loimpact

So after a few months of flat-free riding, I suffered a cut during crit practice on the rear and at night.....Ya, SUCK!! So I'm over the stock Aksion tires that came on my bike.

I'm pretty well settled on Rubino Pro Slicks and am contemplating going up to 25's from 23's. I have a SuperSix EVO which came with 23's in 2014 but for 2015 Cannondale's putting 25's on all EVOs. (FWIW, Schwalbe ONEs)

I don't know how accurate Rubino sizing is but maybe someone here can vouch?

Or else I'd just go 23 & forget about it but I figured the extra width might be nice for winter.

TIA

MagicHour

Can't vouch for the Slicks but see my earlier thread below.

I got a good deal on 2 pairs of the Rubino IIIs(OE version) last winter in 23 and 25 sizes. Great tires, at least for the riding I do - no racing. I've been riding the 700x25 set; don't want to jinx anything but I've had v-e-r-y good luck with these re: flats etc. and am on 2,630 miles for this pair. Likely will have to replace these any day now as they're starting to look pretty cashed. Probably put my half-used Zaffiro Pros back on next and kill those before I put the next set of 700x23 Rubinos on.

Ice41000

Going to 25 is good.

Rubino Pro is not. Or any Vittoria.

M2C

OldsCOOL

The Pro Slick III in 23's are my next set on the Cannondale.

bengreen79

My last couple sets have been Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick 3's in 23mm. I just used my last one. I purchased them mostly because chainlove.com had them on sale for as low as $15.99 apiece last year. Overall I would say they have a slightly wider footprint than the previous Bontrager hardcase tires I was using. They have a soft center tread that seems to get a lot of small cuts over time.

On 5 of the last 6 tires, I would say that the cuts did not impact durability. One developed turned into a bigger cut and caused a small bulge, which I rode on for hundreds of miles without issue. I would estimate I got about 1500 miles out of the last rear (before the bulge) and about 2000 miles on the last front, which I changed mostly because I had to change the tube anyway due to a failed valve stem. I rode over a broken bottle with one and it did not survive but I don't think most tires would have.

Performance wise, no complaints...even when wet. That said, I'm pretty cautious. You won't find me testing the limits of their lateral traction. I do recommend hanging them up with a little weight (<10 lbs) the night before mounting them. They go on much easier.

I would buy them again if I see them for $20 or less.

loimpact

Thanks for the feedback!! (And thanks for measuring up the 23's & 25's, MagicHour! That's funny how close they are. I might just go 23's anyway, we'll see)

And sure as *****, PB had a flash sale yesterday for an extra 20% off stuff and I didn't "buy" online because they have no option to will call in store. (I've done before & it's a fiasco, buy, rebuy, wait return, credit, etc.) Instead they "ship to store". So I'm gonna ask today if I can still get the extra 20% off but we'll see. They're $30 there which is still a great price.

And I have no problem w/ Conti's or Michelin's but they're just too similar a tire & cost much more.

thermalattorney

Since my bike is next to me I busted out the calipers: My 25mm Pro Slicks measure 25mm on a traditional narrow rim (AC 420) and 26.25 on a wider H+Son Archetype. They weigh ~233g on my scale. I bought mine from Ribble in the UK for ~$25/per.

I'm not too terribly concerned with durability as here in NYC more than half of my tires tire fall victim to a nasty piece of glass or staple. Right now one of the two Pro Slicks is ~800mi in. It's got lots of little little cuts but is still going strong.

MagicHour

That's a good point against not using $40 and up tires-at least not for normal everyday riding in city.

loimpact

FWIW, I ended up w/ some Conti Grand Prixs. My local PB didn't have the Vittorias locally & I needed tires for this weekend so no chance to wait. Jenson had the GP's for $29 which is good. (My LBS matches) and I've wanted to see what this "black chili" stuff is about anyway so we'll see. (I still wanna try Rubino Pro Slicks so maybe in the Spring)

Doing a 2 wheel swap reminds me how much I hate changing tires. Oh well. It's done.

FWIW, the Mavic Aksion 23's that came off measured 22.5mm wide and these GP's measure 23.7mm.

jaxgtr

I've ridden the Rubino Pro slicks for the last couple of year and the only issue I have with them is that they dont last as long as other tires I have had...but, they they ride nice and are very grippy even in the rain. I avg about 2k miles on them before I replace them. I recently decided to try the Michelin Pro4 Service Course and I like them so far.

loimpact

An ex racer I ride with says he gets about 3000 out of 'em but So Cal is definitely fair weather land. He's also rather light so that may help.

Those Pro4's I'd classify more like the 4000's from Conti and while I'd love to try them, I'm just a little too cheap right now. Eventualy I'd like to try either of those tires but we'll see how these Grand Prix do. Nice on the ride this morning. I probably wouldn't have noticed any difference if I hadn't installed them myself vs the Aksion cheapies but I suppose a tire you don't think about is a good thing.

DOS

Rubino Pros IIIS are great tires that last forever in my experience. I like 25s but am a Clyde.

loimpact

Out of curiosity......Do you ride the Slicks or the regulars with a little tread on them?

DOS

I have ridden both. Both are great. Slicks are slightly more supple; the treaded ones slightly better in wet. Have gotten easily better than 3k miles out of both and can't remember the last time I had a puncture.