Wogster

Holy that is a lot of tires, I guess the question is, are those cheap tires that wear quickly or are they high end racing tires that have a sticky rubber that wears quickly, the Ritchey Tom Slicks I bought in 2008 that are on the mountain bike have about 2800 miles on them, and the back one looks about half gone. I think I'll get another year out of them, at least. The $10 tires on the road bike, have about 700 miles on them, 2/3rds of that being trainer miles, don't look like they have any wear on them at all. In fact I will probably patch up the 27" rear wheel and put it back on for the trainer in the fall, because I can't see tossing the 27" tires, when I put the 700C wheels on.

Homeyba

Continental is one of my RAAM teams sponsors. They usually give me GP4000's...

Mr. Beanz

Oh, GP4000's. I guess we are different cause I wouldn't ride those even if they did give 'em to me fer free!

Homeyba

They work pretty well for me, they just don't last too long but they don't they don't wear any faster than the tires I get from our other sponsors, Michelin Pro race and Bontranger racelites. Funny thing, I was looking at the front wheel on my single and it's a Conti Dura-skin whatever that is. They slipped me a Jimmy.

Mr. Beanz

....................

Wogster

Looking at tires in a bike shop yesterday, and they had a good collection of Conti tires, only 1 would be anywhere near clyde friendly (28's) and they were $45. Which is about double what I want to spend on tires.... Probably buy my next set of bike tires at Canadian Tire, they have a good number of different styles and tires are often under $20 each, just like the 27" tires that are currently on it.

knzn

Thanks for the link 10 Wheels----for $10.00 I can ride pink! And if a Ta Ta gets saved, so much the better!

Homeyba

I'm not sure what you mean by "clyde friendly?" Do you mean wear, ride or ability to withstand our weight without collapsing? I only run 23's and 25's on both my singles and tandem.

10 Wheels

I bought 12 of them..

wvridgerider

I am my second pair of thse and ride them on gravel and rough roads with no flats. I ride 28's and pump them up to 120psi and I weigh 265.

https://bontrager.com/model/00443

Wogster

I mean tires that wear well, ride nicely and can withstand Clyde type weights without needing stupid high pressure to keep from collapsing....

Homeyba

I typically run between 110 and 120psi in my tires. I'm sure that the wear issues I have with the tires like the Conti's and Michelin's is due to my weight (and most assuredly my awesome power output...cough..cough) . I have friends who get mileages like what 10 wheels is talking about with theirs but they don't weight nearly what I do.

10 Wheels

218 lb here. Been running 100 psi front and rear.

Mr. Beanz

Yeah, I have that problem too!

Wogster

Maybe you need a little wider tire, and a little lower pressure. When I got my first road bike, we had 27" straight sided rims, 80PSI was considered very high pressure at the time, because there were no hooks on rims and tires, you were limited to that because of the very real danger of blow offs. My current road bike came with 27" straight sided rims, and 80PSI seemed to be a good place to start. I have newer wheels that are going on it that are 700C with hooked rims, so higher pressures are possible, but I don't know how high I want to go, because it's a trade off.

The narrower the tire, the higher the needed pressure, this is a given and it's basic physics, the narrower the tire, the smaller the contact patch, therefore more pressure is needed to hold the same weight. However higher pressures also mean has less cushioning, therefore more transmission of road imperfections to the rider. My bicycle currently has 27 x 1¼ inch tires on it, the equivalent is 32mm, so those should be fine at 80-90PSI, a 28mm should be fine at 90-100PSI, a 25 should be fine with 100-110PSI and a 23 should be fine with 110-120PSI.

There is more to the story though, the quality of the tire, stiffness of the sidewalls, although sometimes it seems to be that cheaper tires are stiffer and have more rubber on them then expensive tires, the 27" tires on the road bike right now, were sold at Canadian Tire for $7.50 a piece, I saw them in there one day, I have put 1,215km (755 miles) on them, 2/3rds of that being on the trainer, and they still look like they are nearly brand new. If I can pick up a 700C tire in a 28mm or 32mm width from the same source, for under $20 and they last as well, then why spend over $50 on a tire that I can only get in a 25mm, which needs more pressure and is less comfortable riding that doesn't last as long. What I'll probably do in the spring is put the 700's on, then in the fall, I'll put the 27" wheel back on the rear, and wear these tires out, it all depends on how big a PITA it is to move the freewheel back over. I don't put high end tires on the family cage either....

Homeyba

Wider tires aren't going to do me any good. First because 23's are as big as I can fit on my Colnago and second because 25's are the biggest that will fit on my Calfee tandem. Third, comfort is not an issue. All my bikes have extremely comfortable rides. That's a big part of the reason I chose them. I race ultra distances and an uncomfortable bike/ride is unacceptable. From my experience, fat tires are a crutch (and a cheap fix) for poor frame design. I ride and race on some of the worst roads in the US and I have to ride 2 miles of dirt road to get from my house to the nearest paved road (yeah, I live in the sticks). I have no problems on the tires Fourth, 110-120psi is perfectly acceptable since 120psi is the manufacturers recommended setting. Lower pressures are ok for bigger tires with higher volumes but it's unnecessary for these tires. I don't have flat problems. The only problem with these tires is the shorter mileage they get and that is most likely a result of using a softer rubber compound than is used on the less expensive tires.

JWHenry

Being that tires are the subject, has anyone tried the Hutchinson Urban Tour at all? I came across one so I am going to use it on my commuter bike if anyone knows anything about these tires let me know

Wogster

Here is the issue for me, currently the tires on the bike are 1¼" (~32mm), I'll move to a 28, and maybe try a 25, maybe not. I only want to replace 1 tire per year, if I can reach my goal this year that's around 5,000 miles, so a tire needs to be on the front for a year, then move to the back, for a full season and then on the trainer for the rest of the year..... If a $20 tire will do that, and a $75 tire will not, then why the heck should I spend the other $55?

natbla

The $75 tire that wears faster is wearing faster because the rubber is softer. The wear of a tire is a function of rubber softness. All rubber comes off the tire over time, but softer rubber tires do it more quickly. Here are the advantages of the softer rubber. The rubber is softer so that at the same pressure and speed it should roll smoother (flex around imperfections instead of bounce off it), should be safer leaning over farther on turns at higher speeds. So the softer rubber provides a larger safety margin for keeping the rubber side down in more extreme settings. This doesn't account for things built into the price like marketing budgets, or brand pricing for prestige.

On the negative side, softer rubber is easier to pierce and therefore can be easier to pick up a flat. The same malleable nature of soft rubber can make it more likely to pinch flat that a harder rubber that doesn't flex as much. At least this is how I understand the difference between harder rubber tires and softer rubber tires.

I don't ride a ton of miles these days, but I do go through tires about once per 2500 miles unless there is a cut or other split that requires a quicker replacement (has happened twice). I ride GP4000s and Micheline Pro2Races (haven't had to buy tires in a couple years). I have weighed between 208-227 on these tires. If I ride a ton this year I may treat myself to a tubeless tire system next winter.

Homeyba

I suppose it's a cost benefit thing. Just like everything else. You have to go with what is going to give you the best dollar/performance value based on your riding requirements. I like the performance of the more expensive tires. I'm pretty demanding of them, especially on winding mountain descents. The only place I don't use them is on my trainer which I'm not on too much. I have a separate set of trainer wheels/tires for that. I ride around 10,000+/- miles a year and typically start with a new tire on the front move the old front to the back till it wears out. That system works well for me now. I suppose I should quit complaining about them wearing so fast.

Wogster

I think, with the part I've underlined, you have nailed it, the key is riding requirements, your requirements are wildly different from mine, you need speed, so you need fast tires, I need a long wearing tire, but don't care about speed, lots of inexpensive tires that are long wearing, and I'm happy about that....

Mr. Beanz

Speed is all in the head not the tires.

billydonn

+1 .... I use 25s on rear, 23 front but may go all 25s.

LarDasse74

Or a COMMUNIST!!!!1

I have ridden with Armadillo tires extensively, and with Conti Gatorskins (not hardshells) less so. I found both are excellent tires and are great for preventing flats. THe Contis, to me, feel a little faster. The Specialized used to have a reputation for having more defective tires - separating bead/sidewall, irregular tread bonding - off the showroom floor, but this is almost always covered by warranty and shops that sell them should be prepared to swap them out if this happens.

Wogster

The point is, a racing tire is soft rubber for better grip at high speed, possibly higher pressure, lighter weight, tends to wear faster, but racers with team sponsors don't care, unless they change them, themselves. Some racers will keep race wheels and training wheels, the training wheels are intentionally heavier and use non-racing tires. A touring tire on the other hand is going to be a harder rubber, not as high pressure, heavier and possibly armoured. Cheap tires are going to be somewhere in between.