CrankyNeck

Thanks Mulberry20. I just may give them a try.

sevenmag

Used to love the Rubino Pros. Then I moved and 90 percent of what I ride on is chip seal. Seems everything wears out in about the same amount of time regardless of price, and nothing feels any better than anything else on this garbage pavement. Performance's Forte Strada is currently the go to. They're round and roll, they ride nice enough and don't wear out any faster than anything else. If I'm going to buy 2 or 3 sets of tire a year, they might as well be cheap.

OldsCOOL

Michelin Krylion 23mm for me. Next set will be the new Power Competition.

Sewups would be Tufo S33 Pro 21mm.

seau grateau

I like Panaracer for commuter/beater tires. Pasela PT's are great bang for buck. Experimenting with Michelin and Vittoria for more srs bsns riding. Got a slight bias against Conti.

noodle soup

I'm using Power Endurance now on my road bike. I'm very pleased so far, but purchased 10 Pro4 Endurance tires just in case.

TimothyH

They have really upped their game. I've read good things.

Specialized flat-out admitted that their tires did not live up to the reputation they had earned back in the day. This was brutally honest from a company that made their name making revolutionary tires.

It isn't every day that a CEO steps forward, acknowledges that their product has not kept up with the competition and then does something about it.


Compass are just in a class by themselves. They are the Cadillac Sedan Deville de Elegance of tires. Pure luxury.


-Tim-

HazeT

I used only GP4000's until I realized how often I was replacing tires due to sidewall damages.
Right now I'm into a love-hate relationship with Schwalbe One's tubeless. I hate removing that thing from the wheel so badly that I actually used a chef knife to cut one out of the rim, but on the other hand on my last 3 "flats" I just heard a hissing and continued my ride which is so nice.

FeltF2Tarmac

I like how you think

Sy Reene

I'll flat out (pun intended) admit that I don't know much about the tire business, but isn't a company like Specialized, who is fundamentally a bike frame company and not a tire manufacturer, at a disadvantage to the others (eg. Michelin, Continental, etc.)? ie. does Specialized have it's own tire/rubber manufacturing and R&D facility? Or are they subject to working with whatever capabilities a contract manufacturer might have overseas?

dr_lha

Sadly the reviews I've seen suggest that the new Power Endurance are worse. The Pro4 Endurance v2 tire is just a great tire, plus it comes in blue.

noodle soup

I'm using the Power Endurance for about 1k miles, and can't find any faults so far. They seem to ride a tiny bit quieter/smoother, but it could just be my imagination. No noticeable difference in speed.

Marcus_Ti

Open Corsa are nicer. You can also get their 320TPI tires cheap several times a year. Last batch I got for $30/tire.

dr_lha

Obviously glad to hear that. I'll admit though, when I read the review saying they were worse, I went and bought a bunch of Pro4's on clearance, so it'll be a while until I get to try out the Powers.

rpenmanparker 

You are certainly right. But a company with the marketing power and industry stroke of Specialized can make a very attractive deal with the best of the tire manufacturers for a top notch tire design. They can basically call out the weight, Crr, tread life, sidewall durability, etc. that they want and get the top tire folks to compete with each other to provide it. You have to assume that some very significant tire company will be standing behind Specialized.

noodle soup

I bought 10 when they started to dissappear from the distributors.

The Power Endurance seem every bit as good, but with only 1k miles, it's too soon to know for sure.

HardyWeinberg

GP4000s are worthless around where I live. I liked them except for the holding air part.

I am still having some ptsd with tubeless schwalbe ones. After I had a setup blow out and take me down hard (knee sprain) I can not right now make myself bank that bike into a turn, after a month back on it (I mean, I don't turn while bolt upright but I definitely brake into turns I normally wouldn't). My other bike with tubes, no problem. I don't have any problem taking the ones off the rim (maybe hence that blowout). If I can't get back to normal turning at some point within the (limited) lifespan of those tires, that bike is going back to tubes. But boy the self-sealing is sooo nice...

AlexCyclistRoch

For tubulars only:

Vitoria-really great tires (except for the crappy Rally line), but costly, easily punctured, wears quickly, and those with latex tubes are a pain needing air EVERY TIME you ride.

Conti: Good, reliable tires. Giro is about the best "cheap" tubular out there, but comes only in classic gumwall. Sprinters are expensive, but worth the cost.

Tufo: Strong, reliable, always true and non-lumpy, and a good price if you look around. Avoid the 'special' versions-they are so hard that they ride like a truck. Also, if you do flat, you can only fix it with sealant; they can not be repaired by hand.

chaadster

It may not be a disadvantage in any sense, and certainly is not in terms of being able to offer a top tire; they've already proved that with products like the S-Works Turbo and Turbo Cotton.

Also, Specialized is owned in major part by Merida, the Taiwanese firm, and the second largest bike manufacturer in the world behind Giant; they certainly have very strong OEM relationships and top level R&D facilities.

Most tires are made by companies we've never heard of, but Kenda has made tires for Specialized and Merida in the past, so perhaps they're involved.

kbarch

I've never been too disappointed with any other tires I've had (including Schwalbe), but I'm sold on Vittoria - quite impressed with old Pave and new Corsa - and will choose them again in the future, happy to say "Vittoria" rather than "Schwalbe."

Wested

GP4000sII. Never had a puncture in 5000+ miles.

DrIsotope

I don't think I've used any tire from any manufacturer for a period long enough to develop strong feelings for or against any brand or model. Except the Schwalbe One. Blech.

I will say though, in the short term, the Michelin Pro4 Endurance is the only tire I've liked enough to buy twice.

AlexCyclistRoch

BTW, as far as brand that I will NEVER buy again, the Hutchison brand name comes to mind. Not only was the Gold tubular a terrible riding and handling tire, 1 of the 2 I bought wasn't even sew together straight! Not even worth carrying as a spare....

dim

Conti GP4000S II on my carbon bike... grip well, roll fast and ok for puncture resistance

Schwalbe Durano plus on my daily commuter (bombproof, grip well in wet and dry and no punctures .... much much better than gator hardskins)

Schwalbe marathon supreme 2" on my converted Bridgestone mountain bike (winter bike)

Slackerprince

I use Vredestein Gran Fondo tires from Bike Tires Direct/Western Bike Works.
I live in Florida, so, there's not any high speed, downhill cornering or other demands put on a tire, unless you're racing crits, or something.
They're cheap, ~$35, and I'm on my second set, with no issues.

I just read a good article in the latest Cycle Sport (August, 2016) magazine about tires.
There is an interview with Keith Bontrager and he said that most of the major manufacturers have very few compound choices in the rubber market.
Schwalbe is one of the only ones to develop their own compounds.

S

Johnny Rad

Nice to see some love for Schwalbe. I don't think they're quite mainstream yet, so this was a bit surprising to me.

I've been happily riding Schwalbe clinchers for years. First their half dozen iterations of the Ultremo line and now their One (almost exclusively with latex tubes throughout). While they're not as light as they once were (~180g/ea to ~220g/ea now), their ride quality has improved from very good to great. The One rides like a full-susp MTB while still rating fairly strong in Crr.

With respect to Specialized's S-Work Turbo clinchers, one of my riding partners has given it more than a fair shot. Either Speci or a LBS has been running a "buy one, get one free" discount for awhile here and he went from money ahead on the deal to money WAY behind in a hurry with ~1/2 dozen flats in rapid succession coinciding with his change. For the record, his Conty's never gave him much grief, but these "new" Turbos are like the kiss of death.