New Road Tyre Help Needed Urgently!

[line71]

Ive recently bought a Mekk Poggio which has Shimano r500 wheels and Vittoria Zaffiro Tyres
I have to say im not really happy with the feel of my new bike at the moment,it just feels abit lifeless and lacking any zip,urgency or excitement
its a nice and light carbon frame and is good on climbs but compared to my old aluminium bike it just lacks the edge and daily riding comfort and carefree im used to,it just feels like a bike to ride on rare occasions and that isnt what i want
im thinking of changing the tyres to Continental GP 4000S or Continental Gatorskins to make a difference as i cant afford to upgrade the wheels,will these tyres help?
I have been seriously considering selling it due to all this
Any advice and help will be appreciated

 

[Kestevan]

The Zaffiros are not a brilliant tyre. They're heavy, have limited grip and in my experience are bloody lethal in the wet (I feel the same about Gatorskins, but I run gp4000s on my best bike).

But to be brutally honest I cant see changing them will make a bad bike into a great one (not saying the Mekk is bad - no experience there). Looking at the spec the Mekk appears to be a low end carbon, with Sora kit and R500 wheels. Nothing wrong with any of these components, and tbh it looks decent value for the cash.

Your post is also somewhat confusing.... You say the bike lacks zip and urgency, but also that it's not comfortable/carefree. If the bike is slow to accelerate then lighter wheels/tyres may well help, But if the handling doesn't match what you want this is more likely to be down to frame geometry (and proper bike fit).

 

[line71]

Sorry.just to clarify my initial post which is abit muddled
its a Mekk poggio 2.5 105,59cm frame
it is comfortable to ride but the handling and steering feels dull,i just cant pinpoint it exactly
ive been riding a Ridley road bike for a couple of years,it has a heavier aluminium frame with tiagra/fsa parts and gatorskin tyres but just feels alot more nimble and agile,far more suited to daily use around town
im really banking on a change of tyres to hopefully make the ride feel better,the Mekk is a nice bike but im on the verge of getting rid of it if i cant make if feel abit more nippier,would a shorter stem help aswell as it has a fairly long stem?

 

[Mo1959]

Although not a road bike, I changed tyres on my Specialized hybrid from the stock 700 x 28 Nimbus to a pair of Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps in 700 x 23 and felt a big difference. I just thought the bike felt slow rolling and wooden on the original tyres and found it much nicer to ride with the bonus of being around 1mph quicker with the new tyres. I would certainly try something like the GP4000S or similar to see how it feels. I can't see how a shorter stem would help it feel any nippier really. Might make the steering feel a bit quicker and more responsive I suppose but may also mean you would be sitting more upright and catching more of the air??

 

[line71]

I have quite limited funds at the moment so dont want to buy a new set of tyres and feel a negligible difference but i have used gatorskins for a long time and run them at a high psi,it makes the ride more harsh but i enjoy that sense of edge you get with them so i may get a new pair of them
with reguards to the stem,ive heard a shorter one makes the steering more responsive which is what the Mekk lacks,ive checked that i havent overtightened the headset and the bars do run freely but when im riding it just feels like im not getting much feedback from the steering,like im riding on rails at times,its really frustrating
The Zaffiro tyres do have a substantial amount of tread on either side so im thinking what with their weigh this is dulling the feeling i get when steering
Its a shame as i saved up for ages for a carbon bike and i'll lose alot of money which i cannot afford if i sell it because of this