Why no love for Bontrager tires?
 

I'm in the market for new tires and probably will go with some type of Conti tire, I've had their tires on two different bikes I've owned and they've been extremely durable and dependable. I was thinking GP4000's, but i don't know if they have the best traction for commuting on some of the lesser quality road surfaces, A.K.A train tracks, potholes, sand, and cracks caused by frost heaves.

There are alot of posts about tires and it seems like no one ever says Bontrager is there favorite tire. Why? Are their tires that bad? Last that I knew, they were were offering a two month satisfaction guarantee, which is a tempting perk. Returning tires without penalty if you don't like them? How is that a bad thing?

I'm looking for 700 x 25's, if you're curious.

I have a set of the RaceLite Hardcases by Bontrager, but am yet to mount them on anything. All the reviews I read before buying them seemed like the people who owned them really liked them. Of course I got two folding bead tires for $20 that had about 100 miles on them, so I will be kinda biased once I do get a chance to try them out, haha.

Btw, these are 700x23

I run bontrager hardcase racelites on both of my road bikes and have no problems with them. My neighbor also runs the same on his road bike and likes them as well.

Just have to get them thru a Trek Dealer , that's all .. its their Brand Name.

seems BD/BF people have a thing about shopping Amazon instead of Bike Shops.

I've ran most of my Bontrager tires ragged before replacing them. I do love Gator Skins.

I think I agree. I have some Bontrager R-3s that I seem to be having good luck with. I got them at a Trek store close to me. They roll a bit better than the Gatorskins I have on my other wheels and they are at least 50 grams lighter. They seem to roll better as well. I do believe the Gatorskins mount easier however. That is one reason I tend not to use Michilins because I find them harder to mount. when I used to use a LBS that sold Specialized they didn't carry Bontrager so I simply didn't try them. However most company stores also sell Contis, Michilins and other brands so more people have access to Continentals, Michilins, Secas, Vittorias and others because they are easier to find.

I had Bontrager race lite hardcase 25's. I found them to be a tough tire. Did not have a problem with them .The reason bike shops may push Conti's is they may have a higher profit margin on them. But i can't justify spending $65.00 for a tire . . I found a tire called RIBMO ( Ride Bikes More) and went to 25's and 28's on the road bikes to fight the chipseal and 35's on the touring

http://www.amazon.com/Panaracer-Bicy...keywords=ribmo

I will use the Race lites on the trainer ( I have a extra wheel ) and use the 28's on the road

My LBS recommended Bonty hardcase all weather 700x28 size. Got it but haven't put it on yet. Max pressure is 120 psi which was one of my criteria, as was wet weather suitability.

The Hardcase racelites were the tires I was interested in. I'll also need to check out the Panaracer RIBMO though, since that tire seems to recommended by a few people.

Thanks, I really don't want to pay $65 per tire.

Honestly, in my case it's just a brand name bias that has nothing to do with objective value. I avoid Bontrager and Specialized labeled products "just because".

Objectively, my butt isn't calibrated finely enough to sense whatever subtle traction and rolling resistance differences exist among tires. Also, I don't puncture frequently enough to make a very valid judgement about that.

I bought Continental tires almost exclusively for a number of years. When I switched to recumbents I also switched to Schwalbe tires so I could have matching 20" and 26" tires.

Probably not the kind of answer you were looking for, but it's definitely the truth in my case and probably the truth for lots of other riders too.

Yeah, it's kind of like buying Big-K Cola. (Although Bontrager doesn't make tires in the sizes I need anyway...).

I used a set of Bontrager "B"'s for two seasons, the 700x25's. I'm used to 23's so that was the first thing I didnt like but bought them because they were cheap and not thinking the extra size was going to be that much heavier. They were. And noticeable. Didnt like them but rode them a good 2000mi before they squared off on the rear tire. They are dependable and dependably heavy. But I'm a bit picky now.

This spring I booted both bikes with Michelin Krylion 700x23's. They are a serious training tire and quite light. The difference was felt immediately and have been loving them all summer. Both bikes roll the same, have the same feel in acceleration.

Bought both sets of Krylion 23's for 29.00 each on the internet.....they are available.