Bike tyre prices !!

[vbc]

How much for a set of half decent bike tyres now?

Looking at the reviews in the Bike Radar website it seems that £35 for popular Schwalbe/Conti/Panaracer/Vredestein road is the going rate - that's £70 for a set of rubber with a limited life expectancy!

I guess that cycling's now a rich guys past time.

 

[cyberknight]

mm i pay £20 for my current tyres but my next purchase will be durano plus at around £25 each, less if i shop around.

So thats £40- £50 i guess for a decent set and remember you back one tends to wear out faster than your front so you do not need a full set every time.If you keep the pressure right and check for glass etc that might get stuck in the rubber you can get a lot of mileage out of a set of tyres with some tlc.

 

[mcshroom]

What sort of bike are you riding?

I've never paid anything like that for tyres, and there are some perfectly good ones around for (sometimes well) under £20 each. I currently have Schwalbe Marathons on one bike (£20 each and 1900 miles so far) and Michelin Citys on the other (£10 each)

 

[jig-sore]

shush, dont tell them about Michelin Citys !!!!

more than good enough for most commuters, fast tyre, very tough, last forever and only £10

can feel a little twitchy in the wet but you have to ride like a loony !!!! (yes, i know because i do ride like a loony )

but dont tell anyone

 

[rualexander]

Plenty of decent quality tyres around for between £10 and £20 each if you look around. What size are you using?
Have a look at Chain Reaction website e.g. 700c tyres or 26" tyres

 

[Deleted member 1258]

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/119612.html

I use Bontager race lite hardcases were about £11 for a long time now up to £14.49, very good tyres.

 

[eldudino]

I think the OP must be talking about lightweight (ie. 200-230g) race tyres - yes they are expensive, and you'll probably only get 1,500 miles out of them. I'm currently in the process of looking and decided on Vittoria Diamante Pro 2's at 200g and £21 each. The last rear I had lasted 1,500 miles, basically a summer so it's an expense to build into the yearly budget.

However, they are fast and lovely to ride! Possibly even quicker than Michelin City's, but the jury's out on that one....

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

However, they are fast and lovely to ride! Possibly even quicker than Michelin City's, but the jury's out on that one....

Depending on size the Michelin City weighs between 590g to 915g a piece. With a whopping difference of around a pound a tyre, eldudino I suspect you are not holding your breath to wait for the jury unless these tyres are significantly different in puncture resistance, which is not obvious.

This example is a classic demonstration that tyre selection is probably the easiest way to find a pound's worth of component weight saving, let alone nearly halving a wheel's rolling inertia, for a modest cost (in this case a tenner). In most cases the rrps of tyres are way above what one needs to pay.

IMHO if one has a lightish bike and one wishes to take full advantage of the sensation that can offer, one should pay special attention to tyre, tube and of course wheel selection (as opposed to groupset e.g.). Again IMHO many if not most such off-the-shelf bikes are kitted out to meet some buyers' attraction to the minutiae of e.g. drivetrain model level, when money would be better spent on optimising the wheel/tyre/tube.

 

[tyred]

shush, dont tell them about Michelin Citys !!!!

more than good enough for most commuters, fast tyre, very tough, last forever and only £10

can feel a little twitchy in the wet but you have to ride like a loony !!!! (yes, i know because i do ride like a loony )

but dont tell anyone

I'll be finding out soon as I have one on it's way to me. Where did you get them for a tenner? I paid £14, although that was with free postage in fairness.

 

[Moodyman]

Bonty Racelite Hardcase are (in my experience), about the right balance between speed, price and puncture resistance.

Having said that the Marathon Plus on the rear wheel of the winter commuter has done over 3500 miles and can easily double this so the £20 I paid for it 2 years ago seems good value.

I think VBC is looking at high end racing/training tyres which are designed for performance at the expense of durability.

 

[Fab Foodie]

IMHO if one has a lightish bike and one wishes to take full advantage of the sensation that can offer, one should pay special attention to tyre, tube and of course wheel selection (as opposed to groupset e.g.). Again IMHO many if not most such off-the-shelf bikes are kitted out to meet some buyers' attraction to the minutiae of e.g. drivetrain model level, when money would be better spent on optimising the wheel/tyre/tube.

Wise words indeed.
Absolutely adore PR3s for light-weight speed, grip handling and P* resistance is pretty good. They wear quite quickly but IMO that's a small price to pay on my best bike and wheels.

Agree with Moodyman that Bonty Hardcase Racelights are an excellent all-round road-bike tyre and I use them for winter use on heavier wheels. They do ride a bit 'hard' I find, but maybe that's after the suppleness of the PR3s.

 

[carlgorse]

I use Pro Race 3s and there excellent tyres and i paid £46 for a pair

 

[vorsprung]

I use Pro Race 3s and there excellent tyres and i paid £46 for a pair

i got some pro race 3 from chainreaction last month for £18 each, they are orange but that matches my Orbea
The blue ones are £17

 

[Davidc]

£35 a pair perhaps?

Last Marathons (700c 32) I bought were £20 the pair in early 2009, just under £30 to buy now. 26" x 1.5" for my wife's bike last summer were £25 the pair.

 

[Tigerbiten]

If I'm going to swop all my tyres like I needed to after my last tour, its around £125 .......

I need 5x Marathon Racers, 40-406, 3 on the trike and 2 on the trailer.
The back tyre lasts around 4k miles, the other 4 around double that.

Plus if need be, I can swop a damage tyre onto the trailer and run at very low (~20 psi) pressure while I limp to the nearest bike shop which hopefully stocks 406 tyres.
I did that on the tour and ended up with 4 different tyres on the five wheels, only the front two where a matching set .........