Road bike tyres

[al-fresco]

Yesterday I had a Vittoria Zaffiro 700 x 23 go out of shape and then failed completely after 895 miles of use. When I'd set out on the ride there was no indication that it was near the end of its life. A previous (front mounted) Zaffiro had gone out of shape after about 500 miles and had to be replaced.

This set me thinking about life expectancy of different road tyres...

Specialized All Condition 700 x 23 - (front and rear) lasted about 3,000 miles (I swapped the front and rear over to even out the wear). They never had a catastrophic failure but by the end they were very soft, thin and punctured easily.

Specialized All Condition Armadillo 700 x 23 - (rear mounted) lasted about 1,500 miles and then failed with a split sidewall.

Continental Gatorskins 700 x 23 - (front and rear) still going strong at well over 3,000 miles.

So for my thorn infested local lanes I'm thinking that Gatorskins are the best choice. Anybody else got any recommendations?

 

[Mo1959]

So for my thorn infested local lanes I'm thinking that Gatorskins are the best choice. Anybody else got any recommendations?

Schwalbe Durano Plus.....5200 miles and still going strong......touches wood!

 

[ianrauk]

Zaffirro's are rubbish.

The next one's up are the Rubino's.
I have done many of thousands of miles on them in all weathers over the years.
Long lasting and good puncture protection too.
For the money, they are hard to beat.

 

[ShipHill]

Yoinks! I've got those tyres on my Boardman. Time for a tyre change as I'm just past the 600 mile mark and I don't want them giving way on me. I love this place.

 

[DooDah]

I also have Zaffiros on my Boardman. No problems at all, no punctures yet (uh, oh I should not have said that), not out of shape at all, and still a lot of life left. I will probably be on here slagging them off in a week or two

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Zaffirro's are rubbish.

The next one's up are the Rubino's.
I have done many of thousands of miles on them in all weathers over the years.
Long lasting and good puncture protection too.
For the money, they are hard to beat.

I remember you asking me about Vittoria Slicks - waiting for the ferry on a Sunday ride from Fat Boys, zigzag told me he'd done his transcontinental race using them and only had one puncture. I've still stuck Rubino Pros on for that extra bit of grip in the winter wet.

If the quality of tyres were listed in alphabetical order, Zaffiro would come last in my book.

 

[biggs682]

i have used zaffiros on quite a few bikes but never had an issue ,

have just fitted some Durano plus's all going well so far

 

[ianrauk]

i have used zaffiros on quite a few bikes but never had an issue ,

have just fitted some Durano plus's all going well so far

Ride Durano Plus' on my commute bike.
Excellent tyres.

 

[biggs682]

Ride Durano Plus' on my commute bike.
Excellent tyres.

only done 20 miles so far but impressed

 

[raindog]

I got about 4000kms out of a pair of Zaffiros, with no problems at all.
I'm on Rubino Pros at the moment - seem OK so far.

 

[al-fresco]

Sorry, I know this is a 2 year old thread but I think it's time to eat my words.

This year I bought a new bike with the dreaded Vittoria Zaffiros fitted by the factory. Given my previous experience I inspected the tyres regularly and replaced the rear at 800 miles as a precaution because it was showing some wear and I remembered what happened last time. The front tyre is still going strong at 2,500 miles. Now I know that's not exceptional but it's a hell of a lot better than the 500 miles my first front Zaffiro lasted. So it seems that, while some Zaffiros fail early, some are capable of lasting a lot longer, that they're inconsistent, rather than total crap.

There.

I feel a better human being for getting that off my chest.