Anti-Puncture Tyres At-a-glance

Well I'll keep an eye out for this, one thing I can say is running a conti ultra on the front and a folding schwalbe blizzard on the back of one of my road bikes and there are alot more cuts on the schwalbe than the conti...

a lots of cut does not a bad tyres make IMHO.

some get cut, some doesn't, bear in mind malaysian you got more weight on the back than the front.

Just had my 1st rear puncture on my Vittorio Slick after 2497km - and only because I hadnt kept it 'quite' pumped up enough.

Nuf said

^how many miles is that? about 1500? I found my vittoria rubino pros pretty hard wearing too.

^how many miles is that? about 1500? I found my vittoria rubino pros pretty hard wearing too.

1. Almost disregarding it to be honest - user error/neglect more than failure of the tyre to resist punctures ;)
   

^do you mean the same actual gatorskin for 4 years? that woud be impressive.

At least 15 miles per day. All weathers, I first stuck it on as a winter tyre but never got round to removing it. It also migrated from my fixé to my road bike.

a lots of cut does not a bad tyres make IMHO.

some get cut, some doesn't, bear in mind malaysian you got more weight on the back than the front.

Regular rubino's get full of cuts, even on first ride. But only ever had one puncture when tread was down to the threads.

The reason people hate on gatorskins is virtually every puncture on a long ride happens to this tyre. I'm sure this is partly to do with how many people use them, but when they start to degrade, they seem to go very quickly!

The reason because of the 'hate' is due to the fact it's a very popular tyres that a lots of people use.

which is why we hear more about this 'puncture' than any other tyres, and punctures are rarely something we can control on skinny lightweight tyres.

People hate tyres because people hate punctures and are quick to blame.

The perceived weakness of the Gatorskin is the sidewall.

I would suggest Panasonic Ribmo's. They come in all sizes, 26 and 700. I've got them on my SS and Cotic for town use. No puctures and they are QUICK! V shaped so little resistance on a straight and more sidewall in the corners. About £30 for a wired one, and £35 for a folding tyre.

Gatorskin not helped by it's claims to offer increased protection. I used them years ago and found no fewer punctures that other road tyres.
I hate punctures though and am prepared to carry extra weight of RibMos and Travel Contacts for my road/off road mix of riding. Yes, realise Ribmo's are not really intended for off road but they keep my reactions/bike handling in check...

+1 on the sidewalls.

When I put wheels together got a small chunk of grit between tube & sidewall then inflated. Fail. But user related fail, not the tyres fault.

Well I'll keep an eye out for this, one thing I can say is running a conti ultra on the front and a folding schwalbe blizzard on the back of one of my road bikes and there are alot more cuts on the schwalbe than the conti...

You steer your front tyre around glass but not the rear.

At least 15 miles per day. All weathers, I first stuck it on as a winter tyre but never got round to removing it. It also migrated from my fixé to my road bike.

4 years = bullshit. It must be sitting in your house 364 days of the year.

The reason because of the 'hate' is due to the fact it's a very popular tyres that a lots of people use.
which is why we hear more about this 'puncture' than any other tyres, and punctures are rarely something we can control on skinny lightweight tyres.

No, it's because they are a shit tyre lots of people use.

NOS gatorskin for sale from DFP. Hippy has 1st refusal.

People hate tyres because people hate punctures and are quick to blame.

Couldn't have said it better.

4 years = bullshit. It must be sitting in your house 364 days of the year.

Well the average of 15 miles per day is not much riding at all even compared to a lot of people. Even when it was on my fixed bike I rarely skidded it. And its been on the front of my bike for the past couple years. Tyres have always lasted long for me and rarely/never puncture. I have the same thing with shoes too, had the same pair of vans old skool since 2005. Skated in them, rode bikes etc, still going strong although tatty.

I'm not a skidder, but I'll pass my tuppence forward on what I've recently experienced with tyres.

In general, all tyres puncture, duh, and it's very difficult to compare. I've never noticed any to be particularly vulnerable. Any tyre will pop if you don't dodge shards of glass and pull out flints now and again.

Anyway:

Vittoria Techno: typical cheap tyre. Fairly hard compound and loses traction fairly easily in the wet. Held together well with few cuts. Rolls like most cheap tyres.

Continental Ultra Sport: relatively soft compound, but thick and doesn't roll especially fast, though not bad. Not great in the wet though; I remember washing out on a corner when I thought they really shouldn't do.

Schwalbe Lugano: hard compound and quite mediocre in the wet. Again it rolls like most cheap tyres and feels a bit hard if you take it over 100PSI. Despite being hard compund, they still cut-up quite badly.

Michelin Pro 3 Race: Very good grip (including in the wet) and roll fast and slightly more smoothly (in my opinion) than the cheaper tyres. Loss of traction is gradual when it's about to go. Saves almost half a pound in weight for a pair over some of the cheaper tyres. Cons are that hey wear realtively fast. They do also cut-up, but they don't actually tend to split.

Continental GP4000 S: Similar quality to the Michelin, except the ride feels slightly smoother still at high PSIs, and they have a slightly more squishy/bouncy feel to them. Grip is still very good and loses traction gradually rather than suddenly. Probably cuts-up slightly less than than the Michelin but not by that much. Also light weight. Doesn't seem to wear as fast as the Michelins. Punctured them 100 miles from new, but what do you expect after riding through Notting Hill after the Carnival.

Vittoria Zaffiro Steel-Bead: A decent cheap tyre. Similar to the Schwalbe Lugano but better in most respects; softer and didn't seem like it would cut-up and split so much.

Vittoria Rubino Slick: f'n terrible. Rode very hard when at 100PSI and over. Grip was horrible; they have a soft compound which once they start to lose traction starts to feels like dragging a wax candle across a sheet of paper. They just lose it and smear across the road once they start to go.

What up tyre fans.

Just thought I'd mention, in the spirit of comminity knowledge, that I've just put a pair of Panaracer RiBMos on my fixed wheel track bike. They seem good, I like.

Will keep you all up-to-date with exciting puncture updates.

can anyone recommend any good cheap 700x32 skinwalls, just got a telfer and the tyres it had on -( cheapo nutraks - not available any more..) made all the difference, making the marathons i have seem super bumpy and hard .

saw these and at the price am prepared to go thinner than 32mm and replace the tyres sooner too - but suspect they'll sit at 700x24 or something:
: http://www.cyclebasket.com/m9b95s497p2550/NUTRAK_TYN073_700_x_28C_Road_Tyre_-_Skinwall_Black_

skids and puncture protection not all important, just the comfort it gives.

anyone tried marathon folding racers? or conti 2000 ?

Grand Bois is a great choice for a big lightweight tyres, I think Planet X sell them.

I have the Cypres, really really good, smooth, light, and comfortable, I realised it soak up the road a lots better than a Marathon due to the lack of puncture protection and the stiffness of a marathon (for example);

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/TYGBCYP/grand-bois-cypres-tyre

thanks ed, they seem perfect in every aspect except one unfortunate point . at 160 quid to kit out two of my bikes they are going to be a little expensive for me.

i've e-mailed CB re; the nutraks - if they sit at 28mm i'll take a gamble on a few of them .

perhaps while i'm, here you can help me with pretty noob questions :

do you know any difference between the so called open tubular and good skinwall folding tyres? i thought the former was just an old name for a folder, but i'm seeing applied to newer tyres too. it's not for that new open tubeless system is it?

also - i've never quite got this, as i've never had a tyre completely fail on me on the road - - what is the deal with folders? - are they made to fold in order to carry them easily as spares -or is their ability to fold incidental to some other qualities (like more flexible lighter bead perhaps ? )

i'll chuck in a little story...

i bought one of those schwalbe durano skid at the beginning of the year, it took something like 6 months to actually arrive. it took a further month before it was even on my bike.

i skidded through it in a week and a half.
it had squared off within a day and was wearing so so quickly i was pretty shocked it was so bad.
pretty shit, as stated above in the reviews in this very thread.

i emailed schwalbe uk to register my complaint about a product simply not up to standard.
in response i got a set of durano plus as a sweetener next to an apology.

a subsequent email went back to schwalbe uk to let them know i was very happy with the durano plus. in their response they mentioned that the initial run of the durano skid had been made using the wrong compound.

so potentially once all the shite compound skids have been bought and then thrown staight away the next batch could be alright.

i will remain well clear of them however i have found a very decent tyre in the durano plus.
very heavy - 380g but very tough with good resistance to skids and wear, no punctures. aces.