daihard 

Hi.

It is time for me to get new tires. I've currently got a pair of GP 4000 S-II's. I'm wondering if any of you can recommend tires that are more flat-resistant than they are? I've ridden them for a little over 1,200 miles with two flats (both on the rear). I've been told by the locals that I should expect no less since I mostly ride on the road and Seattle roads stink with cracks and potholes, but if there are brands that most people would recommend, I'd love to try them out.

TIA!

ClarkinHawaii

I believe Conti Gatorskins and Specialized Armadillo are the two best-selling flat-resistant road tires.

DXchulo

Robot Check

BTW, cracks and potholes shouldn't cause flat tires. Junk in the road will.

daihard 

Thanks. How do the Maxxis Re-Fuse tires compare with the GP 4000s in terms of suppleness?

redlude97

I've got almost 2500 miles on my gp4ks riding exclusively on seattle roads with still plenty of life left. Are the GP4kS-II that much worse wearing? I've also only gotten 1 flat on them in that time

daihard 

That's a good question. I was having an LBS guy adjust the rear derailleur for me when he mentioned that the rear tire was getting near the end of its life, pointing to the flat spots. I may be able to avoid getting flats by inspecting the tires more rigorously before each ride, but I'm not sure what I could do to get the tires to last longer. I'm guessing it's the way I ride, but I'm not sure what it is.

catonec 

I have good luck with vittoria open corsa evo's. plus I think they roll faster than the gp4k's

TrojanHorse

C'mon dude... GP4k tires are "performance" tires, not flat resistant tires. Do you want supple or flat resistant?

Furthermore, when tires near end of life, you will start to flat more often.

If your tires are worn out, replace them. If you want supple, use GP4ks, if you want flat resistant, use gatorskins. If you want supple and flat resistant, well... buy a patch kit and suck it up.

daihard 

I did a search on BF and found quite a few people experiencing few or no flats on the GP4000's - that's the main reason I bought them in the first place. I'm greedy. I want both supple and flat-less ride...

TrojanHorse

OK, I had flats all the time with GP4k tires and switched to Michelin Pro4 service course. No flats ever, other than when I ran over glass. Clearly, Michelin is superior to Continental.

daihard 

Thanks for the info. Now it's time for me to do some research on the Pro 4's!

TrojanHorse

No really, if you want flat resistant, put gatorskins on your bike. If you want something else, Conti and Michelin both make pretty excellent training tires, but if you run over crap in the road, you will get flats.

Dunbar

I would try the Pro 4's first since tires like the Gatorkins/Gator Hardshell and Durano Plus are going to be slower rolling and ride worse. I've had great luck with GP4000S tires here in socal and do not miss heavier duty tires one bit.

loimpact

I'm sure I'll totally jinx myself now but........I've never flatted over glass. I seem to run over it constantly and just never have a problem with it no matter the quality of tire. I always get the weird stuff like metallic slivers or unidentified sharp plant life or world's sharpest rock. (pfffft!)

I have no better recommendations than those already mentioned.

illdrag0n

Schwalbe Durano Plus???

rpenmanparker 

OP, you don't just look at the flat center strip per se to determine tire life on a GP4K IIS. Rear tires gets a flat strip in the middle of the tread pretty quickly after you install them. You look at the two small indicator dimples in the center of the flat strip. When they disappear (IOW when the rubber wears away around them), it is time to think about replacement. Just like on the gas tank of your car, there is more mileage left even after the warning, but that is when to get ready to buy new. And don't forget, the best plan for replacement is to move the front to the rear, and put the new tire on the front.

shelbyfv

I don't have a problem with flats on the GP 4000sII but they do cut easily so I have a drawer full of "good" tires that need a boot I've recently tried the GP GT which supposedly has the rubber compound of the 4000sII, just more of it. They are about $10 cheaper as well.

xscottypx

would PSI play into flats? i ride 90-95 ish on 25's. i would think lower PSI would dampen the ride and roll over debris easier.

Lazyass

2800 miles on a set of 25c Krylion Carbons and not a single flat. Very good wear, they still aren't squared off yet. I rotated them about 1000 miles ago. I won't buy another tire as long as they make them.

shoota 

Did I seriously just see Pro4 SC tires recommended as a flat-protection upgrade to GP4000s?? You gotta be kidding me..

rpenmanparker 

Up to a point lower pressure makes for a more desirable ride. The main effect of pressure on the frequency of flats is the prevention of pinch flats by higher pressures. The question of whether higher or lower pressures make tires more susceptible to road hazard punctures is totally unsettled. There are competing effects such as a larger contact patch at lower pressure (statistically greater probability of encountering road debris) vs. greater resistance to penetration by a softer tire that is under less inflation stress. And then there is rolling resistance which increases with lower pressure on smooth surfaces. In general the favored practice is to establish a compromise of all these effects that is suitable for your bike + rider weight and riding conditions. You can certainly ride a lower pressure in the front tire than in the rear.

Blue Belly

Better roads = less flats. Avoiding crap in the road = less flats Flat resistant tires carry no guarantee. I am living proof of that.

rpenmanparker 

There was no emoticon, but I just assumed he WAS joking. I thought that should have been made a bit clearer. But he could have been serious. There is an awful lot of decision making around here on the basis on very small data sets, or more accurately put, anecdotes. So one guys improbable success in avoiding flats could fuel a whole movement to the Michelin tires. Go figure!

shoota 

Ha that's about right. At first I thought he was joking (hoped is more like it), but then the OP said he would go research the Pro4s so I had to say something.

rpenmanparker 

That is great success with the Krylion Carbons. They are widely thought to be a good tire, and I put some on my (grown) daughter's bike a while back. Once the family mechanic, always the family mechanic I guess.

I would only say that you appear to be interested in the greatest service life possible from your tires. If you are intent on continuing to use the same tire model (and color), there is no better way to guarantee that you will get the most mileage out of each and every tire than wearing out the back, moving the front to the back, and replacing the front. Each tire becomes maximally worn while on the rear and is then discarded.

Rotating the tires as you reported that you did, and I assume replacing both at the same time, will most likely result in one tire being used less than the other unless you continually move them back and forth to get perfect evenness. Even if the difference is slight, the desirability of always having a nearly new tire on the front further justifies the alternate plan I suggested above.

I should mention that I rotated my tires just as you described for about 30 years before folks on the BF pointed out the error of my ways. I am now an enthusiastic convert. Just payin' it forward.