was buy one/get one. wait for their sales.

it's sometimes fashionable to hate on specialized, but every product i have used of theirs is excellent. from the shoes, to the base layers, to tires and saddles - all very good. pricing is just like apple. the price is the price is the price.

This is a pretty good summary, and it has also been my experience.

[beeatnik]

My favorite riding tires tho I'm now convinced the Conti 5000's are faster. They're fragile and about as prone to flats as Corsas or Veloflex. I'd rotate and inspect them often. The party line at Specialized is that they will wear out in 500 miles.

These had about 1000 when the tread began to come unglued.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

My favorite riding tires tho I'm now convinced the Conti 5000's are faster. They're fragile and about as prone to flats as Corsas or Veloflex. I'd rotate and inspect them often. The party line at Specialized is that they will wear out in 500 miles.

These had about 1000 when the tread began to come unglued.

those are turbo cottons, which are a reasonably different tire than the regular s-works turbos...

[beeatnik]

But Steve only rides the best. Otherwise he needs to pick up some Turbo Cotton Hell of the North 28s!

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

But Steve only rides the best. Otherwise he needs to pick up some Turbo Cotton Hell of the North 28s!

Thank you for this, but the cotton version is “too best” even for me....

[benb]

I've been running the 700x26 non-cotton S-works Turbos since around April 2016.

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

1.) Are they prone to flatting, side wall tears, etc? My first thought would be yes because they do ride so nicely. I’m coming from GP4000II S 700x25 which have been stellar in the not flat, not rip, not do anything but work category.

I have either had 0 or maybe 1 flats.. can't really remember. They are not flat prone at all for me, but I am not a flat prone rider either. I don't run high pressures... 170-175lb weight, 17lb bike, I run 65-70psi in the front and 85-90 in the back. (With 26s) No sidewall tears or pinch flats, if I had a flat it was a sharp object puncture.

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

2.) Long term wear? Again, my thought is not very long for the same reasons mentioned above.

I probably replaced them after 5000 miles. Long term wear has been very acceptable to me...

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

3.) Unlike other brands, Specialized stuff seems to be pretty well price protected. Any deals to be had on these tires? From where?

I'm only on my 2nd pair, both times I got them BOGO - Specialized has a BOGO tire sale in the spring. Just gotta watch the local dealer. There's a Trek/Specialized dealer right near my office so they're my default for a lot of stuff so it's easy to keep an eye on their sales, they send emails about them. I think the emails are coming through a Specialized dealer program anyway, I bet most dealers have those emails if you sign up.

Ability to get them BOGO plus their overall stellar performance makes them unbeatable for me personally. My experience is they are wicked fast, great handling, stick really well, are totally fine in the rain, etc.. just over all a fantastic tire.

[crossjunkee]

I loved them up until this year. I ended up with cuts in three different tires. Two at the same time and left me stranded. Maybe bad luck? But I've never had that kind of tire problem in my 30+ years of riding. I'm not sure what changed in the tire. I gave the Conti 5k's a try because the shop had them in the size I was looking for and they gave me a discount because of the S-Works tire problems. So far I'm impressed. Much better than the 4000s, and the 5k's ride as nice as the S-Works. Durability seems to be very good and the Conti's went on easy without tools. I'm using Fulcrum Zero Nite wheels.

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by crossjunkee

I loved them up until this year. I ended up with cuts in three different tires. Two at the same time and left me stranded. Maybe bad luck? But I've never had that kind of tire problem in my 30+ years of riding. I'm not sure what changed in the tire. I gave the Conti 5k's a try because the shop had them in the size I was looking for and they gave me a discount because of the S-Works tire problems. So far I'm impressed. Much better than the 4000s, and the 5k's ride as nice as the S-Works. Durability seems to be very good and the Conti's went on easy without tools. I'm using Fulcrum Zero Nite wheels.

Your turbo experience sounds just like my Pro1 tubeless experience. They were great until they weren't, and the cuts all seemed to come back to back to back.

Good insight on the 5k's.


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