2702

Seems interesting. Going to put a bigger tire on my Sirrus, bones are getting older and need more cushion than a 23mm will offer.
Specialized Bicycle Components

FamilyMan007

I can certainly understand the appeal to move away from 23 - sounds uncomfortable to my old bones.
Even the ones you linked to have no interest to me while a 25/28 is the widest.
Hope you locate a tire you like - I find the 32mm Continental Sport Contact IIs which came with my bike as OE work absolutely wonderfully - and even then I inflate well below maximum pressures (I base on - but a little higher than - this document https://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf )

2702

I went for it today. Went to Performance Bike and got a Conti Grand Prix 4000S II. Got it at 25mm, with a 330 TPI should be plenty comfortable. I asked the staff if I don't like it can I return it for something else? They said yes everything at PB has a return policy even used tires. Going to put it on tonight and try it out!

The shop that sells that Roubaix pro tire does not take returns on tires too risky for me to just try.

FamilyMan007

Since you are looking for more comfort I am not sure you can go too far wrong putting on what should be a quality tire that is a little wider than you are currently using.

I obviously place a much higher emphasis than you on perceived 'comfort'. As a matter of interest - what characteristics would likely make you want to return either the Roubais or the Conti ?

Wanderer

Since you are looking for more comfort, why not try something in the 32 to 35 range? That's if your Sirrus will take that wide of a tire...

An added bonus would be better traction and flotation in all aspects of riding.

2702

I'm not into tires 28mm and higher due to it losing some agility . 23 is too uncomfortable at times and 25mm and 28mm is the sweet spot. These high priced Conti are very very nice, the lower rolling resistance is very evident. I had never tried a tire over 330 TPI before.
As for the question of returning a tire, I like softness and a tire that conforms to the road and rolls easy and is durable. I think Gatorskins fits that bill but many would not agree with that so that's why I think its probably best to buy local from a shop that takes returns on expensive tires like Performance Bike.
My car tires are 65 dollars each while the Conti 4000 were 55 dollars. You bet I want a refund if they don't meet my expectations at those prices.

Grey.

Can you really tell the difference between two millimeters?

2702

Its the high TPI that is a big difference and yes I can tell the difference in tire sizing. More volumne of air, better casing, material of tire. Its like a tennis racquet, you can buy one at Target for 30 bucks or one for 200 bucks at the fancy tennis shop. There is a difference.

khutch

There is a Berto Tire Pressure ap for Android phones in the Play Store if you are interested. I don't do iOS but they may have one too. The age of your bones has less to do with how wide a tire you need than the mass of yourself. Even for the relatively low (by racing standards) Berto pressure a 23mm, 120 psi rear tire is too small for a 180 pound rider and a 25 has only 4 psi to spare for a 200 pound rider. You won't inflate either of those to a typical racing pressure for your weight, you would have to find higher pressure tires if you want to run that small. A 140 pound TdF rider who is running 170 psi is about 70 psi over his Berto pressure and you cannot do that on 23's if you weigh more than that. Your tires will be quite efficient when inflated to the Berto pressure and running 70 pounds over the Berto pressure is probably well into diminishing returns territory but probably anyone over 150 to 160 pounds really should use at least a 25mm rear tire if they want to race and have their rear tire rolling as efficiently as lighter rider's are. A 23 on the front should be sufficient for even a 200 pounder.

But I am a huge fan of fatter tires. If I owned one even my road bike would run 28s and my very road like hybrid is running 38s right now. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in the Grand Prix 4000 tires so I am betting the OP won't be returning them. Personally I would go with the 32mm Grand Prix 4-Season and I may do that. I'm not sure my aging Vittoria Voyager Hypers are up to the gravel loop on RAGBRAI this year and while I could replace them with the same I would like to try an even higher thread count casing. My tentative plan was to consider the Vittoria 28 mm Open Pave but since the 4-Seasons are now available in 32mm that might be the weapon of choice for me.

2702

I got them on today in the front. In 25/28 sizing. The Sirrus Expert in 23 or 25 front tire seems twitchy to me and there are times it feels too slim for cracked roads. The Roubaix Pro 25/28 is actually wider than 28 Gatorskins.
Handling is improved because its wider but, it rides just like a Gatorskin except for the lower price you might not notice the difference between these 2.
I rode around with a 23mm in the rear for a bit, it was very fun. The front 25/28 for handling, traction and the small rear tires helps a lot to make it feel agile. But it was too uncomfortable so back went a 25mm Rubino Pro Slick in the rear. Less fun but more stable overall.
I think I will stick with the bigger front smaller rear for a bit now. Its works for me.

Wanderer

Funny you should say that.... I mix tires, putting the wider one in the rear.

I find that the wider one improves comfort, while the narrow one on the front improves handling, meaning quicker and more precise. The narrow on the front does not impact comfort as much, and the wider on the rear does not affect handling as much.....

My Crosstrail came with 45s as OEM, and I ended up with a 40 on the back, and a 35 on the front. My Sirrus came with 28s, and I will probably end up with a 32 on the front, and a 35 on the back (about the widest that will fit on mine).

Of course, it would be much different in the mud...............

Food for thought.... MHO

Monstermash

Any word on what the actual size is on these tires? Do they measure 28mm or??? If someone could post up a measurement (and on what size rim) that would be great as I'm considering a set of these.

2702

Here is a 28mm shootout 28mm Tire Shootout - Slowtwitch.com

Here they measured it - Specialized Road Tires 2014 - Slowtwitch.com
I’m a fan of larger tires for training, and the Roubaix Pro did not disappoint. Specialized sent the 25mm version to Tom for roller testing, and the 28mm version to me for real-world pothole bashing. The retail price is $55 per tire, and the quoted weight is 260 grams (25mm) to 300 grams (28mm).

When installed on the 17mm (internal width) Roval CLX60 wheels, my tires measured a whopping 28.4mm at 90psi when brand new. My titanium frame has generous tire clearance and had no trouble fitting it, and Specialized says that it fits their endurance-minded Roubaix frame.

Monstermash

Thank you for the info 2702!

I considering the 25/28 Roubaix tire as well as the Conti 4000s II, and the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX in 28mm.

flan48

Very interesting! Within the past 3 months I replaced the rear tire, and very recently the front tire, on my Trek 7.4FX with the Continental Contact tires. These were highly recommended by my LBS, who stated that especially at this price point, they are of very high quality.

I am very, very pleased with them. I run them at around 80 psi.

Best regards

badger1

I'm a fan of 32s as well. The Roubaix Pro is now available in a 30/32 -- I have them.

badger1

Quick clarification: Conti counts tpi by adding up the three plies; the GP4000s (great tires by the way) actually use a 110 tpi (per layer) casing material. That's still high-end high tpi (for a clincher), but the '330' number Conti uses is a little misleading.

khutch

To add a little more to the story the reason to pay attention to the casing tpi is that high tpi tends to make for a more efficient tire. It is not entirely clear how efficient the 330 tpi Conti tires are since it is hard to find efficiency measurements at all and especially so for tires wider than 25mm. If I recall correctly the efficiency numbers I have seen on the GP tires are good, but perhaps not as good as true 330 tpi tires.

With a little bit of looking I found this which is the best tire efficiency data I know of although it is now 5 years out of date.

Jarrett2

I had some on my Secteur stock. They flatted a bit too much for my liking. I'm a Gatorskin/Gator Hardshell 25 fan now. I also have some 28 Specialized Armadillo Elites on my Secteur that are nice as well.

2702

I think that's right, the Roubaix tire is more of a flat profile. I think it works well with a more sporty " tippy" racing tire in the rear. I like that setup.