So...

After my brand new $10 crappy bontrager sport 700x23 tire is approximately 1 skid away from exploding (through the textile threads, running on the inside rubber bit) after SIX DAYS USE (AAAAH! $10 a week is more than i would be spending on gas if I owned a car!!!) I'm starting to think a little harder about tires.

I know, I know... "get a brake and use it." Well, I like riding brakeless. BUT--does anyone have experience riding a variety of "trim levels" of tire? My original thought in buying the cheapest tire available was that I go through tires fast enough that I shouldn't spend too much on them. I'm wondering if any specific tire has a more favorable cost-life ratio than others? Are the more expensive ones worth the extra money, in terms of durability? My frame is old, heavy and steel, so I really don't care about weight differences.

Any insight would be helpful...

JD

i've got a set of continentals that have held up awesome over the past month or so, and i don't ride with brakes, and i skid alot. these aren't the best tires ever but they have held up better than i thought.

have you looked at the armadillos? super tough from what i hear.

I am sold on soma everwears. Some complain about the sidewalls going out before the tread but I think if you keep your psi up it's fine. I ride brakeless and skid all the time and I am only starting a dent on mine with 2 months on this set. a quick question how many skid patches are you running? and how often do you rotate your wheels to move your patches around? this will help you a ton! If you stay up on it you should get even wear all around and not just a few problem spots after a week. Here's a great link to skip patch calculator and some other sweet stuff too.
https://software.bareknucklebrigade.c...it.applet.html

you know you don't have to skid right? pop your tire hollar.

specialized armadillo, conti gatorskin, vittoria randonneur, search func

word!

Agreed!

Sounds like you need some skills not tires.

In my experience they are tough but wear through very fast.

I'd recommend Conti gatorskins and not skidding.

while i think it's unnecessary to fuss too much about skid patches, do remember that some ratios only leave you with one or two. this will make a big difference in your tire life, especially if you don't mix it up (loosen wheel, move chain a few teeth down the cog).

This could very well be a large part of your problem. Also, in my experience those Bontragers are awful, I only rode them a few weeks and it seemed like any little piece of glass on the street would slice right though them and they did wear down much faster than the cheapo nashbar's I'd been riding before.

I only have 2 skid patches, which is certainly making things worse--I need to get a new chainring. I think I'm going to try the somas, and I might also try some of the "kevlar" cheapo tires from performance. If I could find a cheap tire that was longer lasting, I'd probably use that.

Thanks for the help.

A new cog is probably going to be a lot cheaper to replace than a chainring. Granted, it may be harder to work out a ratio with a bunch of skit patches while keeping your gear-inches close to what you're used to riding if you replace the cog.

If there's one thing I take away from this thread, it's that you get what you pay for. For many riders, and especially heavy skidders, cheap tires are a false economy. Spend $25 on Gatorskins (probikekit.com, free US shipping) and stop being such a miser.

6 days seems fast. i concur with los otros- get a nice odd ring or cog and you're golden.
I use Conti Gatorskins on my main bike and they've held up great. Really sticky too. Not really cheap, but my current set is going on 5 months. I skip much more than I skid. Less knee stress, easier to scrub speed, and less tire wear.

yeah, do more skipping, it definitely reduces wear, at least for me...