Vittoria Voyager Hyper or Randonneur Hyper RFX tires
 

I been reading various threads on lighter weight and faster touring tires and am now intrigued with giving the Vittoria Voyager Hyper a try. Currently I've been running Conti Top Contacts which have been absolutely bomb proof for almost 4,000 miles but are slow, heavy and just won't wear out. This summer I'll be riding self contained Eugene to Missoula following ACA's Trans-Am route. Anyone with first hand experience on these tires care to offer suggestions?

Also are the Vittoria Randonneur Hyper RFX City Tire currently sold by Nashbar for $25 the exact same tire as the Voyager Hypers. They're only available in 38mm and I'd prefer a 32mm, but 25 clams seems to be a great price.

Sam

Not sure if they're the same tire since there seems to be a 15 g difference in weight between the Hypers and the RFX cities at 38 mm, but if they're even close in design, that's a heck of a good price for those tires.

btw, what's the matter with "bomb proof" and "that they won't wear out"

btw, what's the matter with "bomb proof" and "that they won't wear out"[/QUOTE]

I fully agree with you, I've had great luck with the Conti Top Contacts but I'd like a faster tire with more comfort. Plus I'm having trouble keeping up with the faster younger riders who I tour with. On my road bike I'm mid-pack, but when touring I'm always falling off the back.

I fully agree with you, I've had great luck with the Conti Top Contacts but I'd like a faster tire with more comfort. Plus I'm having trouble keeping up with the faster younger riders who I tour with. On my road bike I'm mid-pack, but when touring I'm always falling off the back.[/QUOTE]

That's power to weight more than rolling resistance. My problem with Top Contacts was my daily commute over a draw bridge where the angled tread blocks meshed with the open metal grid portion of the roadway causing the front bars and wheel to jerk around.

Not a big sample but for fast tires I've had flats with Vittoria Hyper but not Panaracer Ribmo, Pasela or Schwalbe Supreme. For 32mm tire check out the Rivendell Jack Brown Blue.

That's a damn good price on those Hypers at Nashbar. If I were looking for tires that large, I'd be on that. I'd suggest you snag them while you can. At that price, I say get them and try them out. If for some reason you don't like them, you might be able to get $25/tire for them on CL or ebay as long as you don't put many miles on.

Typically, there is a tradeoff between durability and quality of ride. I generally sacrifice durability for quality of ride, within limits, of course.

I've put about 1000 miles on 32mm Voyager Hypers on my tandem. I can't recommend them highly enough. Good rolling resistance, superb ride quality, and no flats. Mostly smooth pavement, some gravel, heavy team.

I also have several thousand miles on a set of Hypers on our tandem. I also have ridden the Contis, Schwalbes and Panaracers. The Vittorias beat the others hands down for best compromise of durability and flat protection while maintaining great handling and road feel. Contis are too harsh. Panaracers flat too easily. Schwalbes ride like bricks (but slower). Hypers are the way to go. You may have a flat or two, but not many and you will THOROUGHLY enjoy the miles between flats.

$25 is an excellent price. I think I paid $45 each fro mine in 700x32...

Vittoria changed the name of the Randonneur Hyper to Voyager a little more than a year ago, but it's the exact same tire. The "old" Hypers were on sale on UK's Planet X site for 15 pounds (roughly $23), and the Nashbar price is also a steal. I'm unsure about the RFX version, but looking at the pictures it seems to be the exact same tire as the others. I toured 2,300 miles from London to Istanbul in 2014 on the Hypers and suffered 3 punctures, one of which probably would've punctured any tire. They don't wear as well as my Marathon Supremes, but they're more comfortable.

I bought them from planetx on sale but I bought the 37mm size without thinking they won't fit on any of my bikes. Duh! They're still in the boxes. Maybe I'll test for fit on my Bianchi, but the 35mm Paselas it has are tight since it has fenders.

Yea, it's a shame Nashbar doesn't have them in 32's or I would pick up an extra pair and compare.

I've had a pair of 38s under the old name on my bike for a few years now. Had one flat that bit me twice. Checked the hole for sharp bits, found none, rode for several weeks on a new tube which then got a puncture in the exact same spot. Checked again for sharp bits, found none, put a tube patch over the hole in the tire on the assumption that the ragged edge of the puncture in the tire had abraded a hole in the tube and have had no trouble since. They probably are not as bulletproof as some tires but I really like them. If I were going to replace them with anything it would be a tire with an even higher thread count, more efficient casing but there doesn't seem to be anything like that except for 28s and smaller. The 38s are a really, really nice width for the trails I ride, 28s would work but not as gracefully.

Do we know why Vittoria makes 37mm and 38mm Hypers? I bought some 37s from the Planetx sale also and was wondering why they offered them in this odd size (as well as the 38mm size).