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info on general tire info needed.

3K views 26 replies 8 participants last post by  stevesbike 
#1 ·
hey guys. since im new to roadie side of things. can someone please give me some info or a good link to learn about the wheel/tires?

i see guys referencing numbers. tire widths etc. etc.
im lost. lol

any help would be great
 
#4 ·
just buy Continental 4000s for clinchers (700x23). If you want 'exotic' clinchers get the Continental attack/force combo (front and rear specific tires, 700x22 and 700x24). If you want to be trendy, buy 4000s in 700x25 but only if you have wide rims. Buy them from a UK site on sale or amazon for the attack/force.

That's all you need to know. Seriously. That will save you hours of 'research' that could be better spent riding your bike!
 
#5 ·
This one brand tire for all people is nonsense. All you have to do to make sure you get a decent tire for a decent price is to shop the big cycling internet stores like Performance Bike and Nashbar (their both the same company but have different products) Go to the tire section select sort by percent off, then find tires with the best reviews. Doing it that way will save you at the very least a third of the cost of a Continental 4000s and most of todays tires will last at least as long, ride just as good, be just as puncture resistant has a Conti and maybe better then a Conti.

Reading reviews on various tires will give you all the insight you need to know about how good a particular brands model is. Don't rely on one review though, make sure it has at least five.

If money is no object for you and your limited on time then get whatever tire at an LBS they recommend and don't worry about it because most modern tires are decent.
 
#6 ·
The problem with Nashbar and Performance is that they often dump tires that are poor selling (because they aren't very good, such as certain Maxxis and Kenda tires). Instead of 'researching' reviews, just go to places like probikekit and get 4000s - there isn't a tire that is better in terms of combined score of all attributes. You can find them for under $40/tire shipped including tax, both of which are add ons at Performance/Nashbar. You can also wait for the UK sites to have discount codes and stock up.
 
#18 ·
This is true to some degree, but they also sell tires at huge discounts that have gotten rave reviews, just check their reviews and other reviews on the internet before you buy. And Pro racers do not ride exclusively on Conti tires there are quite a few manufactures they ride on with no unusual problems in any aspect, that must tell you something that Conti are not the only good tires on the market. In fact Conti tires are on fewer race teams then other manufactures.

Lets get real here.
 
#20 ·
i should also mention. im not racing. just training.
and i live in MI. our roads are pure sh#@$. so i do need something a little more on the durable side compared to a full blown race tire if that exists...

i know flats are innevitable sometimes, but proper tire choice might help avoid so many?
 
#21 ·
If you want flat protection, I love my Maxxis Refuse. Not the most supple tire or best handling but tough as nails. Gatorskins and Armadillos also get very high marks for this.

I use a Refuse on the rear and a Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick on the front. The Rubino is a fairly tough tire in its own right but a little better handling, less resistance IMO.

Flats are most likely to occur on the rear, so I like this combo.
 
#26 ·
I'm sorry for not phrasing that correctly, I meant clinchers that some pros and a lot do while training. A lot of them use Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX, some use Schwalbe Evolution...in fact this tire has been proven to save 10 watts over tubular tires! Some have been seen on Veloflex, but mostly they use what ever brand the sponsors provide for them, and if one brand was far superior over another they would all be using it, but you don't find that in either clinchers, or tubulars, since you brought that up.

While the Gatoskin does use the Duraskin sidewalls it's less effective then most other companies sidewalls at flat and scuff protection,
 
#27 ·
not sure what you're basing that claim re Schwalbe, but the various Ultremo clinchers aren't even the fastest clinchers. The ZLX is pretty fast but doesn't have a puncture belt and I would advise a general rider to stay clear of Schwalbe clinchers for the simple reason that they have a history of bad production runs (a recall) and discussion boards are full of complaints about their tires deforming after a few hundred kms.
 
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