Originally Posted by
Homeyba
A lot of the mileage numbers depends on the make and brand as well as your riding habits and how heavy your team is. Also, perfomance tires tend to have a better ride and handling characteristics but also wear much faster.
Exactly.
The answer to tire life is always "it depends". We're not all that heavy at 280lbs as a team, but where we live and ride you can't go 25 miles without gaining 2,500' of climbing and climbing takes a heavy toll on tire life, expecially if you use softer performance tread compounds. Add a lot of heat to the equation -- as in climbing sun-baked roads on hot days -- and tread life is further reduced. So, team weight, road surface, terrain, temperature, tire pressure and how aggressive a team rides will all factor into the equation.
Contrast Homeyba's team experience with a notional lightweight team riding Panaracer Pasela tires in Florida who don't push a pace much above 16mph: they'll likely get over 5k out of a rear tire with a nearly infinite life for the front, short of dry-rot or damage from road debris.