Road Cycling - New Hard Case tires.

Has anyone else seen these, or ridden them? Bontrager Race Light Hard Case tires. I hope I have a picture attached.

They seem to have a very low rolling resistance and are susposed to have a very puncture resistant case. I think this makes them ride a little harsher than the other tires I replaced but it was getting old picking flint out of my tires or fixing flats. So far no flints stickin or flats. I have one gash that was turned back from the inner casing that I am sure would have ruined my Fortezzas.

These tires arn't listed on Bontrager's web page, but I would recomend trying them for traning tires.

I had Race X Lites on my bike and loved the way they rode. The only problem was they had a tendency to pick up "crap" and flat. Also if you don't mind could you let me know what they go for and where to get them?

I got them from the small bike shop here in town. He brought them back from some big bike show this summer. These ARE NOTHING like the race x lights you have seen. These are tripple layered kevlar, wire bead, grippy grey shoulders with a central ridge. I have had nothing sticking out, or in them after the first 120 miles or so. Usually I get some flint chips, glass, or wire out of the Conti. tires I was riding. The side walls where sorta stiff on the first long ride, but it seems that the more I ride them the sidewalls are loosening up some and giving a little less harsh ride than when I first rode on them.
I have also searched the internet high and low and have not been able to find them anywhere!!! I paid $28.00 each. I hope they are worth this price. It's begining to look like I am the only one here that has tried them?
I think I'll make a few more pix. :)

Just a couple of more pix. One shows the gouge that I think would have ruined other tires I have used.

These sound like a winner. Will have to check them out. Looking at your location I'm guessing you are in Chattanooga. If so what shop did you get them at, my mother lives just north of there.

I have also searched the internet high and low and have not been able to find them anywhere!!! I paid $28.00 each. I hope they are worth this price. It's begining to look like I am the only one here that has tried them?
I think I'll make a few more pix. :)

Nope, I put one on my wife's LeMond a couple of months ago. She doesn't ride enough to tell the difference but said it was fine. She couldn't tell the difference frome the Race lite she had on there before. I paid $30. I plan on getting more of them for my bike as well.

I'm guessing you are in Chattanooga

Union City, other end of the state, sorry. BTR cycle here in UC.

Thank goodness someone else has seen these. I was beginning to think this guy had the only ones made! :D
So far so good for me.

georgesnatcher: I would just check around, I'm not sure if they are an on market item yet.

Has anyone else seen these, or ridden them? Bontrager Race Light Hard Case tires. I hope I have a picture attached.

They seem to have a very low rolling resistance and are susposed to have a very puncture resistant case. I think this makes them ride a little harsher than the other tires I replaced but it was getting old picking flint out of my tires or fixing flats. So far no flints stickin or flats. I have one gash that was turned back from the inner casing that I am sure would have ruined my Fortezzas.

These tires arn't listed on Bontrager's web page, but I would recomend trying them for traning tires.

I have a pair of Hard Cases on my hybrid. In just over 1000 miles, not one problem, and I have ridden through glass on several occasions and didn't even pick up so much as one shard.

If you want puncture resistance, Specialised Armadillos are the best I've tried. But only on your training bike! They are very dead.

man, im really waking up an old thread but...

i went to my lbs get some new tires for my fixie commuter. i was hoping to get specialized armadillos but they were not in stock (of course, it seems like all lbs's have problems with having specialized products in stock for some reason... i blame specialized :p ). anyway, the guy behind the counter suggested the bontrager hard case tires. he said they were comparable to the amadillos although they were pricier (around $30+, maybe?), couple bucks at most. i was just wondering if that was true. they felt a lot lighter than amaradillos that ive felt in the past, but i could be wrong.
i need a durable, puncture resistant tire because i commute to work all week and i have to ride through the ghetto. i am currently running continental gatorskins and i think they are cr@p. i got two flats the first week and one other the next. im constantly pulling out glass shards that get lodged in there. picks em up and holds them like tape. i got frustrated with the flat bs so i put kevlar liners in the tires. im sure that might sound redundant to some, but i havent gotten a flat since. im sure ive made the tires a lot heavier by adding the liners so that they would perform like theyre supposed to :rolleyes: .

so please drop some knowledge on this topic. i was thinking about getting those bontragers but i want to hear some other opinions before i do so. i dont want to end up with another pair of tires that are 'puncture-proof' like gatorskins... :mad:

Well let's see, I started this thread in October of 03. I have put around 1200 miles on these tires since then and had 0, zero, noda flat on these tires that where the fault of the tire. I did have one valve stem seperation from the tube, not the tires fault. One of the other things I have noticed about them is that they seem to wear very well. I like Veredestin Fortezza for fast summer time rides, but I bet that the Hard Case tires will out last them 3 to 1. I haven't regreted paying the $30 for them at all.

BTW, I hit something last week on a rainy ride that ruined one of my Fortezzas, punched a hole in it big as an ink pen! :eek: More than $30 to replace that one!

Where I use to live in Thistle Town I use to get flats like crazy and when I switched to the Armadillos all flats stopped. Since I moved away from thistles and goatheads but still commute to work I left a Armadillo on the back and switched to a Conti 4 Seasons on the front, but the roads are less trashy here. One thing you could try doing, is to put a Armadillo on the rear and a Hard Case on the front and see which flats the most...but keep in mind the rear always will have a higher percentage of flats than the front. But this should give you some indication as to how good one is over the other.

----<snip>----
These tires arn't listed on Bontrager's web page, but I would recomend trying them for traning tires.


But they are listed.. http://www.bontrager.com/roadtires/detail.asp?id=176&pt=9

Has anyone else seen these, or ridden them? Bontrager Race Light Hard Case tires. I hope I have a picture attached.

They seem to have a very low rolling resistance and are susposed to have a very puncture resistant case. I think this makes them ride a little harsher than the other tires I replaced but it was getting old picking flint out of my tires or fixing flats. So far no flints stickin or flats. I have one gash that was turned back from the inner casing that I am sure would have ruined my Fortezzas.

These tires arn't listed on Bontrager's web page, but I would recomend trying them for traning tires.

I have them and they are tuff. I weight 232 right now. so they get a workout. the back had glass and some metal stuck in it when I got a flat. but guess what? it was on the inside of the tube. that was after 1500 miles. the back was getting a bit thin so I rotated them and they are still going. never a flat from junk on the road.

I forgot. the front never got anything stuck in it at all. only the back after it was getting thinner. I got a second set on a clearence sale for 15.00 each.

What is the max inflation pressure (PSI) on those tires?

120 on the 25's

sorebutt, At the time I started the thread they wheren't on the web site, thank's for posting a link. :)

I ride the 700x23 with 120 psi in the front and 135 in the rear. I liked them so much I had the bike shop order me a set in 26x1.25 for my commuter. I have picked glass, wire, and rock chips out of these tires and haven't had a flat on these either, for what it's worth. I noticed that some of the Trek Navigator bikes come with the 1.95 HC tires from the factory. I was running the Richie Tom slick in 1 inch before this. They are flat free so far and ride better. I haven't lost much speed by swithcing to the slightly larger tire.
I must in all fairness I have no experence with Armadillos and we have no goat heads here. Mostly broken glass and metal fragments. I would buy the HC again no hesitation. ;)