The worst tyres you've ever had

[Jenkins]

Please don't say Maxxis Detonator........I have them on my Basso at the moment

Shaun

Sorry, but Maxxis Detonators were the worst I've had. Possibly the most aptly named tyres - seven flats in the two weeks they were on the bike before being replaced.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Vittoria Open Pave. Beautiful ride, grip, handling, speed. Sublime. Spent more time repairing p*nctures than riding them. Bloody expensive too. After a couple of months I binned them in favour of Conti 4 seasons and no issues in nearly 2 years.
In one rainy ride from Abingdon to South London I had 4 visitations (Flint) before I got to Henley :-(
Avoid.

 

[mjr]

Ha! Another vote from me. I have one of those (only one) on my cooking bike. It was a distress purchase after ripping the sidewall of whatever was fitted at the time. The problem isn't their puncture resistance; the things are f******* indestructible. But then so are anthrax spores. Only marginally better than riding on naked rims.

Another vote from me for Specialized Nimbus Armadillos... but although they felt like wood, they weren't indestructible. Flaming rubber bubbled off the canvas with the puncturing sharp trapped between. Completely impossible to repair that on the road and an annoying five mile walk home.

Dishonourable mentions for Vittoria Zaffiros (lumpy after a puncture) and Kenda Eurotrekkers (changed construction to something with less puncture resistance without changing the name).

 

[Accy cyclist]

Another Vittoria non fan here. I bought some of these. https://www.mantel.com/uk/vittoria-rubino-pro-iii-slick?spec[]=99&gclid=CjwKEAjwv7HABRCSxfrjkJPnrWgSJAA45qA2CZTg3kbNOZwUJ8jilTIoafVOSdX-D35-RgYJq52zMxoCGMDw_wcB
They were very thin and far too soft. I binned them after too many punctures got me down.


Puncture Resistance.......... ★★★★☆ Yeah right!

 

[slowmotion]

The bike came with Vittoria Zaffiros that lasted about six weeks. Strangely enough, I've always been a big fan of Vittoria Rubinos. About a tenner, OK ride, and they cope with most of the nasties that litter the London tarmac.

 

[User33236]

For Mrs SG it was Conti GP 4 Seasons. She got them as I'd done 4000km+ on a set without issue. She got three punctures in the first week with them. Oddly my old set are still going well!

 

[raleighnut]

Continental Ultrasport. Very good if you need practice fixing punctures.

The Grand Prix 'Supersonic' are even worse, I've used thicker innertubes.

 

[the_mikey]

Kenda Kontenders - supplied with my Giant SCR2. Nice and grippy, rolled beautifully, but punctured with such frequency that I commuted carrying four spare tubes.

Honourable mention for the wire-on Continental Gatorskin (25c) I put on the same bike. Rolled beautifully at the recommended pressure, had good puncture protection, but an appalling lack of grip. The only tyre I've managed to wheelspin pulling away from the traffic lights.

I can add Kenda Kaliente to that list, rolled well, grippy and light but impractical, punctured within the first 50km of riding with them, and were shredded to tatters before I even reached 300km.

 

[Adam4868]

So I guess a lot of this is down to bad luck......I've had specialized armadillo on two bikes for nearly two years with dare I say it 1 puncture.As for feeling sluggish,i allways put that down to me !

 

[martint235]

Schwalbe R1 deserve a mention too. In the dry, grippy, quick, light, in short a fantastic tyre. Completely allergic to the rain though, they could pick up glass and flints from anywhere and welcome them through to the inner tube. One wet ride to Southend I think I had 4 punctures.

 

[Brandane]

Glad to see that Vittoria Randonneurs are not featured on this thread - yet. I just picked up a pair, cheap, at Decathlon yesterday.

 

[Elybazza61]

Please don't say Maxxis Detonator........I have them on my Basso at the moment

Shaun

Sorry,see below.

Sorry, but Maxxis Detonators were the worst I've had. Possibly the most aptly named tyres - seven flats in the two weeks they were on the bike before being replaced.

Same here.

Vittoria Open Pave. Beautiful ride, grip, handling, speed. Sublime. Spent more time repairing p*nctures than riding them. Bloody expensive too. After a couple of months I binned them in favour of Conti 4 seasons and no issues in nearly 2 years.
In one rainy ride from Abingdon to South London I had 4 visitations (Flint) before I got to Henley :-(
Avoid.

Really like Open Paves,on my second pair;do cut up a lot but as long as you check the tyres regularly they seem fine here,only puncture I had was when the rear was getting very worn and on it's way out anyway.Got a few flint cuts during Saturdays wet ride in to Norfolk but again picked out the flints and repaired the cuts with rubber glue.

 

[John the Monkey]

So I guess a lot of this is down to bad luck......I've had specialized armadillo on two bikes for nearly two years with dare I say it 1 puncture.As for feeling sluggish,i allways put that down to me !

Can be local conditions too - here, the danger is mostly glass, occasionally thorns, and it's wet a lot of the time. In other places, the puncture nuisance might be flints, and conditions predominantly dry - and so it's possible that different tyres are the "worst" in each place.

 

[Rooster1]

Specialized Espoir Sport, they seem to be a magnet for punctures out of the box.

• Bad puncture protection
• Thin wall material
• Quick wearing
• I have nothing nice to say about them, even when they were free I took them off asap

 

[mjr]

So I guess a lot of this is down to bad luck......I've had specialized armadillo on two bikes for nearly two years with dare I say it 1 puncture.As for feeling sluggish,i allways put that down to me !

Nope. I switched to Marathons (regular aka greenguard) and it's a lovely smooth gentle ride... Anyone who says Marathons feel dead has probably never tried Armadillos.

Got a few flint cuts during Saturdays wet ride in to Norfolk but again picked out the flints and repaired the cuts with rubber glue.

Bad luck finding rain in Norfolk on Saturday We rode 100km and found one light shower!