Training Tires

I'm not a big fan of Conti tires, either the Gatorskin or the GP4000's. I've had both and got consistent flats of about 2 a week; also the sidewalls are flimsy and are subject to damage. I got a set of Kenda Konstrictors for less money then either Conti and the Kenda's are way superior to the Conti in flat protection, sidewall protection, cut resistance. wear, and handling..actually handling is about the same as a Conti, but the Conti's are more comfortable to ride on. Heck even the Specialized Mondo S Works and Vittoria Rubino Pro tires are better then Conti's.

In reality I just buy whatever I can get the largest price discount on, this year it was the Kenda Konstrictors at $18 each instead of $40 retail. I find the largest discounted tire then read the reviews, if no good I pass on the discount, Kenda got rave reviews on RBR and in fact better the any of the Conti's.

Another Conti GP4000 fan here. No punctures with them in at least 15K miles now, long wearing (3-4K on rear) and good grip. Not the fastest race tire out there, but the best trade-off of durabilty and performance I've found. Not cheap and seldom found at big discounts, but they've proven worth the money to me.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by dhk2 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Another Conti GP4000 fan here. No punctures with them in at least 15K miles now, long wearing (3-4K on rear) and good grip. Not the fastest race tire out there, but the best trade-off of durabilty and performance I've found. Not cheap and seldom found at big discounts, but they've proven worth the money to me.

+1
Love my conti GP4000s! Only flatted once this season (5000miles) and that was a pinch on some really bad road surface. Good grip, performed great in races, club rides, rain, everything.

5000 miles on Conti's? You don't really live on rough roads if your getting 5000 miles out of them with only 1 flat, The most I've ever got on a one Conti was about 3500 miles and the cords were just peeking through, and during that time I got many flats and countless cuts I had to seal with Superglue and about 5 or 6 I had to but a tire boot to keep the tire going, even when the tires were new I was getting flats, and my roads now are not near as bad as they were when I lived in Goathead country. I have gotten 6500 miles on Armadillo's which was the most amount of miles I ever got on any tire I've ever used in the past 45 years. But I didn't really like the ride quality of the Armadillos but they served their purpose well when I lived in Goathead country, whereas any Conti that I or others tried failed miserably out there.

Sometimes I wonder if some of you BS about stuff.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Froze [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Sometimes I wonder if some of you BS about stuff.

FWIW, I've often wondered the same thing about you......

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Froze [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

5000 miles on Conti's? You don't really live on rough roads if your getting 5000 miles out of them with only 1 flat, The most I've ever got on a one Conti was about 3500 miles and the cords were just peeking through, and during that time I got many flats and countless cuts I had to seal with Superglue and about 5 or 6 I had to but a tire boot to keep the tire going, even when the tires were new I was getting flats, and my roads now are not near as bad as they were when I lived in Goathead country. I have gotten 6500 miles on Armadillo's which was the most amount of miles I ever got on any tire I've ever used in the past 45 years. But I didn't really like the ride quality of the Armadillos but they served their purpose well when I lived in Goathead country, whereas any Conti that I or others tried failed miserably out there.

Sometimes I wonder if some of you BS about stuff.

Sorry froze, no BS from me, not about the contis or anything else. I should confess to weighing less than 120lb, and this tends to help with the no flats. . . . but still. And I don't know about your roads, but ours are so-so (but when possible, I chose good lines!). That being said, I raced the contis on gravel (and other crappy surfaces) without a problem. They are my go-to all around tire.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by CalicoCat [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Quote: Originally Posted by Froze [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

5000 miles on Conti's? You don't really live on rough roads if your getting 5000 miles out of them with only 1 flat, The most I've ever got on a one Conti was about 3500 miles and the cords were just peeking through, and during that time I got many flats and countless cuts I had to seal with Superglue and about 5 or 6 I had to but a tire boot to keep the tire going, even when the tires were new I was getting flats, and my roads now are not near as bad as they were when I lived in Goathead country. I have gotten 6500 miles on Armadillo's which was the most amount of miles I ever got on any tire I've ever used in the past 45 years. But I didn't really like the ride quality of the Armadillos but they served their purpose well when I lived in Goathead country, whereas any Conti that I or others tried failed miserably out there.

Sometimes I wonder if some of you BS about stuff.

Sorry froze, no BS from me, not about the contis or anything else. I should confess to weighing less than 120lb, and this tends to help with the no flats. . . . but still. And I don't know about your roads, but ours are so-so (but when possible, I chose good lines!). That being said, I raced the contis on gravel (and other crappy surfaces) without a problem. They are my go-to all around tire.

I'm 165 pounds I don't think that makes me a Clydesdale either!!! I have not known one single person personally that got your kind of mileage out of bike a Conti bike tire...but perhaps a lighter 120 pound person such as yourself could. I couldn't lose that kind of weigh to find out since I'm 6' tall!! While I have known some lighter people none rode on Cont's that I can remember. If your getting that kind of mileage on a Conti you could probably get around 8500 on the Armadillos?

I've been riding for 45 years, I too ride "good lines". I destroyed a Conti Gatorskin riding on gravel once that only had 1,200 miles on it, not exactly what I would consider a durable tire the way the company brags about them. Now I have ridden gravel with other tires and had good results, but to be quite honest I rode on some other brands that also failed.

Obviously I'm not a big supporter of Conti's because their expensive and I've had very poor luck with them, so I will never buy another set again.

What do you all know about the new Continental Grand Prix Force Rear Tyre 700 x 24c and the front comes as a 22c :-)

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by KLabs [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

What do you all know about the new Continental Grand Prix Force Rear Tyre 700 x 24c and the front comes as a 22c :-)

Not a darn thing, nor will I know a darn thing about any new Conti Tire because after all the failures I've had with them over the years whenever I try one of their new and improved tires only to be seriously disappointed. So I will no longer be sucked into the brand. The Conti Grand Prix Force sounds similar to the Attack and Force, if the same, their not new ,they've been out for awhile and from those that rode on them that I knew they weren't impressed.

Froze, I'm sure we all tend to be a bit biased when it comes to tire selection. I switched to Conti (3000 and now 4000s) after bad experiences with punctures/cuts on ProRace. After cutting through a new ProRace tire on it's second ride about 6 years ago, I switched to "expensive" Conti's and never looked back, The new ProRace 3's are supposed to have improved puncture resistance over the originals, but I'm not inclined to try them as Contis have proven "virtually bulletproof" for me. They don't give them away, even at a discount they are costly tires, but on a cost-per-mile basis, Conti 4000's have proven to be worth the money to this well-known cheapskate.

Of course, we all ride in different road conditions, with different weights/tire pressures and riding styles. Have to ask: if Conti's are so bad, what tire works for you....what's your favorite?

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by dhk2 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Froze, I'm sure we all tend to be a bit biased when it comes to tire selection. I switched to Conti (3000 and now 4000s) after bad experiences with punctures/cuts on ProRace. After cutting through a new ProRace tire on it's second ride about 6 years ago, I switched to "expensive" Conti's and never looked back, The new ProRace 3's are supposed to have improved puncture resistance over the originals, but I'm not inclined to try them as Contis have proven "virtually bulletproof" for me. They don't give them away, even at a discount they are costly tires, but on a cost-per-mile basis, Conti 4000's have proven to be worth the money to this well-known cheapskate.

Of course, we all ride in different road conditions, with different weights/tire pressures and riding styles. Have to ask: if Conti's are so bad, what tire works for you....what's your favorite?

See, your a bit bias against ProRace due to your experiences, as I am with my experiences with Conti.

What about the Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp Tyre 700 x 23c or the Vredestein Fortezza Quattro Tricomp Tyre 700 x 23c :-)

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by KLabs [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

What about the Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp Tyre 700 x 23c or the Vredestein Fortezza Quattro Tricomp Tyre 700 x 23c :-)

Haven't tried the Quattros, but the Tricomps are a good deal--reasonably low rolling resistance, good all-weather traction, and comfortable ride, plus very good resistance to punctures and other damage. I recommend them to anyone who wants good performance and durability but thinks Continental GP4000s cost too much or wear too fast.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Froze [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I'm 165 pounds I don't think that makes me a Clydesdale either!!! I have not known one single person personally that got your kind of mileage out of bike a Conti bike tire...but perhaps a lighter 120 pound person such as yourself could. I couldn't lose that kind of weigh to find out since I'm 6' tall!! While I have known some lighter people none rode on Cont's that I can remember. If your getting that kind of mileage on a Conti you could probably get around 8500 on the Armadillos?

I've been riding for 45 years, I too ride "good lines". I destroyed a Conti Gatorskin riding on gravel once that only had 1,200 miles on it, not exactly what I would consider a durable tire the way the company brags about them. Now I have ridden gravel with other tires and had good results, but to be quite honest I rode on some other brands that also failed.

Obviously I'm not a big supporter of Conti's because their expensive and I've had very poor luck with them, so I will never buy another set again.

The last set of Conti 4000S lasted over 18 months - and given that I only racked up 3,300 miles last year on the road probably something close to 5,000 miles on that set - that included a couple of Death Rides, Alta Alpina Challenges and the Everest Challenge - all out in the boonies and include miles of remote mountainous roads. Average weight was ~170lbs. Tire pressure was observed religiously at 110psi front and 115psi rear - and yes, my old Cannondale track pump guage was checked thanks to the Mac Tools guy down the road. Alot of my riding is done off main roads and includes alot of climbing and descending. I do swap front and rears fairly often - the rears get swapped with a "Sportsmart special" (aka cheapest 700x23 they have) for trainer work. The slightly knurled surface on my trainers roller shreds the Chili compound tires in almost one week whereas the el cheapo tires last pretty much all winter.

I got my one and only flat in my garage. I never did find anything in the tire or tube... Weird.

I've had the polar opposite experience with Michelin Pro Race 3s. Less than 500 miles and several flats... I didn't even keep them for 'spares'. Filed in the small circular filing cabinet...