Vittoria Randonneur City Tyre

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.

• Vittoria Randonneur at Wiggle Cycles

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• Vittoria tyres at Evans cycles