No one responds in Tires/ Wheels...not a very visited forum...BUT, you guys are quite active...so, please excuse my use of your knowledge in the wrong place:
I know that tires are a personal choice, but give me some opinions, please. For years (because I had so many pairs) I have ridden Mich. Axial Pros. Good tire, lite and puncture resistant. I have run out of spares.
I ride a Dean Ti frame...comfortable. I do long, spirited club rides. Long Island, New York...roads...hills. No wet weather riding (I go in the woods on those days). I ride 3x weekly. No racing. I am weight conscious! So, I want a great handling tire (on my old Heliums), light and with some wear resistance. Some have suggested the Mich. Pro Lite.
How about some input...

I love my conti GP4000's: Light weight, good puncture resistance, good traction, decent wear and a mid level price. You can also get them in a variety of colors.

My favorites have always been Conti's & Michelin's. I have a bunch of Mich Megamiums that I bought on sale. They're a little heavy, but they roll very nicely and are good for many, many miles. I love Conti's too. To me, they feel faster & seem to accelerate better than Mich's, but they ride like they're filled with concrete instead of air.

Tubular or clincher?

Schwalbe Ultremo clincher.

I heart Specialized tires. Roll well, wear well, are light enough and can be had cheap. All Condition Pros or Turbos.

Mich Pro Race 25's!

GP 4000's.

The only clincher tire worth riding.

Mich Pro Race 25's!


Good advice here. Pro Race 25's ride real nice. Good balance in my experience between rolling resistance and puncture resistance.

Vittoria Corsa CX, either the tubular or clincher version. Great experience with both.

Vittoria Corsa CX, either the tubular or clincher version. Great experience with both.
Yep, the Corsa cx tubular is a great tire. I used to ride the silk version years ago when they were more affordable. The cottons are excellent.

i like michelin pro 2 race, they seem more "comfortable" to me than conti's, although it feels like conti's might roll better.

I just noticed the Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick was at SAC for $18 each yesterday. They are my favorite non-racing tire.

The Vredestein Fortezza tire is very highly rated in the Reviews section http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/wheels/tires-clincher/vredestein/PRD_33193_2489crx.aspx
I've been using them for several years and really like them. They don't seem to have a problem with my 240 lbs. and they smooth and fast rolling at 135 psi!

So, I am down to the Conti GP4000 ("comfortable but a bit slow"), Mich Race Pro2 ( "Nice tire") and the Schwalbe Ultremo ("Great"- but pricey). I am inclined to go with the Schwalbe because I want to be the first kid on my block with these tires...seems to have all the good without the bad...?

So, I am down to the Conti GP4000 ("comfortable but a bit slow"), Mich Race Pro2 ( "Nice tire") and the Schwalbe Ultremo ("Great"- but pricey). I am inclined to go with the Schwalbe because I want to be the first kid on my block with these tires...seems to have all the good without the bad...?

Have you considered Veloflex? Their lowest tire is a 300 tpi tire with Kevlar puncture protection, 180 g. It'd be hard for me to pay more for a tire with an unknown tpi count that's heavier.

If you really wanted to, you could also pay a little bit more and go with Veloflex Record, which has a 350 tpi casing and is 130 grams. They are a race tire though, so they wear a bit quickly. These are still cheaper that the Ultremos.

two different tires....

My two road bikes that I ride for fun and group rides, I use the Conti Sport Kevlar's which are pretty nice, good pricepoint, roll well, and are pretty durable. My crit/race bike and my TT bike have Michelin Pro Race 2's.....roll better, and just seem to grip much better than any other tire I have tried..but they aren't as durable...at least for me, and they are more expensive.

conti gp 4000 or michelin pro race 2. both incredible tires.

I bit the bullet and bought the Schwalbe on e-bay...$90 for 2. I'll try them out, let you know. The Conti GP4000 and Mich were the other choices...can always get them if this doesn't work out. I got a few hundred bucks for my birthday in April...this is part of the b-day gift. The other 'gifts' to myself will be an Easton EC90 handlebar and Ritchey WCS stem. That should lighten my rig up a tad...
Thanks for all the input. A.

Michelin Pro Race.....great rolling, puncture resistant and actually the size as published (Most tires are narrower than lableled)

As to conti's.......I keep trying them and hating them......sidewalls cut way too easy on every pair I have ever had. I wouldn't spend my ex wife's money on a conty tire ever again......YMMV

Len

A tire that I like alot although NOT a name brand are the kevlar foldable Forte brand from Performance. They're pretty supple and are great in hard corners, decent in the rain and I seldom flat despite brutal city of Chicago and New Jersey roads (and MY spare tire : ) Compared to the entry level training tires from Michelin "megamiums" or Conti ultrasports, they're a better value. The Mich and Contis are very harsh by comparison. The Contis really suck in the wet, and the Michelins are a real ***** to remove to remove to swap a tube.
They always have sales. Just MHO.
Give 'em a whirl!!

Michelin Kryliums.

Slowly but surely I'm switching everything over to Continental. GP4000s these days and I continue to run Attack/Force and GP3000s.

Michelins never worked for me - they are magnets for goatheads and gladly surrender their tubes up to them. Lots of problems with slices, nicks and outright wounds. Maybe it's the dry climate.

Also like Vredestein Fortezzas, but not as well as Contis.Veloflex worked but didn't last long. Vittoria was generally disappointing.

Contis. I'm riding 4 Seasons now and liking them.

i'm riding Cadence Pro Pulsion Kevlar tires for the first time, and I like them. So far, they've lasted rather well. I also have a new pair of GP 3000s as backups, which I suppose I'll start riding sometime this autumn or next year.

Anyone using Maxxis road tyres?. I had a pair in my MTB and those lasted for AGES. Just wondering if their road range are as good.

I've been a Conti fan and user for years, raced the 3000's, recommended them to all my pals. I was first in line when the 4000's came out. I've ridden about 2000km on them. Awesome feel, great traction, yadda yadda. I blew my rear sidewall on a training ride on pristine surface last week, and that night decided to check reviews for the first time on these tires. Sure enough, the 4000's have sidewall issues. Yesterday I raced the Bear Mtn Spring Classic in NY and my remaining front Conti announced its untimely death with a gunshot flat. Wheel support was volunteer run, I got a wheel but never made it back. For the remaining 90km I enjoyed the scenery and thought of the nasty letter I'd write to Continental. It will read something like this: "I learn something in every race. Yesterday, I learned to no longer trust Continental tires for any important cycling event, and to never recommend your tires to anyone but the competition."

My tires had very few nicks, no cuts, no flats. They were nowhere near the wear line. I never exceeded the recommended PSI. Stay away. They'll turn on you! and not in a good way.

Every tire is capable of the catastrophic failure syndrome. GP 4000s are very good tires. I rode Michelins for years and years, and the Conti's are everything they were, minus the tread slicing of the Michelins.

brewster

Every tire is capable of the catastrophic failure syndrome. GP 4000s are very good tires. I rode Michelins for years and years, and the Conti's are everything they were, minus the tread slicing of the Michelins.

brewster

every time this question comes up, there are equal "examples" of the same failures for different tires.

I've never had a set of conti's where the sidewalls didn't fail long before the tread......I've got 10's of thousands of miles on Pro Race & Pro Race' 2's with zero thread slicing. Maybe we are each sensitive to the failures we've had.

All's I know is that today's tires are light years better than anything from 10 years ago.

Len

Another vote for Conti GP4000. I run 25s (I'm 205 lbs.) at 95psi front and 100 rear, and rarely flat. Also have never slipped on me and I corner pretty aggressively.

Jim

every time this question comes up, there are equal "examples" of the same failures for different tires.

I've never had a set of conti's where the sidewalls didn't fail long before the tread......I've got 10's of thousands of miles on Pro Race & Pro Race' 2's with zero thread slicing. Maybe we are each sensitive to the failures we've had.

All's I know is that today's tires are light years better than anything from 10 years ago.

Len

Sensitive is right Len - Cyclists are great at holding grudges against stuff that's let them down at key moments. Contis are great tires. I just need some space from them. Conti and I can still be friends, but I'm going to broaden my horizons, see what else is out there... That's right, Conti and me... have broken up. For now.

Sensitive is right Len - Cyclists are great at holding grudges against stuff that's let them down at key moments. Contis are great tires. I just need some space from them. Conti and I can still be friends, but I'm going to broaden my horizons, see what else is out there... That's right, Conti and me... have broken up. For now.

about the grudges......a part leaves you out in the middle of nowhere for the second or third time, you don't forget.

I'll never use Michelin racing tubes again....LOL.

Len

Mich Pro Race 25's!

Wisdom.

KS

I've had good experience with Conti 3000, Gatorskins, Armadillo, and Maxxis Columbiere

No flat and light
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=91368

Alt to Pro Race 2
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=85582

Everyday tire
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=88277