zeego

Looking to get some new tires for my De Rosa build. Don't know too much about tires these days. Looking for some suggestions on some durable, all around, tires that won't cost me an arm and a leg. The tires are going on some Mavic Open Pros. What are you liking? Thanks a lot.

oddjob2

What, 9 minutes and the Panaracer Pasela TG group hasn't chimed in yet?

They are a bargain at about $23 each.

I like Vittoria Zaffiro's too, but they are mighty tighty to mount. Serfac Seca's are decent as well, a little more money.

daf1009

I was about to go there! But...hmmmm...something about a DeRosa just does not say Pasela to me...

KonAaron Snake 

What year/model is the de rosa? What do you consider an arm and a leg? I like Conti gp 4000s a lot myself, but they aren't gum wall.

zeego

1986ish Professional. I consider $100 to be a lot for a tire but what in the hell do I know?

Bianchigirll 

I might still put the Pasela tires on it.

In general I think tires today, especially anything with a flat protection belt/case, are much more durable that years ago. Any non racing tire should give you great service.

Bianchigirll 

$100 for a bike tire? WOW I know folks who wouldn't pay that for car tires!!

zeego

Sorry...I was looking at the Conti Grand Prix 4000s Black Chili and thought the 4000's were all that expensive. Jeeesh. Maybe thats for a pair.

KonAaron Snake 

If you hit the right sale you can get the gp4000s for under a hundred for the pair. It's not cheap, but they are excellent tires.

Kactus

With such a nice frame you should get tire that will allow it to ride and look its best. I'd look at Veloflex Masters; they ride nice for clinchers and are gum walls.

crank_addict

I'm guessing you have clincher rims and you're asking for durability.

Add longevity, respectable ride quality, low rolling resistance to the criteria and I certainly wouldn't rule out Tufo tubular-clinchers. As for price, $30 more over a pair of Pasela's is well worth it.

BTW: Another benefit is no more pinch flats on pot hole ridden streets.


Study the concept and then ride them.

D1andonlyDman

Vittoria Rubino III - available for a great price at Wheel&Sprocket, in a range of colors.

Vittoria Rubino III Tire 700x23

gomango

Good choice for sure.

If you can find Veloflex Master 25s that's another winner.

I grabbed a set of these Clement LGGs earlier this summer and I really like these better than Paselas.

Nice looking, corner/roll well and no issues with durability yet.

On sale at $31 per is a decent price.

Clement Strada LGG 60tpi tire, 700x25c - tan from Bike Bling

John E

Thanks for the post -- I had never heard of those. This forum is always educational!

bikemig 

+ 1. There have been big improvements in terms of flat protection.

Oldairhead 

With tires you can have durable or fast or cheap, pick one.

RobbieTunes

Continental GP4000S II.
Fast
Light
Durable

and getting cheaper every day in 700x23 because the 25's are selling very well.

D1andonlyDman

You can generally get 2 out of 3. And if you catch a great sale, you can often get 2.5 out of 3. For example, the Rubino III tires I posted about above: Pretty durable, pretty fast (although there certainly are tires that are either faster or more durable) and currently available for 1/3 the normal price, which moves them into cheap as well, which they are normally not.

mikemowbz

+1 (or +2...)

Yeah, the GP 4000s are great.

I ride Gatorskins too, for the extra flat protection and durability in the city...but some folks don't like 'em (a bit wooden in the ride quality dept, they tell me) and moving up to the GP 4000s just makes sense for such a slick bike as that De Rosa.

I like Veloflex Masters alright, but wouldn't necessarily vouch for longevity if that's a key criteria.

I might take a look at those Tufo tires posted by crank_addict myself.

KonAaron Snake 

I havn't used these GMG...how would you compare them to Veloflex?

I'm much less impressed by Paselas than others here, and I am completely unimpressed by the Vittorias I've had.

rccardr 

Rubino PRO III's simply ROCK for the price (just make sure they are BOTH PRO and III), although I prefer the 25's. They run about $32 per tire.
If you can afford to spend $100 on a pair of tires, shop around for Vittoria Open Corsa's, the 320tpi version (I've bought them for about $85 shipped). Supple ride and I seldom flat.

D1andonlyDman

The ones I recommended were the IIIs, not the PRO IIIs. Main differences are, the PRO III is a folding tire with a Kevlar bead, the III is not, and as a result, the III is slightly heavier - and the III is presently available for much cheaper than the PRO III. Nothing wrong with the PRO IIIs either, except I don't think they're worth the premium over the IIIs that I am currently seeing - I paid $17.55 a tire all in for the III with my repeat customer discount.

Regarding 25s vs. 23s, IMHO, Vittorias tend to run slightly wider than some other brands. My two favorite tires for the price are those Rubino IIIs and the Performance Bike proprietary Forte Pro+ Wire Bead, which I've never paid more than $20 for, and which were on sale during the couple of days before Black Friday for $12.55 each + tax. And basically, the Forte Pro+ 25s are the same size as the Rubino III 23s, if not even a hair thinner.

Chrome Molly

Another vote for the 4000s dos.

I have some veloflex master 25's and I don't consider them durable tires. They roll wonderfully, but durable they are not.

gomango

Hard rubber on the Clement. Less road feel. Less stick in tight corners. Don't roll as well.

Much cheaper as well than the Veloflex, which may play into one's decision making process.

The softer rubber of the Veloflex will likely wear faster, but on a bike like a De Rosa, one may want to get a real performance tire.

gomango

The Open Corsas compare favorably performance wise to the Veloflex Master tires, but I'll stick with Veloflex for most of my clincher equipped rides. imho

Kind of a brand loyalty thing for me I guess.