Serfas Seca tires - the new Gatorskin?
 

Is it just me or are these some seriously underrated / undervalued tires? Hardly hear any talk about them but I swear they last longer than Gatorskins, and are way easier to mount. At half the price, the only thing you lose out on is the fact that they weigh more than kevlar tires. I ran some for a month abusing the hell out of them and there's barely any evidence that the things were used on a brakeless bike. They did have to be retired after a nasty piece of glass tore a hole through, but still... seriously durable tires and better than anything I've tried before. Appreciate.

I've never ridden these tires you mention...but I know I'm one of many who will have to have their Conti Ultra-gatorskins (kelvar or wire bead) taken from their cold dead fists....especially here on NYC's streets.

I kinda like the one I have on the rear of my road bike, but it doesn't get as much use as my fixed gear, so I don't know about longevity. One poster here called them the "sh*tiest tire ever" or something to the effect, but I can't recall who or where. One thing I have noticed is that it takes considerably less effort to skid on them, which probably means they're made from harder rubber, which in addition to reducing rolling resistence, increases their durability. At least I think.

And they're dirt cheap.

I'm at about 3000 miles with them on my road bike. Holding up great, for the price they can't be beat.

I absolutely despised my 27" secas. They are without a doubt, 100% the worst tire I've ever had the misfortune of riding. They flatted so often that the "flat protection system" sticker on the side is a running joke with my friends.

i went to my lbs asking about gatorskins but the guy recommended these and they seem great so far. they seem to stick to the ground pretty good. skips take a tad more effort. i had a little bit of trouble putting it on the rim but that happens.

can you people get your stories straight please
?

i ran some 27" secas on my old conversion and i got flats non-stop on the front. dre-dog.. which ones did you have the luck with?
http://www.serfas.com/tires/tires_road_all.shtml

p.s. nickatina's best song, "My Ride"

i had a serfa seca.
i got it second hand on a front wheel. it had been riddden through philly for a while.

then i rode it for about four or five months up front.

i had a back experience where 5 wouldnt mount on my front tire. whereas my gatorskins fit on them just fine. ever since then i never bought them again. but this was on my road bike and not my current fixed gear.

Had them on my ss for about a year or two now. Just got them b/c they were cheap. I don't think I've given them much of a work out but now that you mention it, yeah, they've worked well--and I like their badge.

huh, i had pretty good luck with them in 27". Considering the general lack of decent 27" rubber, they were the best 27" i ever mounted.

for what ever reason i had one in 700c and wasn't too impressed (may not have been the same models), but it could have just been bad luck to keep hitting glass. It was cheap, so i dint feel too taken.

now kenda kontenders, i REALLY like those, and am lucky enough to get them $10 each locally.

They're nowhere near as tough as a gatorskin, mine got 2 or 3 flats in 1000 miles or so and then got a huge slash I could get the end of my pinky through. They're not bad, just not awesome. I'd compare them to a Rubino or something like that. I'm still running one on the front of one bike.

I've got some of those and so far they seem really sucky. Maybe it's just bad luck but I've never had so many flats. They're getting easier to mount, but the first couple of times it was a *****. I'm on the verge of throwing them in the trash of saving them for a "flip" bike.

Soma everywears
nuff said

3500 miles on a set of 700C Secas –*the ones with the colored side stripe. About half of those miles came from riding chip and seal country roads near Athens, Ohio, the rest from riding through Chicago. They've held up to gravel, cow ****, glass, needles, etc. They don't offer much in terms of wet-weather grip, like most road tires.

I like 'em, I guess.

Grapevine's been saying that the sidewalls of those tires are pretty lousy. How many miles do you have on them?

specialized armadillo elites. i've NEVER had a flat.

Seca tires aren't too good in my experience.
Cheap alternatives, sure, but just like you said, they're prone to glass punctures.
One week (and this may just be bad luck) I got three flats with these tires.

The rubber wears out quick.

I've had bad luck with a lot of serfas stuff. The shop I worked in sold it and we had quite a few quality problems. On the good side, they have a really great customer relations/warranty person. And they always were good about sending replacements when the shop deemed that they were deserved (always remember that the shop doesn't loose any money on warranty stuff and for most manufacturers, it's really easy for the shop to warranty stuff. so when in doubt, ask the shop).

Given the choice I always chose conti over serfas.
Just don't ever buy the serfas Tuono (>30c slicks). I bought some for a really rough alleycat and flatted both before the end of the race.

booo! hisssss!

vittoria randonneur in back (if you have clearance for 700x28), and a bontrager racelite hardcase in front is my favorite. the hardcases have lasted me 6 months to a year in front (lifespan shortened on one by salty ohio roads in winter; it only lasted me 10 months). the randonneur grips well for wet weather stopping and cornering, not to mention it's one of the thickest tires i've ever seen (700x28, but you oughta use a tube that says 700x25); in my experience, it's lasted me about four times as long in general as armadillos lasted me when i used to use those.

right now i'm using a cheap rubino and a dumpstered bontrager, both holding up better than i'd thought so far, but as someone said about rubinos earlier, not bad....not great, either.

been running my 2nd serfas seca in the back for over a month, daily skids/brakeless... still barely any sign of wear compared to everything else.

I think the moral of the story is that serfas doesn't have great quality control. Some are awesome, some suck. Don't be afraid to attempt a warranty if they show signs of sucking. Just do it quick. No one is going to warranty a tire with a month of riding on it unless it completly falls apart.

sounds about right to me.