The retirement thread.

[Baron Blubba]

Since tire threads seem to be so popular, I figured something like this might be useful. When you put new tires on your bike, take 'em for a couple of rides, then let us know whatcha think. A comparison to the tires they are replacing might give a nice point of reference, too.

I'll kick things off.

The new tires: Schwalbe G-One RS 700x40.
The retired tires: Vittoria Terreno Dry 700x38.
The bike: Enve Mog.
The wheels: Enve G23.

I know some folks around here disliked the Terreno Dry tires. I actually thought the ride quality (sooo plush), durability (never flatted, just a tiny puncture or two that sealant took care of asap), grip (I'm alive, aren't I?), and handling (flicky!) were all top-notch. But! There is no doubt that they are slow compared to every other gravel tire I've ridden, at least on pavement. On actual gravel, they were plenty fast, probably because, unless descending, speeds rarely exceed the 20-21 mph mark on gravel, if that. So I swapped em out because even if I have a 50 mile route of almost 100% gravel, I probably want to ride to that route, and it might be 15 miles of pavement each way to and from where the unpavement begins.

Enter the Schwalbe G-One RS.

Are they fast? Incredibly so. Not *quite* as fast as my road bike tires, because at a certain speed the vastly larger contact patch and diminished aerodynamics of a 40mm wide tire just can't compare to a 25-30mm wide tire. But they climb like crazy, on pavement and off, and they feel fast and lively and they just love to nudge you forward forward forward.
I can't hunker down and hold 25mph+ in a tailwind like on my road bike, but gosh darn, it's pretty incredible to have fully gravel capable tires that can get me to and from the dirt in such a hurry!

The road feel is excellent, very comfortable, very nice feedback, even on stiff Enve G23 wheels. The cornering, on road and on dirt, is exceptional --other than the speed, definitely the highlight of these tires. I haven't hit a lot of very gnarly stuff with them yet, but what gravel I have ridden on has been handled with perfect aplomb.

I think the best compliment you can give a set of gravel tires is that the transition from road to dirt, dirt to road, is so seamless that you pay it no mind. That's definitely the case here.

Deep into my first ride with them, I found myself thinking, "This might be the first tire I ever loved."

I'll leave it at that.

[Louis]

What about the 401k and the IRA models? Surely those are worth mentioning too.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Louis

What about the 401k and the IRA models? Surely those are worth mentioning too.

If you're riding by yourself, it's a SEP IRA, right?

[rounder]

Originally Posted by Louis

What about the 401k and the IRA models? Surely those are worth mentioning too.

Same here. Where are we supposed to park our bikes and funds?

[fa63]

This is how I felt when I went from WTB Resolute to Pathfinder Pro tires. I was skeptical that a tire like the Pathfinder would actually do well on gravel, but found out quickly that they indeed work great. And they roll amazingly well on pavement (which is less surprising given the smooth center thread). I now have almost 4,000 miles on them; the front looks like it could go another 4,000 while rear still has some left in it.

[bigbill]

I have 28mm Agilest tires on my carbon wheels which have a 22mm ID. They're set up tubeless and have a great ride, but I'm careful where I ride them because they're very late 80s Michelin HiLite tough. In my head, they're fast.

My Boyd Altamont wheels had Hutchinson Sector 32s but I wore out the back tire last summer and replaced it with a Bontrager R3 32 that lasted about 1200 miles before the tread started peeling. Now, it still has the front Hutchinson but I bought three Specialized 2Bliss Roubaix 32s so I'm working my way through those. I do some off-roading to get out of my neighborhood so I need durability. The Hutchinson is looking a little thin but it's hard to tell on a front tire.

[PSC]

I got 8000 miles on my Continental Gatorskin 700x25 rear tire. Moved front to back, with new on front. Plan on getting many more miles out of it, unless I move to 28mm all around.

[DeBike]

My latest is going to from 28mmGK slicks to semi-slicks in the same width. I did it out of curiosity and finding the semi's on sale. The slicks definitely have a smoother ride on good pavement, but the semi's are by no means harsh. The semi's get the nod when doing multi-surface rides, which I do frequently, and when carrying some weight. They feel really planted on the surface when turning aggressively with speed. I have them on my Lemond Tourmalet, the max width it will fit. I was doing some fast, swerving riding on easy gravel yesterday and they were really good, giving me a lot of confidence in the handling.

[mass_biker]

I decided to expand my horizons when I went through my last set of GP4Ks.

What I’ve liked:

- Michelin Pro4 “Endurance”; picked up 25c and 28c versions of both and run them on my winter/travel/B bikes. Boy, do these run large! I’ve tried them on smooth roads, carriage roads, light trails but nothing too gravelly. I suppose with the slick treads they won’t be great in anything too burly, but I have put them through their paces in sopping wet conditions on tarmac and find them to have great traction. They are also really easy to put on/take off, giving me peace of mind for those extended jaunts. I’ll look to find more when possible.

- Pirelli P Zero Race; I put the 26c version of these on my A bikes last year and am loving them. Again, easy to put on/take off, and the road feel is great. At a stated 205g for the 26c, they are plenty light for me. They also run true to size. The 26c really is a 26mm tire.

I just picked up a pair of the Pirelli Cinturato Velo 35c to try on the Ritchey Cross as a “wide road-ish” tire. Need to mount these up and give them a whirl.

Great thread btw.

m_b

[Mr. Pink]

Golf and pickleball.

[Dave]

I've switched my road bikes to Pirelli P-Zero TLR tubeless tires that I know will maintain a tight fit at the bead. I didn't always pay enough attention to the description when ordering and got a pair of 28mm tires cheap, but they were SL or super light, so I resold those. I've been using the Race TLR version when I could find a sale. Those have worked great. I recently bought more tires that were cheap, but I noticed that they were labeled ROAD TLR. Those are a little heavier duty endurance model that really should work fine for an old non-racer and they're significantly cheaper than the race model.

https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/...type/road-bike

https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/...-zero-race-tlr

https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/...-zero-road-tlr

[OtayBW]

Your income gap will dictate your discretionary tire allocations.

[Turkle]

I recently switched from the old Vittoria Corsa Control 28mm clinchers, to the "Pro" version on my new wheels. I have about 1,000 miles on them so far.

The Controls are my all-time favorite tire, and the new Pro ones are still incredible. I'm pretty sure I'll never use a different tire on a road bike. The new ones are optimized for modern wider rims. No flats, ever, and they roll as fast as I could ever ask for.

Here's a data point I think is important. One reason I loved the clincher Vittoria tires is that they're so easy to change on the side of the road. No busted fingers changing a flat. I was worried that the "Pro" version, with the tubeless-optimized bead, would be very difficult to change a flat, since I still run tubes.

Although I haven't had a flat yet (knock on wood), I took a tire off the bead to test it out at home. They are still very easy to change - I barely needed a tire lever, and I have full confidence of being able to change a flat quickly on the side of the road if need be.

Vittoria continues to impress, and I can wholeheartedly recommend the new Vittoria Corsa PRO Control tires if you hate flats as much as I do!

(The 28mm version expanded to about 29.8mm on 24mm internal width rims.)

[old fat man]

Originally Posted by PSC

I got 8000 miles on my Continental Gatorskin 700x25 rear tire. Moved front to back, with new on front. Plan on getting many more miles out of it, unless I move to 28mm all around.

Do yourself a favor and try something new like the Pirelli or Vittoria options mentioned in this thread. Life is too short to use garden hoses, I mean gatorskins.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by mass_biker

- Michelin Pro4 “Endurance”; picked up 25c and 28c versions of both and run them on my winter/travel/B bikes. Boy, do these run large! I’ve tried them on smooth roads, carriage roads, light trails but nothing too gravelly. I suppose with the slick treads they won’t be great in anything too burly, but I have put them through their paces in sopping wet conditions on tarmac and find them to have great traction. They are also really easy to put on/take off, giving me peace of mind for those extended jaunts. I’ll look to find more when possible.

Originally Posted by Turkle

I recently switched from the old Vittoria Corsa Control 28mm clinchers, to the "Pro" version on my new wheels. I have about 1,000 miles on them so far.

The Controls are my all-time favorite tire, and the new Pro ones are still incredible. I'm pretty sure I'll never use a different tire on a road bike. The new ones are optimized for modern wider rims. No flats, ever, and they roll as fast as I could ever ask for.

Here's a data point I think is important. One reason I loved the clincher Vittoria tires is that they're so easy to change on the side of the road. No busted fingers changing a flat. I was worried that the "Pro" version, with the tubeless-optimized bead, would be very difficult to change a flat, since I still run tubes.

Although I haven't had a flat yet (knock on wood), I took a tire off the bead to test it out at home. They are still very easy to change - I barely needed a tire lever, and I have full confidence of being able to change a flat quickly on the side of the road if need be.

Vittoria continues to impress, and I can wholeheartedly recommend the new Vittoria Corsa PRO Control tires if you hate flats as much as I do!

(The 28mm version expanded to about 29.8mm on 24mm internal width rims.)

I've used every version of Michelin's training tire, back to when they were the Michelin "Carbon". I really really like the Pro4 Endurance--they handle like a racing tire and aren't slow rolling like the previous generation. They also wear like iron, I've gotten thousands of miles on a set.

However, I got a wheelset last year that had a brand new set of Vittoria Pave 27's on them, and they ride fantastically, like really really great. The back one is getting pretty squared off and I've been back and forth between putting another set of Pro4's Endurance's on or going Vittoria Corsa Control, which is supposed to be the successor to the Pave. I might try the Corsa Control Pro's, I guess if I hate them I can just get a closeout set of Pro4 Endurance's.

As far as gravel tires go, I've pretty much settled on the Specialized Tracer Pro.

I had run a few sets of Maxxis Ramblers, and I liked how the rode and handled, but when I moved out to Asheville, they got eaten up with flats constantly--the EXO casing just couldn't handle the extra gnarly gravel in Pisgah I guess. Everyone recommended Specialized Pathfinders, so I got a set. They rode well, had low rolling resistance and never flatted, but they handled so so so poorly. The drop down off of the center stripe was so sketchy, it killed all confidence when descending. I loved the casing though, so I decided to try the Tracers, which has a relatively uniform, extra low knob tread pattern, and I have been riding them since. I've been on Tracers since 2020, I recently purchased my 4th set. I feel like I should try something new but I'm really 100% happy with them. Weirdly, people don't seem to even know about these tires, I guess that's okay with me though. I'll keep them to myself!