New Tyres

[Holy Warrior]

I've had my budget road bike since last summer. About Autumn I had my first puncture, luckily I noticed at home not out on the road (slow punc) because my tyres are absolute beggars to get off the rim, really tough. So tough that everytime I yanked them back on I trapped the innertube and bust it again. I took it into my local bike shop and they winced at the poor quality lol.

Now looking at my bike again the tyres are down which isn't surprising after a couple of months sitting in the shed. The trouble is I can't seem to get any air into them so I may have another slow puncture!

Is it worth getting some new decent tyres before the new 'season'? The ones I have been looking at are these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-performance-folding-road-race-tyre/

One of the only ones which Wiggle do to support the 700-25 size, many don't.

Also on the tyres, noob question; do they come with innertubes?

 

[ianrauk]

Tyres do not usually come with innertubes unless specified.

 

[Holy Warrior]

Tyres do not usually come with innertubes unless specified.

Thank you!

Also on the general question, am I right to be thinking of upgrading my tyres?

 

[ianrauk]

If your tyres are shot, then yes it's worth upgrading.
But have a good nose around as there are some good 'Tyre' bargains at trhe moment
And of course it does depend on what type of cycling you do.
For example from Wiggle I get the Vittoria Rubino's for £11.99. (Nice Blue ones)
The pair I have had have lasted over a year so far and are very good in the pucture proof scenario.
with only 2 punctures in 6 months and 2000 miles
However, with tyres, one man's meat is another man's poison as they say.

 

[Holy Warrior]

What do you mean by what type of cycling?

The roads are pretty bad around here, lots of potholes and such. The only Rubinos which do the 700-25 which my current tryes are is the £24 ones, why are mine seemingly so hard to get hold of?

 

[HLaB]

What do you mean by what type of cycling?

The roads are pretty bad around here, lots of potholes and such. The only Rubinos which do the 700-25 which my current tryes are is the £24 ones, why are mine seemingly so hard to get hold of?

I'd guess what Ian means is what type of cycling do you do: road racing, commuting, touring, cyclocrosser etc, that'll define what type of tyre you go for. Basically are you more bothered about weight & rolling resistance or do you just want a bomb proof tyre regardless of the weight. Whether to replace them or not will depend on the state of the tyres, if there not too bad and relatively p'ture free, I'd find the fault and run them a bit longer and upgrade in the spring when the roads are better. Do you mean why are 700x25 hard to get hold of, there not, or do you mean your specific brand and model of tyre, they may be discontinued.

 

[Bicycle]

I've had my budget road bike since last summer. About Autumn I had my first puncture, luckily I noticed at home not out on the road (slow punc) because my tyres are absolute beggars to get off the rim, really tough. So tough that everytime I yanked them back on I trapped the innertube and bust it again. I took it into my local bike shop and they winced at the poor quality lol.

Now looking at my bike again the tyres are down which isn't surprising after a couple of months sitting in the shed. The trouble is I can't seem to get any air into them so I may have another slow puncture!

Is it worth getting some new decent tyres before the new 'season'? The ones I have been looking at are these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-performance-folding-road-race-tyre/

One of the only ones which Wiggle do to support the 700-25 size, many don't.

Also on the tyres, noob question; do they come with innertubes?

All fair questions:

On a road bike, you can use all sorts of tyre sizes. I imagine the rims (as on most road bikes today) are 700. As long as you buy a 700 tyre and it fits between your forks, you can put just about any tyre you want on it. Generally, the narrower the tyre (700x20) the lower the rolling resistance but the harder/jogglier the ride.

For general commuting and the odd fun ride, 700c 23 seems to be popular. Loads and loads of manufacturers do this size.

New ones? Unless they're worn out, I wouldn't bother. They shouldn't be cracking up after a year. From your description, it sounds more likely that the tube is slightly Donald.

Tyres don't come with tubes. having said that, some LBSs sell them with tubes as part of a special-price offer.

 

[Holy Warrior]

Road riding really rather than racing, with the intentions of being a sportive/ audax rider. Ideally a mix between bomb proof and low resistance. I'll be getting my bike out and giving it a proper once over soon so if I can get air to stay in the tyres i'll keep them I reckon and see how the first few rides go. If they are punctured again i'll replace.

It just seems that the tyes on wiggle seem to be majority 700x23 not 25's. Is 23 narrower?

Edit: Bicycle has answered a few here, I'll reply properly soon, i've got to shoot off to work

 

[PpPete]

Chain Reaction are still showing stock of the Michelin Krylion in 700x25. Thought by many in the audax community to offer a good combination of p - resistance, lowish rolling resistance and weight, comfort, grip. I've heard CRC bought all the remaining stock, in advance of Michelin replacing the Krylion model with the Pro 4 Endurance

 

[RJO]

I have a similar query along the same lines, I have got a Revolution cross with 700x33 tyres. They are a bit chunky and I was looking to change them for something a bit more slick, do i have to replace them with the same size or could I go for a 700x25 or 23? All the 33 tyres seem to have a chunky pattern, sorry if this is a really stupid question.

 

[2old2care]

No question is stupid, only people's reaction to something they think is obvious!!
You don't have to replace them with the same size, go for 23,25 or 28. The narrower the tyre the higher the pressure that you can run them at, which reduces rolling resistance. Hope this help's.

 

[RJO]

Thanks, thats really helpful.

 

[brokenflipflop]

I've just ordered a couple of Schawlbe Ultremo ZX 700x23 tyres for £19.99 each from Planet X (RRP £44.99 each). I know bugger all about bikes and tyres but apparently they're quite light and`i've been told it's good if the rolling weight is reduced, the reviews were good that I've seen and they were less than half price. I think they're about £32 on Wiggle at the minute but I've not seen them cheaper than £19.99 anywhere.

 

[HLaB]

I have a similar query along the same lines, I have got a Revolution cross with 700x33 tyres. They are a bit chunky and I was looking to change them for something a bit more slick, do i have to replace them with the same size or could I go for a 700x25 or 23? All the 33 tyres seem to have a chunky pattern, sorry if this is a really stupid question.

As 2old2care says narrower tyres are generally lighter and roll better but they also offer a harsher ride, its your choice I prefer to go narrower myself. You may also be limited by your wheel internal rim width how narrow you can go safely, this is a good article and the table at the bottom sums it up nicely (Sheldon does err on the side of caution though and admits his values are conservative ). Edit: I'd guess you have 17mm rims and 25mm or 28 mm tyres will be a good compromise of speed, comfort and fit.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

I've got gator-skins on both the road bikes ... they roll better than the continental sports i used to have.