What a difference Vittoria Rando Hypers make!
 

I've had my Kona Dr. Fine for about a month now. The tires it came with were 32 mm Maxxis cheepos, but they seemed fine and were plenty grippy. I got a flat a couple days ago so I decided it was time to toss them since it was only a small metal piece in the center of the tread, which I knew the Hypers could fend off no problem. I swapped the Hypers from my cyclocross bike, also 32 mm, and the difference was much more than I could have ever imagined! I'm one to two gears higher at the same effort now (Alfine 8, so it's a pretty big difference). The pressure is the same, but the ride is so much smoother, the bike is essentially silent over bumps now. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since the difference in weight is huge and the Hypers have a smoother tread and are much more supple. Since I've never flatted the Hypers over at least 1,000 miles, I'm also feeling more secure about making it to appointments on time. I know I always chime in recommending these tires, but I am now even more a believer. You owe it to yourself to give them a shot. I ordered 35mm to go on the Cyclocross bike to see if there is any noticeable difference on trails. I don't see a need to go over 32 mm for commuting on rough roads, though.

Interesting. I put on Hypers (700x35) at the end of July, just rolled over 1000 miles today on the way into work. I've had 5 flats with them. The first one, a nail, was understandable. All the rest were items I would have thought the Hypers should have handled.

I really want to love the tires, I really do. They have a great ride and handle well. But I can't deal with the flats, not on my commuter. The hardcase Bontragers I had before never got a flat riding the very same roads.

So, as much as I want to like them, when I got my 5th flat last week I decided enough is enough. I have on order Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I'll give up the ride for more flat protection.

Apparently, YMMV.

I should have said that I don't flat often to begin with, probably due to my size (around 150 lbs) and riding style. Since these have never flatted for me, I don't really know their limits. Good to hear some more data points. I'll post here if I ever get a flat.

Got a flat for the first time in about 1500 miles this wk w/ my vanilla Vittoria Randonneur tire. Finally got a goat thorn long enough to penetrate... I'd say about 1/2 inch, fresh off the tree or something since it was sharp as a tack. Are the hypers better or worse in this regard? To me it looked like they reduced the amt of rubber for weight reduction and then made up by adding an extra lining of kevlar.

As far as I am concerned, a heavier tire with better flat protection resulting in a few minutes longer ride is better than a speedier, lighter tire with less flat protection getting a flat and taking more than a few minutes to swap out tubes.

It's definitely less rubber than say a Rando Pro. It's also softer rubber, though they do seem to wear very well. What is nice is that the tread goes essentially all the way down the sidewalls (but thinner), which is why I had the tires to begin with, since they seem to take a ton of abuse on trails with no sidewall issues while still being pretty supple.

I just had my sixth flat with the Hypers, today, in the rain, on the way home from work. Six flats in about 7 weeks and a thousand miles.

Fortunately, my Marathon Pluses arrived today, so I'll be changing tires this evening. Then I guess I find out how well they do.

I do want to say that the Hypers are fantastic tires as far as ride and grip are concerned. Apparently, I've applied them to the wrong purpose.

I've been VERY happy with my Vittoria Randonneur Pros (26x1.5 @ 90 PSI). No flats so far, and as a Clydesdale who rides 15 miles every day on poor condition roads that seem to have a lot of glass, small rocks, and wire debris, I was used to getting flats very regularly. They handle decent dirt and gravel trails well too, even fully loaded for touring. Switching over from my Continental 26x1&1/8th (@ 120 PSI!) Gatorskins that I run in the winter, I thought the Randos were going to feel slow, but they are surprisingly fast.

I haven’t yet tried the Vittoria Randonneur Pros or Hypers, but I have tried the Conti Sport Contact, in both 26x1.6” and 700x37c, and they seem to be very fast and are supposed to be very puncture resistant. I haven’t had any flats yet, but I have only been running them for a few months. As a certified Clydesdale who rides a lot, they are doing well for me. I ride pavement and don’t get off road too much.

I am very pleased with the progress bike tires have made over the last 40 yrs that I have been riding derailleur bikes. The best tires are at least as fast as the older tires, but the durability and resistance to punctures has dramatically improved. In the tests I have conducted with my own bikes the Conti Top Touring 2000 700x37c tires are equally as fast as the Conti Sport Contact 700x37c, but the TT2K weren’t particularly puncture resistant, and the Sport Contact is very puncture resistant. In 26”, the 26x1.75” Conti TT2K is a nice tire, but not particularly fast, while the Sport Contact 26x1.6” is just as fast as the 700x37c. I have found many 26” tires very disappointing in performance and more suited for use as tractor tires and was very pleased to find the Sport Contact. I would like to try the Vittoria Rando Pros and Hypers to see if they are as good or perhaps better. I did try Panaracer Pasela TG and found them reasonably fast, but somewhat fragile, particularly in the rain. Overall I was disappointed in them.

Ttiwwp! ;)