Death of a continental

^
I lack spades worth of riding skill.

I must have a lot then, considering I've have been using the same bald Armadillios* for 2 years now without any slips at all.

*Officially "The worst tyre in the wet" according to general forum consensus (i.e. bollocks)

Well, I don't have much experience of cycling in central London but I'd rather chop off my foreskin and fashion a tyre from that than use Contis. Chris Boardman doesn't like Contis either but then what does he know?
Armadillos are much grippier than they used to be and consequently wear quicker but they do stop the punctures. Most couriers end up using Armadillos.
Veloflex are the tyres I would marry if only this bastard government would listen to reason and legalise man-tyre unions.

Armadillos are great. They make your legs strong too.

I must have a lot then, considering I've have been using the same bald Armadillios* for 2 years now without any slips at all.

*Officially "The worst tyre in the wet" according to general forum consensus (i.e. bollocks)

But they are fitted to the bicycle that will never die.

Thank you. I've been using Rubino Pros for winter training tyres for the last two years.

I also decided I couldn't be bothered changing the cut and worn Rubino Pro on the Ribble and used it for the Dragon Ride, passing hundreds of Conti users changing tubes by the side of the road. :)

Amazingly I have the reverse experience. Other people do too

http://www.veloriders.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=83168&highlight=rubino

i find i get more punctures when I run over glass.

i also find that i slip when its wet/oily and i'm going too fast through a turn.

Veloflex are the tyres I would marry if only this bastard government would listen to reason and legalise man-tyre unions.

bits

(and kinda +1)

My current fleet is kitted out with:

Rubino Pros
Corsa Evo II (the nice 320TPI ones!)
Vred Fortezza Quattro
Conti GP3000

The thing is, conti don't have much of a serious range, and their only "good" tyre (GP4000s) is a complete compromise, albeit a good one by all accounts. Like the GP3000. You can train on it, because it lasts but is neither cheap nor last ages, you could race on it but it's rather slow, it's not such a great ride and the thing squares off very fast, it's heavy,

With Vittoria, you have a tyre for every occasion, and outstanding ones at that! Rubino Pros are excellent (bettered only by the Vred Fortezza Quattro IMO) and make super-solid high milage tyres that are perfect for training, and you could race on them too. Corsa Evos, well what more can I say, they ride brilliantly, roll very fast, grip and feel is excellent, particularly in the dry. If it's wet they're more than adequate (frankly, wet riding is more down to the rider than the tyre!), but then you have the Open Pave or the Diamante Pro Tech. Diamante pro light get very good feedback from other riders and are genuinely very light.

No other manufacturer has that. Vredestein only has a couple of decent tyres, albeit very decent ones - the Quattro is a rubino pro killer, as above. The Tricomp is a serious race tyre for those on a budget. Schwalbe, maybe, but they're in the same boat. The Ultremo looks excellent, and I've have bought it were there not so many pictures on the web of Ultremos with seriously f****d up sidewalls and casings blowouts. Ultremo DD looks a great concept but aren't really on the shelves. Stelvio, meant to be not bad as a fast training tyre. Better/cheaper than rubino pros? probably not.

Vittoria FTW.

Amazingly I have the reverse experience. Other people do too
http://www.veloriders.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=83168&highlight=rubino

I'm not on Veloriders so I can't read anything. Pay attention... "Rubino PRO" There's a massive difference between the £8 Rubinos and the £12 Rubino Pros.

Courant: You rate the Fortezzas? I know BMMF liked them (before he also started using Vittorias)

They're about £4 more than Rubino Pro. Are they more/less durable than Rub Pro? More/less grippy? Etc?

Thanks. I could try them myself but I really should try and wear out some more Vittorias from my pile..

I read some stuff about Ultremos sidewalls being poor. I run the old and the new Race (R) versions and they seem pretty good.

They seem fine for now. No as grippy in the wet as my michelin krylions though.

Courant: You rate the Fortezzas? I know BMMF liked them (before he also started using Vittorias)

They're about £4 more than Rubino Pro. Are they more/less durable than Rub Pro? More/less grippy? Etc?

Thanks. I could try them myself but I really should try and wear out some more Vittorias from my pile..

Well worth a try. They're pretty much identical in terms of general characteristics (wear, resistance to cuts, zero punctures, rolling resistance, weight), only differences are they ride slightly differently (most of this i think is down to pressure - the vreds can and should be run at slightly higher pressure to get the best out of them in the bends. I use 120/125 compared to 105/110 with the rubinos) and the quattros are definitely better in the wet, where they feel quite secure IMO.

Thanks. Well when I spot some cheap or need to replace this Everlasting Gobstopper Schwalbe Marathon Plus on the Commuterdor I might give them a try.

Popped into Evans Waterloo Cut post work today with the offending tyre and they gave me a Conti Grand Prix Four Seasons in exchange, after much head shaking over how such a large chunk of tyre could have been thrown off.

As I now have a Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp on the rear of the road bike it will be a while before I use it but I will update when I do.

Hippo- you still want those Pro-Lites?

Sure. Post your address and contact details and when you're in/not in here and I'll pop in :)

Today was last straw for me and continental products,
I had one set of gator skins a few years back that I got through about a year with no punctures perfect tyres, I brought a new set and and had non stop punctures threw them out. Vowed not to touch them again and didn't for 2 years.
Today with a 1 day old gatrorskin 25c and continental tube combo I got a puncture. It was one of those punctures that just shouldn't have happened. rant over

I've never had any problems with Contis, but I keep hearing about them only being for lightweight riders and going above a certain weight is a no no.

Yeah, Conti weight limit is 4kg.. anything over that and they'll explode in a shower of cheap, poorly constructed rubber.

Ha! Does Hippy Towers have some sort of paging system which beeps when weight is mentioned?

Right back the cake thread...

I've never had any problems with Contis, but I keep hearing about them only being for lightweight riders and going above a certain weight is a no no.

so your saying i'm fat? thanks man

Ha! Does Hippy Towers have some sort of paging system which beeps when those fucking shit tyres made by Continental are mentioned?

Something like that..