SquidPuppet

I did a few wheelies and jumped a few curbs. So far, no assplsions.

noglider 

@wgscott, thank you for the excellent description of your various parameters. It reinforces some impressions I have: you get what you pay for, though price/performance ratio flattens out at the top of the price range. That doesn't mean paying top dollar is stupid, though, for some.

I've been curious about the GP4000S-II (is that how you spell it?) for a few years now, and I finally saw them at a good price in France at xxcycle.com. I put them on my Lemond (fast handling lightweight racing bike) but the clearance between tire and seat tube was 1mm, and it made me nervous. Too bad. They fit fine on my McLean, steel racing bike with moderate manners. I took one 50-mile hilly ride on it and can't comment yet.

Another impression I have is that the big tire companies who do cutting edge R&D really do produce the best tires. So I don't use WTB, Nashbar, Performance, Maxxis, CST, Kenda tires, and I'm even skeptical of Specialized. The top brands in my mind are Vittoria, Continental, Schwalbe, Panaracer, and Michelin, in no particular order. Each of these companies has one or more specialties and one or more areas they stay out of, but when they try to make the best tire of a particular sub-class, they produce a winner.

Boy am I a tire nut. I could go on all day. Once I was driving a long way with a friend, and I got on the subjects of bike tires and car tires, and my friend in the passenger seat literally fell asleep.

I'd love to try those Compass tires, but it will take some time. First I'll be trying the Voyager Hyper tires on my gravel bike. They've proven great on paved streets. They have a lot of tread wear left.

Cyclist0108

FWIW, Amazon has a 2-pack of GP4000S-II for $80.

noglider 

Not bad. I paid 58.32 € for my pair! But of course, I paid shipping.

Cyclist0108

I just took off my perfectly good GP4000S-II and replaced them with a third set of 38mm Compi.

I shall try them at Crater Lake. What could possibly go wrong?

noglider 

I just got a pair of barely used Chinook Pass EL tires in 28mm. I will see if they live up to the hype.

bikiola

so, $$ aside, are these commuter friendly for pavement/cobble stone/riding through NYC's generally ****ty and varied streets? Would love to put them on but I cannot be worrying about flats - especially because I use pitlocks so changing flats is a royal pain in the ass. Thanks brothers & sisters & sister wives.

SquidPuppet

The tread is 3mm thick and no puncture resistance belt or lining. That said, no flats for me yet.

noglider 

I generally ride tires with no puncture resistance. I don't get many flats, and when I get one, it's no big deal. It's not pleasant to change a tube on the road, but I get by. I'm thinking of getting pitlocks. I suppose it would help if I had a wrench I could use on the pitlock key for extra leverage.

I'm in NYC, also, specifically Manhattan. Glass isn't all that common on the streets, and I steer around it when I see it. Potholes and cobblestones are a problem only if your tires are under-inflated.

bikiola

I currently ride Big Applies by Shwalbe (26 x 2.35 on my surly troll) and almost never get flats, until the tire degrades to nothing at which the flats start. Pitlocks are amazing and bring a total peace of mind but yes, you have to carry more equipment with you to change the tire, and on the way to work in heat or snow - and especially with godforsaken horizontal dropouts - they make changing flats a whole hell more annoying.

I guess I'm really wanting to pull the trigger on these but want to be sure. Noglider are you using these in the city?

noglider 

@bikiola, not yet. I just got a pair of slightly used Compass tires, and I think I'll try them soon. I'm really not worried about flats. I do worry about sidewall wear, though. People extolled the virtues of Veloflex tires, and I was very disappointed with how short they lasted, but I guess the target market is different for those. They're very narrow.

I recently started riding Continental GP4000S-II tires on the racing bike I keep in the country. I got them in 28mm, and they are pretty fantastic. My impression is that Continental tires are quite durable. I believe this model has no puncture protection, which is a plus for me.

nightfly

On my fixed gear I ride 28mm Panaracer Paselas T-Serv messengers in NYC. They are a good compromise for ride/puncture resistance. However I'm very Compass curious. Between Compass or Clement Strada LGG or Challange Strada Biancas (if I can squeeze them on my Soma Rush, claimed 30mm).

On my road bike I put some 25mm Veloflex Corsas and so far so good. They are a nice light responsive tire. No sure how durable yet.

noglider 

I have the Clement Strada LGG on my commuter bike, in 32mm, 60tpi (the coarser choice). They are OK and not great.

nightfly

Wondering if the 28mm 120 TPI versions are better.

I rode some 25mm, in I think 120 TPI and really liked them on a rental bike.

What's interesting to me about these is that the skinwall version is only available in the 60tpi casing which seems counter intuitive.

noglider 

Good article. I got these tires cheap, so I'm satisfied, but I don't recommend them. Since mine are 32mm, I can run them at low pressures and be comfortable. You just gave me a nudge to try the Compass tires.

HTupolev

They have a layer of Vectran-based fabric under the tread rubber. Most performance-oriented road tires have something similar. They're usually pretty marginal; the marketing guys like to say that the tires have a puncture-protection strip that adds no weight or rolling resistance, but those super-thin strips usually don't do much to protect against punctures either.

Cyclist0108

So mine survived the Crater Lake test without incident. (The roads are beat up, but shouldn't have much crap on them compared to city streets.)

Fahrenheit531 

Well these things really are ridiculous, aren't they? Today's ride, on an oft-traveled route with many stretches of crap pavement, went something like

Thanks @SquidPuppet for the review that finally pushed me over the edge (even if it did take a year and a half and some wrapping paper). hahahaha So. Much. WIN.

IAmSam

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2018/...se-cycles/amp/

TimothyH

Where is @SquidPuppet?

SquidPuppet

Wrapping paper = WIN

Still in Coeur d' Alene

Cyclist0108

I am really worried that re-branding "Compass" to "Rene Herse Cycles" is going to add needless weight to these tires and reduce their compliance and increase their rolling resistance.

TimothyH

Good to know.

Hope you are well.

Happy new year.

Wildcat445

OK, I totally blame you for my ca$h outlay last week.

About two years ago I came across a mention of these tires somewhere, which led to this thread you started in 2016. Last summer, mmmkay, I'm thinking of maybe possibly kinda sorta getting a set of tires for my ride. Only I wasn't sure of the size. And ouch, yeah, a little pricey. The bike came with 700C x 38s and I'd wanted to go larger, but didn't quite know how large I could get away with on 622-18 rims. The 55mm was too wide, but the 700C x 44 Snoqualmie Pass would work. For kicks, I borrowed the wheels/tires from my better half's bike that uses 650B x 2.3" tires and they actually fit within my frame, so clearance wasn't an issue.

So the Snoqualmie Extralights made their way to me, arriving this past Friday evening. Opening the package and unfolding (a first for me) the tires, I kind of laughed that they felt more like thick trash can liners than tires, and wondered how these floppy things could even function as a tire. They were rather easy to mount up and I got them properly settled on the rims. I started with 45 psi front and rear.

My first ride...yeah, OK, they do kind of glide over our crappy side streets nicely. And I think they're kind of easy to pedal. But after tweaking pressure a little lower in the rear and removing several PSI from the front (I think I'm around 35F/40R?), I gave them a bit longer ride the next day. I'm looking down at my rear tire. Looks half flat. Yet here I am rolling out towards the lake in a steady headwind at my normal average speed on a calm day. I'm also noticing I'm not losing as much speed coasting, and my return trip (wind at my back and very slightly uphill) was faster/easier than I was used to.

So needless to say, I'm sold on these tires. It made the ride much more pleasant on our long-beaten roads, and I wasn't feeling every pebble in the road as I was feeling with the Specialized Trigger Sport tires at 100 PSI that came with the bike. And apparently all this cushy goodness with less rolling resistance. My only worry is bottoming out on some of our bumps here, but that never happened yet at these lower pressures. Once I get my daily driver back with the trailer hitch, I can load up and head for the rail trails and give these tires a workout.

SquidPuppet

I'm really glad you are satisfied so far. Please update us after a proper thrashing.

I just built up a Kilo WT with the 38mm Barlows. Same results. Tailwind = no exercise.