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Vittoria Open Pave EVO CG Vs. Conti GP4000

4K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  tidi 
#1 ·
I have Conti GP4000's in 23mm with 1.5k miles on them, trying to decide if the Vittoria Open Pave EVO CG would give me a better ride.

I weigh 190 pounds, ride through downtown/city areas with lots of: potholes, cable car tracks, cracks in pavement and I also end up spending a good amount of time on chip seal or bad roads in general.

Also wondering in general what are the advantages of a 23mm tire vs a 25 or 27? Less rolling resistance? I would think you get more cornering grip with the larger tires and more comfort.

thanks in advance.
 
#2 · (Edited)
maaw said:
. . Also wondering in general what are the advantages of a 23mm tire vs a 25 or 27? Less rolling resistance? I would think you get more cornering grip with the larger tires and more comfort. . .
Not an expert, but my understanding is that, generally, wider tires increase rolling resistance. Rolling resistance depends on road surface material, tire material, tire pressure, and load carried by tire. However, chip seal and similar road surfaces tend to cause increasing rolling resistance for thinner tires, as thinner tires are more prone to being snagged by uneven road surfaces.

Wider tires tend to provide more comfortable rides as they help absorb tire/road vibration more than thinner tires.

I use 25 and 28 size tires to increase comfort, and to decrease rolling resistance on roads in my area which are mainly chip sealed (or similar surface) = poor surface for cycling.

The Vittoria Pave tire is 24 size I believe. This tire may not be wide enough to handle the roads in your area. You may have to look at wider tires from 25 and up.
 
#3 ·
i have been on the open pave's all spring and they have been great, no cuts and wearing well considering all the junk on the road around here. I run open corsa cx's in the summer and the open paves ride just as well, very smooth and very fast for a tougher tire. Sounds like it will work well for your riding, but it's a vittoria and a 700x24 may not be wide enough, in fact a 700x23 conti may be just as wide. IMO vittorias always ran thin compared to michelin and conti, but that depends on rims and pressures to.
 
#4 ·
Not the way it works

meeshu said:
Not an expert, but my understanding is that, generally, wider tires increase rolling resistance. Rolling resistance depends on road surface material, tire material, tire pressure, and load carried by tire. However, chip seal and similar road surfaces tend to cause increasing rolling resistance for thinner tires, as thinner tires are more prone to being snagged by uneven road surfaces.

The Vittoria Pave tire is 24 size I believe. This tire may not be wide enough to handle the roads in your area. You may have to look at wider tires from 25 and up.
Wider tires, at the same pressure, have less rolling resistance for two reasons: 1) the tire casing deflects less so there is less hysteresis loss and 2) less energy is transmitted to the rider (and thus lost) because the tire conforms better to road surface irregularities. That said, narrower tires are typically run at higher pressures, so unless you get to extremes of width and pressure, there's not a lot of difference. Higher pressures in tires cause them to bounce off the road rough spots, and that energy is transmitted to the rider and lost.

Tires that can be ridden at the correct pressure (100 psi/7 bar) plus or minus 10 psi will last longer, give a better ride, and provide better traction.

Comparing a 24 and a 25 mm width tire is a bit specious. It is not uncommon for one company's 25 to be narrower than another company's 23. You could NEVER tell 1 mm difference in width.
 
#6 ·
i have just replaced a pair of conti gp4000 with vittoria open pave and i got everything i wanted with the pave's. both tires weighed the same on my digital kitchen scale of 250 grams each, even though contis advertise 205 grams i think for the 23. cool! gonti's were ok. i ran them at 100 and even though comfortable they didn't give much support. so really they felt too soft. when i pumped them to around 105/108 i was uncomfortable with the hardness even though they stiffened up somewhat. also too narrow on my dt swiss rr1.1 rims. in the wet they were shyte.
pave's have only been ridden once but i loved them. good size as they are 24 and the ride is incredible. at 100 they can smooth out a whole lot more than the coni's did for me with total support, meaning they didn't feel as though they were bottomed out or they would roll off the rim. sidewalls felt excellent. i did notice the extra grip which was very stable and confidence inspiring, but haven't ridden enough to know if they are much slower.
 
#7 ·
Open Corsa and Open Pave are not the same tire. Open Pave is the one for Paris-Roubaix, it can take serious abuse. In fact I wore mine through to tyre casing without ever puncturing. Has not happened with any other tire. I raced them too and definitely would not call them slow. Pros ride the tubular version in 28mm I believe. Open Pave 24mm is much more comfortable than a Conti GP4000 or Rubino Pro in 25mm.

Too bad I can't find the Paves anywhere here anymore because nobody buys them. Too heavy and wide I suppose. Bah, humbug says I.
 
#8 ·
you can try totalcycling.com they stock them. i gave my new pave's a good ride yesterday and have decided they are the best tire i have used so far. good traction, good cornering and comfortable. also the speed is on par with the conti 4k's as far as i can make out. excellent tires.
 
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