The worst tyres you've ever had

[oldroadman]

Worst ever, Kowalit tubulars from that heartland of high quality exports, East Germany. Lucky they were free issue. Punctures guaranteed, grip zero, wet ride like being at an ice rink, crashes certain. Then we got given Barum which never wore out, rarely punctured, were not too heavy, and worked if the pressurewas kept low. With the feel and feedback of a plank when cornering, So essentially useless. Every single rider in our little team gave them away and bought their own choice.

 

[dim]

I had a really good vintage bike .... a Koga Miyata Road Champ. It had tubular tyres.

prob with tubular tyres, is that when you go for a ride, you have to carry a spare tyre (or two if you go on a very long ride), instead of a spare inner tube (or two)

The tyres that I had fitted were Continental GP 4000 .... I cannot remember the price, but they were well over £30 each, plus a spare of the same price

I had a puncture on my 3rd ride ..... that's the end of the tyre .... that's why I refuse to get tubulars anymore .... it's cheaper carrying spare inner tubes than spare tubular tyres, and I would never feel safe if I had a tubular tyre repaired

with clinchers, the worst was Conti Gator hardshell .... there are lots of good reviews, but I had a bike that had a pair which I used in winter when it was wet .... I never had punctures, but I always felt unsafe when cornering as the grip was crap in the wet

The best that I've used for winter .... Schwalbe Durano Plus .... no punctures, roll ok and grip to the wet road like glue

Currently, I'm using Conti All Seasons .... these came fitted on the 2nd hand bike which I recently purchased (A Specialized S-Works Transition) .... no complaints.... no punctures so far (touch wood) .... I've used these for 1512 km so far

 

[Drago]

This thread reminds me of...

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...80AC3323BE498436EDFD80AC3323BE49843&FORM=VIRE

 

[sanddancer]

The worst tyres I ever had were guaranteed to never ever get punctures.


I pulled a bike from a skip as a kid and it had solid rubber tyres.
I soon realised why it had been skipped

 

[Smokin Joe]

Worst ever, Kowalit tubulars from that heartland of high quality exports, East Germany. Lucky they were free issue. Punctures guaranteed, grip zero, wet ride like being at an ice rink, crashes certain. Then we got given Barum which never wore out, rarely punctured, were not too heavy, and worked if the pressurewas kept low. With the feel and feedback of a plank when cornering, So essentially useless. Every single rider in our little team gave them away and bought their own choice.

I well remember Kowalit. Getting the things to sit concentrically on the rim was a job in itself, you could never smooth out the bump at the valve.

 

[Dave 123]

The rubbery one that's accumulating around my middle!

 

[S-Express]

Hutchinson "Blue line" kevler, a 1980's abomination. No grip, as supple as tungston and regular sidewall failures.

Pretty much our entire road team used to swear by these in the early 90s. No grip in the wet, and we would regularly spin them up steep clilmbs. But they seemed hard wearing.

 

[Moodyman]

Vee.

A pair that came on my son's Halfords bike. They started cracking initially and then split down the centre.

 

[midlife]

Worst ever, Kowalit tubulars from that heartland of high quality exports, East Germany. Lucky they were free issue. Punctures guaranteed, grip zero, wet ride like being at an ice rink, crashes certain. Then we got given Barum which never wore out, rarely punctured, were not too heavy, and worked if the pressurewas kept low. With the feel and feedback of a plank when cornering, So essentially useless. Every single rider in our little team gave them away and bought their own choice.

Yep I remember well the budget brands back then Kowalit, Barum and Lion from Ron Kit, the Lion ones weren't too bad.

I always wondered if the Kowalit ones were brought in by Mike Kowal? Only needs an "it" adding lol

Shaun

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I wonder why bike tyres always seem to suffer from punctures in the colder weather.

It's the roads, in the wetter and colder weather there's more tiny bits of crap on the road (thorns, shards of glass, nails), it washes on and it sticks there. In the warm weather it dries out and gets blown away by wind or by passing cars.

I've not got a bad tyre vote really. Out of the so-so ones, Bonti were okay to ride but wore out quickly, they lasted a year commuting and they were shot. Replacements were Marathon plus, no puncture in 6 years, and they still look good, but Christ they're slow. Giant own brand on the road bikes seem okay for now.

 

[dim]

It's the roads, in the wetter and colder weather there's more tiny bits of crap on the road (thorns, shards of glass, nails), it washes on and it sticks there. In the warm weather it dries out and gets blown away by wind or by passing cars.

I've not got a bad tyre vote really. Out of the so-so ones, Bonti were okay to ride but wore out quickly, they lasted a year commuting and they were shot. Replacements were Marathon plus, no puncture in 6 years, and they still look good, but Christ they're slow. Giant own brand on the road bikes seem okay for now.

try Schwalbe marathon Supreme instead of Marathon plus

roll fast.... good puncture resistance and are a pleasure to ride on
I recently sold a Bridgestone MB2 mountain bike that I used for a few months. I fitted the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme in 2 inch wide... I achieved speeds of between 3-5km faster using the same efford, with the same wind/weather condions on the same segments

superb .... and I will fit the Marathon Supreme on my Surly LHT which is my winter commuter. I will look for a size smaller than 2 inch wide though

My daughter commutes on an old Dutch bike with basket and loop frame .... she has Marathon Plus fitted, and when they need replacing, I will fit Supremes to her bike

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Worst tyre I ever had for punctures was a set of Kendas that came with one of my bikes, had a puncture every second day!
Worst for rolling resistance Marathon+ they felt like cycling on maple syrup. Quite slippery too.
Nowadays I stick (mostly) with Marathon Originals Greenguard, much better.
The Big Apples on a heavy Dutch style bike were great, wore them and the bike out in 3 winters of very wet commutes.

 

[Pale Rider]

Worst tyre I ever had for punctures was a set of Kendas that came with one of my bikes, had a puncture every second day!

My answer is also Kenda in the same circumstances.

To be fair, I suspect they are one of the manufacturers who make lower spec tyres for original equipment supply.

So if you bought a pair of Kendas, they might be OK.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Personally the worst were the no-name ones that came as standard on the knockabout bike - slow and with a ride like solid tyres even when run at low pressure Good job I intended to replace them anyway.

I'd also like to put in a mention for the Bontragers that were standard on my brother's Trek fx. Very little puncture resistance and he complained of losing traction climbing hills. They got replaced after the back end stepped out on a corner and led to him being high-sided motorbike style. No such issues with the replacement Continental TourRides.

 

[Will Spin]

Racing Ralphs on my MTB, supplied on new bike. I think they got punctures from blades of grass.