Road Rubber...

"GPLama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Long rant, skip to the bottom if required..

I'm always on the quest for a better tyre, something that is light,

grippy,

Quoted message said:

fast, and if possible looks cool (think colours!) 🙂
I'm interested in hearing feedback from others in regard to their road
rubber experience.. good/bad/other.. I might end up using the 'racing'
rubber I have on the front with a folding Conti Gator on the rear for good
reliability..

I've tried all those tyres and more. My favourite 'race rubber' has got to
be Veloflex Blacks in clinchers, Continental Competition in Tubs.
You can hear the veloflex tyres 'zing'!
Gemma

GPLama said:

Long rant, skip to the bottom if required..

I've used Vittoria Rubino's with some success, very fast
feeling tyre, and long life for a lightweight racer. I
think I got about 3,000km out of a pair, from memory. They
felt better than the Michelin Pro Races and lasted longer.
Remember, colours may be sexy, but colours are probably less sticky
than
black, are you trying to go fast and corner well or look cool at cafe
[censored]? 🙂

My current race tyres are Bontrager racelites, they certainly
feel fast, don't know what sort of longevity I'll get out of
'em though. They came with the new bike, so I'm giving them a
go.

"Bleve" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Remember, colours may be sexy, but colours are probably less sticky
than
black, are you trying to go fast and corner well or look cool at cafe
[censored]? 🙂

To corner fast so I look like a cool [censored] on the BR 🙂... I'm looking for
something that'll hold 'the corner' well at Kew, and any other circuit that
I'll be critting over summer..

Not into the cafe scene, if I'm all dressed up then I'm riding.. with the
exception of the Smiths Gully stop (group enforced stop on the BR)..

cheers,
GPL

GPLama said:

- Weight weight weight.. gotta be folding.. and have to measure up well on

Not trying to be annoying (I'd go the folding gatorskins) but can you
afford to lose 1kg of fat? I mean, if Lance was supposed to have been
down to 3% body fat, I'd be surprised if there was anyone reading this
group who would be near that. I'm 192cm and 82kg and I could still
easily reduce my % body fat.

--
..dt
1996 Diamond Back 'Expert Tg' Roadie (7spd DT shifters, favourite bike!)
2004 Trek 2300 Roadie (9spd Ultegra)
2003 DiamondBack 'Criterium' Roadie (8spd Sora, rain bike)

Bleve said:

My current race tyres are Bontrager racelites, they certainly
feel fast, don't know what sort of longevity I'll get out of
'em though. They came with the new bike, so I'm giving them a
go.

I've got em and they seem pretty good. No punctures so far and they
haven't been cut up much by bogan droppings. Only have 2k on them so
it's still early days.

--
..dt
1996 Diamond Back 'Expert Tg' Roadie (7spd DT shifters, favourite bike!)
2004 Trek 2300 Roadie (9spd Ultegra)
2003 DiamondBack 'Criterium' Roadie (8spd Sora, rain bike)

"dtmeister" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

GPLama said:

- Weight weight weight.. gotta be folding.. and have to measure up well
on

Not trying to be annoying (I'd go the folding gatorskins) but can you
afford to lose 1kg of fat? I mean, if Lance was supposed to have been
down to 3% body fat, I'd be surprised if there was anyone reading this
group who would be near that. I'm 192cm and 82kg and I could still
easily reduce my % body fat.

Good question - answer will vary... If you ask me, sure, I just might be
able to lose another 2-3kgs.. ask anyone else, they might tell you I need
another 2-3kgs to look healthy again... backed up with work place jibes
about getting me a t-shirt that says "no, I don't have AIDS", or similar
after a number of clients asked about my health status when they hadn't seen
me in a while 🙂 This all comes after going from 83kgs to around 68kgs in
the last 6 months.. back up to 69kgs now I'm getting into some further leg
strength work for the summer.. I'm about 183cms.. so after that hard
work, I see my obsession with bike weight as (almost) fully justified..
although replacing my jerseys and knicks with two sizes smaller is costing
me $$!

cheers,
GPL
:stay tunned for the book 'How the Llama became a climber, and how you can
too'.... sure to be a hit in Oprah's book club:

GPLama said:

Long rant, skip to the bottom if required..

I'm always on the quest for a better tyre, something that is light, grippy,
fast, and if possible looks cool (think colours!) 🙂

My recent tyre use history:

Stock Michelin 'somethings' on my '03 OCR-1 - 25mm(!?) beachballs that
ballooned out with one small skid. Result, useless.

iirc, JayWoo at the time mentioned he liked Conties, so off we trot to a LBS
and I pick up a 25mm wire Gatorskin (yeah, 25mm and wire, what was I
thinking!).. Loved it, heavy as could be but damn near bullet proof. Went
to get myself another one and was talked into 23mm by the dude at TFM on
Chapel St. Still wire, but now even faster and a smidge lighter...

Time shift to the start of this year when I met a flyingdutchman on the
boulie one Sunday morning and my interest was sparked enough to get racing..
got myself a nice new set of rims ('05 R550s) and put some 'racing rubber'
on them in the form of 23mm Vittoria Open Corsa KS (I think hey are the KS).
The Vittorias are lightish, nice and fast, but cut and puncture easy.

Also got myself a 23mm folding Gator from Andy at bikepro for the old rims,
still nice, and lighter than the wire version..

Keen readers will know my issues in the last few days with my new rubber,
but to recap.. Along comes my new carbon toy with stock Michelin Pro Race
2's... super fast, super sexy, super side wall crappy... didn't even feel a
thing when it blew on Sunday, just KAPOOWWW... I've since felt the
difference in thickness between the Pro2s and the Vittoria's and it looks
like Miche have the _thinnest_ sidewalls.. though they are a little firmer
and thicker on the actual tread than the Vittoria...

So my current spare thought processes are spent on deciding what to do about
what rubber to stick on...

- Not to worried about having different rubber on the front/back, colour
mismatch worries me more 🙂
- My measurements are 23mm @ 110-120psi (yes, even without v1g4a!)
- Love the folding Gators, but not sure how they'll hold up grip wise for
racing
- Weight weight weight.. gotta be folding.. and have to measure up well on
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/
- Probikekit.com _has_ to stock them 😉.. or even bikepro.com.au as Andy's
prices are also good..

I'm interested in hearing feedback from others in regard to their road
rubber experience.. good/bad/other.. I might end up using the 'racing'
rubber I have on the front with a folding Conti Gator on the rear for good
reliability..

cheers,
GPL

On my first set of Pro Race 2's, I had one incident, but that was a nail going straight through i.e would not have mattered what tyre I had on, it was a throw away the tube and new one straight in, no patching.

so I think I have gotten about 3000+ out of this set so far

I cant comment on other tyres have always used Michellin, used to use the Magemium, until I started using the Pro Race and now Pro Race 2, never had many issues, I know when it is time to replace them, by the wear on them, im expecing this set to last a while longer yet.

do you do the old "run your hand over the tyre" while crusing after riding through glassy debris ? if you cant manage to avoid it, I actually found this made a huge difference in terms of tube problems. Apart from the one incident, where I got a little excited and almost lost my hand.

so for the meantime for me... it will be Michelin.

GPLama said:

"dtmeister" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

GPLama said:

- Weight weight weight.. gotta be folding.. and have to measure up well
on

Not trying to be annoying (I'd go the folding gatorskins) but can you
afford to lose 1kg of fat? I mean, if Lance was supposed to have been
down to 3% body fat, I'd be surprised if there was anyone reading this
group who would be near that. I'm 192cm and 82kg and I could still
easily reduce my % body fat.

Good question - answer will vary... If you ask me, sure, I just might be
able to lose another 2-3kgs.. ask anyone else, they might tell you I need
another 2-3kgs to look healthy again... backed up with work place jibes
about getting me a t-shirt that says "no, I don't have AIDS", or similar
after a number of clients asked about my health status when they hadn't seen
me in a while 🙂 This all comes after going from 83kgs to around 68kgs in
the last 6 months.. back up to 69kgs now I'm getting into some further leg
strength work for the summer.. I'm about 183cms.. so after that hard
work, I see my obsession with bike weight as (almost) fully justified..
although replacing my jerseys and knicks with two sizes smaller is costing
me $$!

cheers,
GPL
:stay tunned for the book 'How the Llama became a climber, and how you can
too'.... sure to be a hit in Oprah's book club:

dude if you lost more weight..... I would throw you money when I see standing on a street corner!

I think you are about at the limit of weight loss!! although muscle is heavier then fat! lose some muscle! oh wait.... hey spend another $10K and get a bike that weighs 300 grams less!

Try these:

maxxis.comfind dealer.aspOpen ↗

Available at http://www.torpedo7.com for $54(nooo zulland) so darn cheap

light, grippyreview here
these guys rarely give anything a 10 and tend to be rather conservative so the tire cant be half bad

"MikeyOz" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

dude if you lost more weight..... I would throw you money when I see
standing on a street corner!

Hehheh... that Jim Rose freak show is in the country.. now if I could only
contort myself through this tennis racquet...

Quoted message said:

I think you are about at the limit of weight loss!! although muscle is
heavier then fat! lose some muscle! oh wait.... hey spend another $10K
and get a bike that weighs 300 grams less!

Yeah, that is my dilemma.. cant afford to lose any muscle.. and I _may_ be
setting myself up for having a low immune system.. started on some vitamins
yesterday.. though they wont make me faster 🙁

cheers,
GPL

GPLama said:

iirc, JayWoo at the time mentioned he liked Conties, so off we trot to a LBS
and I pick up a 25mm wire Gatorskin (yeah, 25mm and wire, what was I
thinking!).. Loved it, heavy as could be but damn near bullet proof. Went

I'm using Conti 4Seasons @ the mom, though I'm also going to shop
around for the up and coming Spring\Summer. The Conti's are tuff though
they seem to wear quick on the back. I try and tyre rotate when I can
to spread the wear.

I had a vittoria opencoursa kx(s?) F+R, but the rear one got cut up all the time, and punctured quickly. Im now using same on front, with michelin axial carbons for the rear, and that seems like an ok combo, the michelins have way better puncture resistance.

till

GPLama said:

strength work for the summer.. I'm about 183cms.. so after that hard
work, I see my obsession with bike weight as (almost) fully justified..
although replacing my jerseys and knicks with two sizes smaller is costing

Fair enough. I get similar comments (mainly from my parents) about needing
to eat more etc, but I could still drop a couple of kg's without it really
being noticable. Anyway, no hills in Perth, so it doesn't matter. 🙂

--
..dt
1996 Diamond Back 'Expert Tg' Roadie (7spd DT shifters, favourite bike!)
2004 Trek 2300 Roadie (9spd Ultegra)
2003 DiamondBack 'Criterium' Roadie (8spd Sora, rain bike)

GPLama said:

Long rant, skip to the bottom if required..

I'm always on the quest for a better tyre, something that is light, grippy,
fast, and if possible looks cool (think colours!) 🙂

My recent tyre use history:

Stock Michelin 'somethings' on my '03 OCR-1 - 25mm(!?) beachballs that
ballooned out with one small skid. Result, useless.

iirc, JayWoo at the time mentioned he liked Conties, so off we trot to a LBS
and I pick up a 25mm wire Gatorskin (yeah, 25mm and wire, what was I
thinking!).. Loved it, heavy as could be but damn near bullet proof. Went
to get myself another one and was talked into 23mm by the dude at TFM on
Chapel St. Still wire, but now even faster and a smidge lighter...

Time shift to the start of this year when I met a flyingdutchman on the
boulie one Sunday morning and my interest was sparked enough to get racing..
got myself a nice new set of rims ('05 R550s) and put some 'racing rubber'
on them in the form of 23mm Vittoria Open Corsa KS (I think hey are the KS).
The Vittorias are lightish, nice and fast, but cut and puncture easy.

Also got myself a 23mm folding Gator from Andy at bikepro for the old rims,
still nice, and lighter than the wire version..

Keen readers will know my issues in the last few days with my new rubber,
but to recap.. Along comes my new carbon toy with stock Michelin Pro Race
2's... super fast, super sexy, super side wall crappy... didn't even feel a
thing when it blew on Sunday, just KAPOOWWW... I've since felt the
difference in thickness between the Pro2s and the Vittoria's and it looks
like Miche have the _thinnest_ sidewalls.. though they are a little firmer
and thicker on the actual tread than the Vittoria...

So my current spare thought processes are spent on deciding what to do about
what rubber to stick on...

- Not to worried about having different rubber on the front/back, colour
mismatch worries me more 🙂
- My measurements are 23mm @ 110-120psi (yes, even without v1g4a!)
- Love the folding Gators, but not sure how they'll hold up grip wise for
racing
- Weight weight weight.. gotta be folding.. and have to measure up well on
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/
- Probikekit.com _has_ to stock them 😉.. or even bikepro.com.au as Andy's
prices are also good..

I'm interested in hearing feedback from others in regard to their road
rubber experience.. good/bad/other.. I might end up using the 'racing'
rubber I have on the front with a folding Conti Gator on the rear for good
reliability..

cheers,
GPL

I bought a set of those Vittoria Open KS (S for slick) for racing and TTing and yeah they were fast and light, but they cut up after only a few road races. Absolutely [censored] - I had to replace them out after only a couple of months of racing and the odd sunday ride they were so cut up - I got sick of punctures and finding bits of glass in them. I couldn't trust them in a race.

I've gone back to michelin pro races that I got cheap as I'd had good results with them before.

The only tyres I've managed to wear out without the sidewalls tearing are:
Michelin Pro Race - light, sticky, only a few punctures, don't last long
Conti Grand Prix S - heavyish, but very few punctures until they were worn, cheap as chips
Specialised Pro xxxx - can't remember the model they came with the bike, bout the same as grand prix S

On these the sidewalls have gone well before the rubber:
Conti Gatorskins - still got punctures, sidewalls crapped out
Vittoria Rubino Pro - same

I had no problems racing on heavier training tyres when I only had one set of wheels. Well I never thought, gee I would have won that if I'd only had race tyres anyway! The race tyres corner a little better, and accelerate a bit easier and maybe they roll a little bit better but there's not much in it.

Everyone seems to have completely different results with tyres!

Adam

"adam85" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Everyone seems to have completely different results with tyres!

Yeah, so it seems... I appreciate everyone's feedback so far..

cheers,
GPL

Quoted message said:

Good question - answer will vary... If you ask me, sure, I just might be
able to lose another 2-3kgs.. ask anyone else, they might tell you I need
another 2-3kgs to look healthy again... backed up with work place jibes
about getting me a t-shirt that says "no, I don't have AIDS", or similar
after a number of clients asked about my health status when they hadn't
seen me in a while 🙂 This all comes after going from 83kgs to around
68kgs in the last 6 months.. back up to 69kgs now I'm getting into some
further leg strength work for the summer.. I'm about 183cms.. so after
that hard work, I see my obsession with bike weight as (almost) fully
justified.. although replacing my jerseys and knicks with two sizes
smaller is costing me $$!

cheers,
GPL
:stay tunned for the book 'How the Llama became a climber, and how you can
too'.... sure to be a hit in Oprah's book club:

We hates you. We hates you forever...84kg@168cm So how do you shed that sort
of excess avoirdupois? It's eat less and exercise more, isn't it? *sulks*

"Resound" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

We hates you. We hates you forever...84kg@168cm So how do you shed that
sort of excess avoirdupois? It's eat less and exercise more, isn't it?
*sulks*

Yep... spot on... now I'm no expert in diet or nutrition, but this is what
has worked for me... first of all, stopped all upper body weights I was
doing (2-3 times a week).. stopped them outright.. maybe not the best thing
to do, but I wanted to become a climber with arms of a girl and the pecs of
a mouse!...

#1 Will power... going to the supermarket is truly depressing, everything on
'sale' and has big promos are the kinds of food I don't eat any more..
carbs carbs carbs (and burning them up).. as little fat and processed sugar
as possible.. using food as a fuel source only.. eat when hungry.. no
'comfort eating'.. planning food/energy intake for projected energy required
(eat more on fri/sat in prep for big rides on Sunday).. Caused a few nasty
bonks in the first few months, but now I'm getting the hang of it.. I'm one
of those [censored] who will pickup everything and study the nutritional value
of everything I buy, you'd really be amazed what they fob off as being
'healthy'..

And to keep it off.. easy.. guilt.. eating bad will undo all the hard work
put in so far.. guilt kept me doing weights for years, and has kept be on
track for good eating so far.. even without the guilt factor, the general
feeling of 'wellbeing' from eating the 'right' foods and cycling results are
a good incentive to keep on track..

I guess more intense/focused training comes into play.. Last December I did
around 30% more kms than in an average month, and lost nothing.. so I can
only assume the combination of the two has worked for me.. I guess the
simple formula of energy in / energy out sums it up..

More details in my upcoming book, "Llama llama, no cheesecake for llama"...

cheers,
GPL

"GPLama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Resound" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

We hates you. We hates you forever...84kg@168cm So how do you shed that
sort of excess avoirdupois? It's eat less and exercise more, isn't it?
*sulks*

Yep... spot on... now I'm no expert in diet or nutrition, but this is what
has worked for me... first of all, stopped all upper body weights I was
doing (2-3 times a week).. stopped them outright.. maybe not the best
thing to do, but I wanted to become a climber with arms of a girl and the
pecs of a mouse!...

#1 Will power... going to the supermarket is truly depressing, everything
on 'sale' and has big promos are the kinds of food I don't eat any more..
carbs carbs carbs (and burning them up).. as little fat and processed
sugar as possible.. using food as a fuel source only.. eat when hungry..
no 'comfort eating'.. planning food/energy intake for projected energy
required (eat more on fri/sat in prep for big rides on Sunday).. Caused a
few nasty bonks in the first few months, but now I'm getting the hang of
it.. I'm one of those [censored] who will pickup everything and study the
nutritional value of everything I buy, you'd really be amazed what they
fob off as being 'healthy'..

And to keep it off.. easy.. guilt.. eating bad will undo all the hard work
put in so far.. guilt kept me doing weights for years, and has kept be on
track for good eating so far.. even without the guilt factor, the general
feeling of 'wellbeing' from eating the 'right' foods and cycling results
are a good incentive to keep on track..

I guess more intense/focused training comes into play.. Last December I
did around 30% more kms than in an average month, and lost nothing.. so I
can only assume the combination of the two has worked for me.. I guess
the simple formula of energy in / energy out sums it up..

More details in my upcoming book, "Llama llama, no cheesecake for
llama"...

cheers,
GPL

So you think maybe those chocolate/almond croissants are working against me?

Bleve said:

[snip]

My current race tyres are Bontrager racelites, they certainly
feel fast, don't know what sort of longevity I'll get out of
'em though. They came with the new bike, so I'm giving them a
go.

I have Bontrager Racelites as well - the cheap version, not the XXXLite or whatever they're called. About 50 bucks a piece for 23mm clincher. I would classify them as 'ho-hum'. They seem to cut a little too easily and don't corner very well, especially in the wet. I reckon it's the different coloured compound on the sidewalls that isn't as grippy as the centre bit.

On the plus side, they're reasonably cheap for a folding clincher and available in lots of colours for fashion conscious colour matchers...

Ritch