Tyre help needed please. ....

Hi all,



Wonder if anyone can help me.



Got my bike at the end of summer and so over winter I've been using a cheap tyre on the turbo. However, I'm beginning to think about getting a new pair of tyres for all round use.



Ideally I want something that is pretty puncture resistant as well as being ok for tri events (I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of speed for the durability.



I should also mention that im doing a 3 day event from Whitehaven to Tynemouth (c2c) in may and so want to use these tyres for this too.



Ive been looking at the gatorskin as well as gp 4 season - does anyone have any advice or experience that will point me in the right direction? Cheers!

Comments

  • Conti Gp4000s. Great for racing and very "p" resistant.



    Unless you're getting flats I'd use the cheap ones until summer.



    The turbo may wear the contis more - but they might not.
  • Why only one pair of tyres?

    I use Vittoria Zaffiro Pro at about £15 (£10 on Planet-X) and easily get 3000 miles off them. Not as puncture proof as Gatorskins but damn good for the money and rarely get an undeserved puncture. I use a 25 for training rather than a 23. There is a non Pro version for even less but doesn't have the same puncture resistance.

    Then for racing a set of Conti GP4000s that can be saved for best.

    I like racing on the Contis but the Vittorias are a very good training tyre.

  • i use vittoria rubino - never had a puncture in over a year and its the only set of tyres i have ever had - i dont mean the brand, i literally mean, i have only ever bought this set of tyres. they get used for everything including turbo, maybe i would be faster if i had something a bit lighter though, maybe not image

  • Vitoria zaffiro for me. Great tyre. Very rarely have " p" and last well on road and turbo. Used all year round to....
  • I have the conti GP4000, very good tyre, haven't had a "p" yet but had loads with the cheaper tyres I had on before, don't like the conti on the turbo

     

  • Thanks for the advice so far...... I was thinking one set of tyres for a few reasons, firstly cost, as well as the fact that I'm not the best or most confident cyclist and so I'd rather have something that is a bit more robust as well as having a bit more contact with the road, hence I was looking at the 25mm or 28mm conti 4 seasons.



    The gp4000s look very nice though, but they do look a lot slicker than the 4 seasons which may not be grate for the c2c as small aspects of it are not on super smooth roads I don't think. .....
  • Cost: Get the Zaffiro Pro - I use the 25 and it is great for general riding. Should be fine on the C2C. Plus if you have a terminal tyre failure it is cheap to replace the tyre.

    But for racing I would definitely think it is worth dropping to a 23 and if funds allow then the GP4000s are great. Plus if you only use them for racing they will last ages. They will age before they wear out.

  • Slicks arent usually a problem. I've taken my Gp4000S down canal paths and country park trails. 

    If the C2C is proper offroad I'd want a wider tyre than 23mm. 

  • I use the gatorskins.  Got 5000 mile out of the last ones.  I do switch the back wheel for the turbo though.  In the past I got a flat spot on the tyre with the turbo so have used another tyre ever since.

  • C2C - is not for a road bike imho.  There is a proper off road bit near Allenheads on Day 2 of 3 (which you can go round on the road) but a lot of it is trails or clinker paths(Keswick/ AllenheadsConsett to Newcastle).  Look at photos of it and you'll see most people are on bomb proof bikes. I did see a bloke do it on a Dawes Tourer type of thing which is sturdy in the wheel!   Last thing you want is to be stopping for punctures and stuff.

    I did it on a crap mountain bike but my ideal weapon of choice for it would be a cross bike.  Preferably with disc brakes as fully loaded with panniers destroyed a few sets of brake blocks and nearly caused my death on a steep hill near Tynemouth. I did um and ah about my training bike for it but the MTB was the best I had at the time for it. 

  • That's helpful - even more so given that my bike is a cross bike with disc brakes. ....... although to be honest we will probably be avoiding as much of the off road stuff as is possible.



    Think I'm going to have to do a bit more investigation from a tyre point of view!
  • A group of 13-15 year olds in our club did c2c on road bikes - maybe there are different routes but I'd check out the route you are taking before getting tyres with that in mind. 

    I reckon if you get something advertised as both fast and puncture resistant you'll be fine - 4 seasons, the new Pro endurance, Schwalbe durano etc - it's not like fixing the occasional puncture is a big deal and any of them punctures should only be occasional.   You don't want to start fitting bombproof tyres as they just wont be as fast or corner as well unless they are fat and have a bigger contact patch - I'd rather fix a puncture than slide off.   

  • there are both road and MTB C2C routes - the MTB one is the "classic"

  • It'll be the road route for us. Although navigation could prove to be a challenge!
  • If its a road ride and you're on a cross bike then I'd deffo go with GP 400s. You should have no problems with those. 

  • Are you a gp400s rep in disguise cougie?!
  • I cant tell you how good they are !  I've been using them since I got a free pair of them (courtesy of neutral service and a German pothole) in 2006. 

    I cant honestly recall having had a 'p' on those tyres since then. There was one time that my tube exploded - but thats cos the bloody thing had perished !

    Their tubs are sh** though. 

  • I know the Consett to Tynemouth/South Sheilds part well as my Dad used to live about 400yards from the route in Washington and I went to school in Tynemouth. Mix of small cinder and tarmac. I wouldn't have a major issue using road bike on that part although may not use the drops and go flat out o nthe worst bits. Cross bike would be great.

    My dad did the whole route on a cheapy hybrid and was fine on that although there was one short steep section he pushed but only a few minutes and he is no great shakes on a bike.

     

    I quite fancy but haven't so far found the time/permission. May see if I can do it this year. I reckon it may be doable in one very long day or two days at most.

  • That's good to know, 3 leisurely days for us - but that's a result of yhe distance we have to travel to get up there!



    The gp4000s really do look nice, but they also look super slick whereas the 4 seasons look to have a little bit more tread on them.



    My cross bike currently has thick 35mm cross tyres on, (plus a crappy 23mm rear road tyre for turbo) - so going to a 25mm super slick tyre is a big change! Whereas the 28mm 4 seasons seems to be more of a halfway house (at least it does in my mind anyway! )



    Maybe I'll try to see both tyres in the flesh to have a look at them first
  • K9K9 ✭✭✭
    I know C2C very well...did the official route on a road bike about 2 years ago over 2 days ...day 1 absolutely no probs, but day 2 involved a horribly gravelly bit over the waskally way and another not great bit on the derwent walk old railway. Lots of glass on bit along the Tyne too...I didn't get any punctures and I think I had armadillo tyres - very thick and slow but puncture proof.

    Did C2C in a day by my own route avoiding the above and did tynemouth to Whitehaven...cycled on road as far as hartside via Corbridge and Hexham, cycled to braithwaite on A66 (not recommended) then official route after that. 122miles. Job done. Gatorskin tyre on back wheel. Some Vittorio racing tyre on front. No punctures....
  • tyres, bikes, terrain

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmJtYaUTa0

    The bike, wheels and tyres are capable - it is just down the rider.

  • I use GP 4000 but wouldn't call them bomb proof, I also use conti 4 seasons which I do find very puncture resistant. If I had to use one set of tyres it would be 4 seasons.
  • C2C is an excellent ride.  I went with a non cyclist friend and we did it in a leisurely 3 days. I don't think I'd like the one day ride but I think it would be a decent ride in 2!

     

     

  • I've done the Keswick to Threlkeld railway line many times on my road bike Conti gator skins ... We ran it this morning, very wet & muddy but lovely
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