Duffeymt

I still have my stock Bontraeger selects on and was wondering if new tires would be a good idea. Are these pretty crappy tires? What are the major advantages of upgrading / most noticeable differences?

Second Mouse

Bonti Selects came stock on my LeMond Reno and flatted on the second ride. Le Reno is now sporting Gatorskins. The early flat on the Selects may have been due to my weight (210#) or my clumsy riding habits. I did have a rock go through the sidewall of the rear tire a couple of weeks ago, but they've been good otherwise in about 500 miles.

Kind of depends on what kind of riding you do. It's been said that Gatorskins aren't so hot if you really lean into the corners--they get kind of slippery once you get onto the sides of the tires at all. So if you're an agressive rider, maybe someone else can chime in, but for general riding/commuting/light touring, especially if you hate flats, most folks like the Gatorskins.

Cheers.

alreadyblue

I've had a really good experience with my Continental 3000 tires. They must have over 1500 miles on them by now and they've been great. They corner well, they have good traction in the rain, and they seem to have a pretty good lifespan.

I also just bought a pair of Vredestein Fortezza SE. I can't really comment on them yet since I am still waiting for my Conti's to die, but they received a lot of good reivews and they are currently on sale at Performance bike.

Duffeymt

Please excuse my ignorance, but where can I find the size I should get? Is there a marking on my current tire that I should follow? Besides offering less flats, what are any other advantages to getting the gators?

gneissness

Look on the sidewalls of your tires. It will say something like 700x25. That is the tire size.

I'll put in a plug for the Vredestein Fortezzas. I've been riding those for about 6 months now and I am very happy with them.

alanbikehouston

"Cycling Plus" does good tire comparison tests a couple of times each year. And, the editors point out that there is NO such thing as the "best tire". Every tire is a compromise between factors such as feel, cornering, stability, braking, durability, weight, immunity to flats.

So, you need to match the tire to how you ride. If you are entering a race, you may want a narrow, ultra-light tire, if you are willing to risk a flat at an inconvenient time. If you are commuting to work or school, you want a tire that is immune to flats, so that you will arrive on time.

The tires that the factory ships with a bike is often a "compromise" tire. It is intended to split the middle between the folks who want an ultra-light tire for racing, and those folks who need a "bullet proof" tire for commuting. The width of the "factory" tire is a good match for the factory supplied rim, but you can go up or down a size without problems (unless you have a fork that fits too tightly around the tire).

That means that if the tire that came with your bike is a 25mm, you could switch to a 23mm to take a tiny bit of weight off your bike, or you could switch to 28mm for better shock absorption and better durability.