Best Road Tyres

[skwerl]

I was put off them by the price - I ride regular Stelvios (with RaceGuard) and am happy both with the performance, and the extra £30 in my pocket

I only see £1.50 difference in the price. Did you mean extra £3.00 in your pocket?

 

[John the Monkey]

I only see £1.50 difference in the price. Did you mean extra £3.00 in your pocket?

My LBS did the RaceGuard Stelvios for £30 for the pair. At the time, they couldn't do a single Stelvio Plus for much less...

 

[giant man]

Always used Michelin ProRace originals, 2s and soon 3s. Wouldn't ride on much else!

Winter wise, always had Gators in various guises, but the Winter just gone switched to Krylion carbons. Wonderful tyres!

 

[Maz]

23mm Specialized All-Condition Pro's for year-round use.

 

[Tynan]

if anyone wants a pair of ultra gator 25s with all of 300 miles on them , say, they'll likely be in the bin by the end of the weekend

 

[Aperitif]

I have just replaced my commuting Gatorskins - started getting plenty of not pumped situations in the rear one. 7000km before this started happening. Obviously the odd flat from lumps of glass or flint chipping etc from time to time.
700 x 25c on this bike and I have Pro Race 2 on my other. Chugging along in traffic there is no noticeable difference and I have just bought another 4 from Ribble, who were selling them for 12 squid at the weekend!
Anyway, after changing from the used Gatorskin to the new, I noticed a big difference in 'rolling' - if that is the right word, and although the others cut up a bit, I will be sticking with them in preference to Specialized for example, which skid a bit.
Also, the G/Skins can be run with a bit less pressure if necessary - if the conditions warrant, and the 25s seemed comfortable enough. No problem to speed up either... and I'm 106kg (about )
Normally at 'max' pressure though, but the commute is getting cleaner thanks to a lot of road resurfacing in town.

 

[dodgy]

Tynan,

I'll take your tyres off your hands unless someone's already bagged 'em. Might come in handy for the winter bike.

Will obviously bung you something via paypal for the hassle.

Dave.

 

[Aperitif]

Just posted some pics of these in 'Review' - should it be of interest to anyone...

 

[cheadle hulme]

Gatorskins (grip)- so many diverse opinions.

Does centre of gravity affect anyones view?

I'm 6'3 and ride a frame size accordingly, do shorter people (nearer the ground) have a different view on the merits of these tyres? (esp in the wet?). I generally run them up to 90psi.

Just trying to understand why people rate a tyre I distrust so much*

*Wet weather (ie Manchester) in corners feels like on a knife edge, forward traction in wet is poor.

ps they are P resistant though but do cut up a lot as per aperatifs posts

 

[Valiant]

I use ProRace 2 or GP4000s all year round. Not much in it between the two.

 

[Tynan]

mine are bagged, sorry

it is odd, perhaps there's some quality control problems, I might have put up with the flats but they cut very badly, plus the lack of holding in the wet

 

[yello]

Tyres seem to be another of those personal preference things, like saddles.

I ride Continentals because I've had good experiences with them and feel no need to change (the worst I've ridden were some Hutchinson's, and Schwalbes felt like bricks to me). That said, a pair of conti GP3000's went binwards in under 500km; peeved I was!

I currently ride conti gatorskins & 4 seasons on the winter & audax bikes and GP4000 on the bianchi. I'll need to change in the near future since contis are hard to come by around here.

 

[Tynan]

sigh

the week old Laguno on the back took a piece of glass right through the centre of the kevlar yada yada

in fairness the tip of the glass only just pricked the tube, slow enough flat to be a gentle realisation and fast enough to make a handy hiss, as lovely a day to fix a flat as any so the spare tube stayed in the box

and no, no-one asked if I needed any help, textbook patch, for the first time I left on the plastic backing to the patch and so skipped the chalk stage, I read somewhere online to leave the backing on to avoid stressing the feathering on the patch

and after dithering about one of those mini stand pumps, the half decent mini pump I carry did a good job with pressure, that and a rock right arm and plenty of effort towards the end, that 23 Laguno sure inflates a lot faster than the 25 Gators

 

[itisaboutthebike]

Summer Pro Race 3's (25mm - when they come out !)

Winter - Panaracer Stradius (26's)

I too ditched the Conti gators - terrible in the wet