Tyres for Road Bikes

charlied175 · Post by **charlied175** » 17 Feb 2008, 8:57pm

Can anybody give me some advice about decent tyres for road bikes.

I've had a Cannondale R500 for just over a year and cycle 50 miles per week on roads as part of my commute. I've had loads of punctures, and am on my third set of tyres already.

The latest tyres I purchased a month ago were the rigid Continental gator skins, which I was advised offered much better protection against punctures. I've already had 2 punctures and now the front tyre has a tear in the side wall with the innertube poking through, so that's now in the bin!

I don't know if i'm just unlucky with punctures (it feels like it!), or whether there are any decent tyres out there that I should try.

Any advice greatfully received.

Thanks

reohn2 · Post by **reohn2** » 17 Feb 2008, 9:08pm

You seem to be having more than your fair share of punctures,what are the roads like where you live? what pressure do you have in the tyres?

I don't commute but do a lot more miles than yourself and rarely puncture.Have you determined what is the cause of so many punctures, have you examined you wheels rim tape,etc?

thirdcrank · Post by **thirdcrank** » 17 Feb 2008, 9:10pm

If puncture resistance is your priority, we had a thread on here, also with a report in the CTC mag from somebody who did an extended test using Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I have never heard of anybody puncturing with these but be warned they are quite heavy. I do not know what size your bike will take but they do not come in the slimmer sizes

Post by **Mick F** » 17 Feb 2008, 9:32pm

Hi Charlie.

You don't say what you ride on, all you say is "roads as part of my commute".

Roads need road tyres. I use Vittoria Rubino Pro 20mm.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... ing%20Tyre
I ride on roads. If I rode on other surfaces, I'd need something different.

My Vittorias are puncture-proof. The only punctures two I've ever had with them are a huge black-thorn (but the tyre didn't go down straight away, it took a couple of days before I noticed) and a pinch/snake-bite caused by a sharp piece of granite.

But if your commute isn't mainly on roads, perhaps you shouldn't be using road tyres.

TrevA · Post by **TrevA** » 17 Feb 2008, 9:54pm

If you want to avoid punctures altogether, get some Specialised Armadillos. However, they don't handle particlarly well in the wet and they don't roll as well as Gatorskins.

charlied175 · Post by **charlied175** » 17 Feb 2008, 10:00pm

reohn2 wrote:You seem to be having more than your fair share of punctures,what are the roads like where you live? what pressure do you have in the tyres?

I don't commute but do a lot more miles than yourself and rarely puncture.Have you determined what is the cause of so many punctures, have you examined you wheels rim tape,etc?

Thanks for your reply

The roads are a mixture really, a little bit of dual carriageway, B roads, and some country lanes. Tyre pressure 110 - 120 psi, wheel rims, tape and spokes are all ok. I was using a different road bike before the Cannondale and had similar problems.

jmaccyd · Post by **jmaccyd** » 17 Feb 2008, 10:11pm

Can just say two to stay away from really. Gatoskins are over-rated and seem to puncture easily and the Armadillos are just usless in the wet. The only completly bomb proof tyre I have found are Continental Top Tourings (called Contacts now) but they are only in 28MM sizes and are super heavy. I use them on my winter training bike to provide additional resistance training! Four years with no punctures until the tyre just fell apart on the rim

Asdace · Post by **Asdace** » 17 Feb 2008, 10:13pm

Like, Mick F. I too have the Vittoria Rubino's vittoria and found them to be excellent for the road bike. There grip the road good and although I've yet to try them in wet conditions, but I will, when I get the mudguards fitted on.

reohn2 · Post by **reohn2** » 17 Feb 2008, 11:31pm

charlied175 wrote:
reohn2 wrote:You seem to be having more than your fair share of punctures,what are the roads like where you live? what pressure do you have in the tyres?

I don't commute but do a lot more miles than yourself and rarely puncture.Have you determined what is the cause of so many punctures, have you examined you wheels rim tape,etc?

Thanks for your reply

The roads are a mixture really, a little bit of dual carriageway, B roads, and some country lanes. Tyre pressure 110 - 120 psi, wheel rims, tape and spokes are all ok. I was using a different road bike before the Cannondale and had similar problems.

Thats a lot of pressure,I run Gatorskins on one of my bikes in 25mm width at 95 to 100 psi and don't puncture very often, have you checked your riding technique?,ie do you ride in the gutter and try to avoid glass,loose stones,potholes, etc?If so and are still suffering I'd try Schwalbe Marathons in the 25mm or 28mm widths, they're pretty resistant and will last.its also a good idea to check tyres quite frequently for thorns glass shards etc if you don't already do so.
Hope this helps

Ben Lovejoy · Post by **Ben Lovejoy** » 18 Feb 2008, 12:11am

I'm not going to tempt fate, but I told Bikefix that I really, really hate p*nct*r*s and they recommended (and fitted) Marathon Plus. They seem to roll well too.

Ben

melw1 · Post by **melw1** » 18 Feb 2008, 7:37am

Marathon Pluses here too. fab tyres. Maybe heavier but at least you're not sitting by the road wasting time mending them! Plus they have lovely reflective side walls...

toontra · Post by **toontra** » 18 Feb 2008, 8:28am

No-one ever seems to mention Hutchinson tyres in these discussions (available from Decathlon). Having tried most of the above mentioned with varying degrees os success (and failure!) I tried the Hutchinson 700 x 22 "touring" tyre with Kevlar belt last year. 3,500 so far without a p******e, and look like having plenty of life left. In fact I've just swapped front/rear to extend wear.

JohnChell · Post by **JohnChell** » 18 Feb 2008, 8:40am

I've run Schwalbe Marathon Plus for the last 1700 ish miles on my comuter bike. I ride a mixture of rural A roads, B roads, and country lanes so I get anything from thorns to broken glass, I have riden home in the dark over the winter months so I can't see debris on the road well enough to ride around it. No punctures yet with the Schwalbe's and loads of tread left on them. I can still average about 15 mph on a 20 mile route with them fitted, I rate them very highly when what you need is reliability when getting to work on time.

ianr1950 · Post by **ianr1950** » 18 Feb 2008, 9:11am

I've had Specialized Pro 700 x 25 on all winter with Slime tubes and not had any problems.
I have removed big thorns from tyres on several occasions and just carried on and maybe had to reinflate a small amount now and then but that is all.
Had not had tyres off since fitting in June last year and done about 2500 miles on that particular bike.

fullupandslowingdown · Post by **fullupandslowingdown** » 18 Feb 2008, 5:13pm

the reason why racers tend to get fewer punctures is that they usual adopt a position further out from the gutter with it's increased debris, if you're running hard tyres then going near the road edge where it also tends to be bumpier is less desirable as you feel it more.