I'm looking to put a set of tires on a set of cheap wheels I recently acquired, they are purely for training. I don't want to recapitulate the investment I made in Conti's for my racing wheels. On the 'bay these CST tires are attractively priced, how bad do they suck?

Unless the tires require extra maintenance or are super prone to flatting, there might not be a whole lot of opinion relevant to bicycle mechanics.

Maybe you could try asking this in the roadies forum... they tend to discuss performance related discussions.

Thanks, will do.

CST makes decent enough tires for the price point in comfort and hybrid tires. Never tried their road tires, so I can't say anything about that.

CST has two lines that appear on ebay with regularity. the cheaper ones (CZAR ?)are reportedly prone to flatting. I bought a set of the more expensive ones, advertised as 120psi tires, and so far so good on the flatting side. But they're not as nice as good Michelins, Hutchisons, etc.

I've used some CST tubes without problems.

CST tires kinda suck, actually. heavy, puncture-prone, ride like a garden hose. the only thing they have going for them is the low cost. you might as well spend an extra 10-15 bucks on something nicer for sake of your sanity.

CST makes some of the crappiest, low quality OEM **** out there. You get what you pay for. I have not seen a single CST tyre worthy of a mid range label. Ever.

I have two sets of CST tires. 26x1.4" slicks and 26x2.4" knobbies. The slicks are great, I couldn't ask for a better commuting/urban tire. The 2.4"s are ok, I bought them because they were cheap. Not terribly light or the greatest traction but I would buy them again given the choice.

I have never used their road tires, but was considering purchasing some soon. If you buy a set, please let us know how they work out for you.

CST make Maxxis and Primo tyres. CST tyre quality varies, some is worthwhile, some is cheap and nasty.

I have a couple of sets of CST 700x25 gumwalls. Decent enough for the price.

Top

I have a pair of CST MTB tyres, which I would characterize as good to excellent, especially great value. Drove them occasionally through a few glass shard-covered patches and survived without punctures. They weren't the cheapest tyres I could imagine, but nothing terribly expensive, either. To sum it up, when I hear "CST" my association is with a great value, good all-around tyres. But it is based solely on these MTB tyres.

I guess this thread isn't helping you.

EDIT: do roadies have something equivalent to MTB Reviews? If so, go there and start doing some homework

you get what you pay for.
Have you ever looked at the lower end tires from vittoria, michelin and continental? not great, but cheap.

I just started running some Cheng Shin tires this week for my commute--these:

https://www.csttires.com/Bicycle/City.../Corporal.aspx



So far, I've had no problems with them other than they're 1.3 pounds a piece.

Here's my track from yesterday's ride home with mile splits (relatively flat route):

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/58367528

Cheng Shin also make Maxxis - that is their "high end" line. All of the Maxxis tires I've tried over the years were great MTB and Road. They are pretty expensive though running $50 to $60 each for new ones. But you can find them all over on blowout sales - I just saw Ignitors for $16.00 each at Blue sky bikes - now that is a great deal and Ignitors are my "go to" all around MTB tire. They also have some other Maxxis on sale.
just poke around the Internet and get the good ones on sale.
Blue sky , Jenson and Universal bikes all have great prices and great customer service.

The folks that I know that have tried the CST tires have liked them. I am running a 38mm on my commuter right now and its been great.

I just mounted a set of their 26x1.5" Cuidad tires on my commuter, but haven't put any miles on them yet. I did have a chance to weigh them before installation, and they're very near 500g. These are nice looking nearly-slick tires that seem to be better made than other very cheap tires, I also like the fact that they're not all covered with "wiskers" from the molding process.

They're noticeably lower in profile and narrower than the Bontrager Select Inverts (also a 26x1.5") that they replaced.

I'm not sure it's possible to buy a better tire than the CST Caldera at that pricepoint. I *am* a heavier rider, 230# or so, maybe that makes a difference. Maybe I have all the sensitivity to ride nuance of a teaspoon, I don't know....

I've put a couple hundred miles on C740 27 x 1 1/4 (rebranded as Nashbar Prima Plus). They seem OK, no flats, heavy but roll OK. I may experiment with something better come spring just for comparison on this bike. That said, at $10/ea., I can't really see complaining as long as they're round and hold air.

We sell a lot of them. All types, road, mountain, hybrid, with out any problems. I'm not saying they are the best tires, but for the price not bad. Most people that come in our shop are not hardcore, just recreational riders. Perfect for them.

I just bought my first pair $9 each wire bead very difficult to get the one on but the other was smooth going. I got 28's for my gravel grinder and will let you know how it goes. The rubber compound does feel soft so not sure what that is gonna mean but for $9 each cannot go wrong.

Chang Star has been making low cost Tires for many years ..

No longer my first choice today, but the ones I have bought for $12 each are perfectly serviceable on my Peugeot below. I use a lot of Kendas on bikes I refurbish. If its good enough for new LBS brands, who am I to judge? Nashbar and Performance Bike Forte are okay as well.

Check Nashbar and Performance Bicycles for deals on tires.

Only only thing about ordering tires by mail is the additional shipping charge that some companies tack onto orders that included non-folding tires.

You can get around the shipping charge sometimes because NashBar and Performance occasionally run promotions where if you buy ANY Park Tool product, the shipping on the entire order is free. Order that wrench that you've been planning on getting anyway, and get free shipping.

I've been experimenting with the Performance House Brand tires (Forte), and they seem to be of decent quality. They are often on sale for 20, 25, or 30% off, bringing the least expensive road tires down to the $8 mark. I bought a set of Forte Strada Ks (kelver belted) a couple of weeks ago, and I'm going to try the Forte Pro+ tires next.

I got a set of CST on a rescue bike so suspect they are the cheapest, kinda heavy but for a recreational rider or city bike probably good value. I also got a near new set of Forte 28's and the same would apply. Would not want to race these or wear them down to the cord but OK tires, good for the price.

I have a set of CST C1218s on an e-bike and I ran the C740 (Nashbar rebranded) on my road bike for a short time. On the up side, the price is good and both models wear like iron. On the down side, they're heavy, not very puncture resistant, and the sidewalls are extremely stiff. In fact, the C1218s in 26" x 2.125" are so stiff that I can run them under 20 PSI (rider + bike > 200 lbs) and they're still harsh over bumps! The only way I know they need air (without gauge checking) is they get really squirmy in corners below about 25 PSI.

I continue to run the C1218s because although they're not very puncture resistant, the tread is so thick that most debris is simply not big enough to make it all the way through. On the e-bike I don't really care about the 1kg+ (each) weight (though when I do occasionally go on human power, I curse them the whole way), so I'll run them until they wear out (which may be another 5 years as tough as they wear).

I gave up on The C740s after several flats and discovering that their traction on wet roads is akin to butter on hot teflon. I relegated the C740s to trainer duty on the KK Road Machine. In that role they've been fantastic. The C740s seem impervious to the accelerated wear that plagues many road tires when used on a trainer.

Based on my experience, I would say if you care about ride quality or puncture protection or wet traction, invest a little more in a better tire. If you just need something cheap that can rack up the miles (and you're proficient at patching/changing tubes) then CST might be worth considering.