Entries Tagged 'tyres' ↓
November 4th, 2011 — bikes, tyres
These are some of the best quality tubulars for road racing and time trialling. I recommend getting best possible tubulars you can afford. There’s no point in getting cheap tubulars more likely to puncture. For most time trials on UK roads, I want a reliably puncture resistant tyre. I usually go for Continental competition and Corsa EVO CS. These offer good combination of light weight, low rolling resistance and good puncture resistance.
For the hill climbs, I researched some super-light track tubs. You are much more likely to puncture with track tubs, but for hill climbs, the short distance and altitude gain make it worthwhile. For hill climbs, I like a Vittoria Chrono Time trial (165 grams) I also like the look of the Veloflex Record.
Continental Competition 22 – 280 grams – £61 wiggle – 5 layers of puncture protection, grippy tyre. Handmade in Germany. Won three Paris Roubaix. Very tough tyre. Long lasting excellent grip. I’ve used these for two seasons. Offer very good performance. Very good puncture resistance and hard wearing. Seem to be quite resistant to cuts and nicks. Slightly on heavy side compared to some rivals, but 280 grams is still lightweight and good for tough terrains.
Continental Competition 19 – 239 grams
Bontrager XXX lite only 255 grams for 700*23 | £69.99 Evans Cycles
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February 10th, 2011 — bikes, tyres
The Schwalbe Durano Tyre, claims to offer the best puncture proof protection of any tyre.
The tyre is based on a SmartGuard belt for extremely effective protection against penetration punctures. During winter training, I am always on the look out for the tyre which offers the best winter puncture protection. I have been quite happy with the performance of Armadillo Tyres They are pretty sturdy and offer great puncture protection.
If anything the Schwalbe Durano offer an even greater level of puncture protection. Their best feature is that they are very resistant to glass cuts, the kind of cut that you might get on a Continental Grand prix 4000 tyre.
Also they have a very deep puncture protection layer, which is thick enough to absorb a drawing pin. This is a real boon for avoiding many punctures such as rose thorns or sharp stones.
The tyre is made very well and lasts for a considerable time. I have had 3,000 miles out of a pair without getting a puncture.
The drawback is that as you might expect – they have a higher rolling resistance and feel somewhat slower. But, for a training tyre, that is a small price to pay for greater peace of mind. Also the depth of the puncture resistance means they are heavier than your average tyre. But, for a 25c tyre, they still come in at a respectable 380grams
Definitely recommended if you want to maximise your chances of avoiding punctures whilst cycling. They are not cheap at £30, but as for many high quality tyres, you get value for your money. They last well without attracting scratches and splits. You might even be able to manage 2-3000 miles without getting a puncture. You will get your money back on the cost of new inner tubes. Plus all the additional benefits of not having to walk your punctured bike to the nearest cycle shop.
If these were put on all new commuting bicycles, it would probably make cycling much more popular.
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August 12th, 2010 — tyres
For a city commuting tyre, the main criteria in order would be – puncture resistence, good value, good rolling speed, good grip in all weather.
The first thing about these tyres is you notice how nobbly they look. They look more like mountain bike tyres than road tyres. There is also an image about aqua planning, which is a bit misleading as bikes can’t really aqua plane and so they are more for show than anything. However, this is a good value tyre, people who have ridden thousands of miles, report a very low level of puncturing, though this anecdotal evidence is somewhat unscientific, they are made with a strong level of puncture protection. It combines a double layer of stiff rubber to resist most sharp objects, though this tough rubber layer is limited in width to limit rolling resistance. Secondly there is a layer of high intensity nylon fabric for resisting thorns and similar menaces on the road.
Despite strong puncture protection, with the Aramid 3D compound it offers good rolling resistence and so feels reasoably sporty on the road.
At 590 grams, it is quite heavy even for a commuting tyre. But, the surprising thing is the price at only £13.99.
If you are looking for maximum puncture resistance and wear resistance, you might be better off having a look at an Armadillo Tyre, which is more expensive, but, is pretty tough. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a top city commuting tyre at under £15, it’s hard to find a better choice than the Vittoria Randonneur.
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May 10th, 2010 — tyres
One of the top end road tubs, the Vittoria Corsa Evo CX is a good all round tub, which offers excellent all round performance.
It has a tpi of 320. This high thread count helps offer smooth ride with low rolling resistance. The puncture resistance is helped by PRB 2.0 puncture resistant belting. At 245g it is not the lightest tub on the market. It’s ideal performance would be on a tough road surface. If you are riding on pancake flat tarmac, you might get away with a thinner trye. However, knowing road surfaces in UK, I prefer the more durable tub like Vittoria Corsa.
I have been riding a Vittoria Corsa since the start of this year (I tried it mainly because I couldn’t get any Continental Competition at the time). It feels a good ride, even when pumped upto 160psi.
I did get a puncture on a wet day, (sharp gravel) which penetrated quite deeply. Though one puncture is hardly statistically significant.
Good tub, seemed fine to put on.
One note, there are three different valve options. If you have a deep rim wheel, you may want to get one of the custom Vittoria valve extensions. This is good because sometimes other adaptors are not ideal.
April 1st, 2008 — tyres
Continental Grand Prix 4000 are the successor to the highly popular Grand Prix 3000 series. The new tyre boosts increased performance with lower rolling resistance combined with improved puncture protection.
Continental have made use of Vectran technology to offer the best rolling resistance and puncture protection. I bought a pair for my road bike and having been testing them out. Brand new, the tyres have quite a smooth feel and they looked pretty good in the Gold /black combination. Continue reading →
at Amazon.co.uk
at Amazon.com