My favourite tyres for road cycling depend on the use of the bike.
For commuting into work along roads and a river bank (Thames in Oxford), my highest priority is puncture resistance. As a general rule, I don’t carry a spare inner tube on my 3 mile commute. Therefore, if I puncture, it’s a choice between a taxi, walking or riding on a flat tyre. I’ve tried many different tyres to minimise punctures. In the past three years, using Armadillo’s have helped reduce punctures considerably. Now it is quite a rare occurrence.
Specialised All Condition Armadillo Tyres
- Armadillo Tyres You can feel the hardness of the rubber. My only puncture so far is a 6 inch nail, which probably would have punctured a car tyre. This is not just my experience, but, also a few other cyclists who commute. True, you lose a bit of speed, but, on a commute the benefits of avoiding punctures far outweighs minor inconveniences.
I also recommend:
Schwalbe Durano Pro Plus
The Schwalbe Durano pro plus has one of the thickest puncture resistant guards I’ve seen. It does add to the rolling resistence, but, if you want to be protected from tacks in your tyre, the Schwalbe is very good. Also, the reduction in rolling resistance was much less than I expected. For a typical commute, you probably wouldn’t notice much of a difference. If you’re sick of getting punctures, buy some Schwalbe Durano Pro Plus, I reckon you would be unlucky to have more than one puncture per 3,000 miles with these tyres.
Tyres for Winter Training
For training, I would be tempted to use Armadillo’s but, after several hours on training, I might start to get a bit frustrated by the slower speed. Generally, for winter training, I use Continental 4 Season. This are specially designed to offer better grip in the wet. I find it comforting to ride on these in the winter sludge. It does make you feel as stable as you can, given their properties.
Continental Grand Prix 4000 Folding Tyre
- The continental Grand Prix 4,000 folding tyre, is probably one of the best all round tyres. I would be happy to both train on this and also race. The continental Grand Prix 4000 uses Vectran (used in NASA space landings) I’ve used Continental Grand Prix 4000 for a number of seasons, with good results. You do get more punctures than a really heavy puncture proof tyre, but when riding in summer, I prefer the lightweight and lower rolling resistance. One drawback of the Continental 4000 is that they are often pretty difficult to put on. In the past I’ve got frustrated and resorting to using tyre leavers (warning unless you know how, using tyre leaves can leave you with pinch punctures – always check no inner tube gets pinched). But, this hasn’t stopped me using them.
Continentals
- 3 ply with 330 tpi plus Vectran layer
- Weight: 205g
- 120PSI Max
- 20% less rolling resistance and a lighter weight than Grand Prix 3000
- Measure to test mileage – Tread wear indicator
- Very Good anti puncture resistance
- More cut resistance than aramid
Continental tyres at Wiggle
Best Value Road Tyre
If you’re looking for a budget, entry level tyre, the Schwalbe Lugano is good. You can pick it up for £10. It is a little heavier at 300g than some top-end models, but still pretty light compared to other budget models. It has quite a soft feel and was relatively easy to fit to bike. Puncture resistance is reasonable, though personally I feel road tyres is not a good place to economise. The Schwalbe Lugano is good, but if you can buy a more expensive tyre.
Tyres online
- Road Bike Tyres at Evans
- Selection of Road Tyres at Wiggle
Related
No comments yet.