I'm in the market for some winter commuting/training tyres. I currently have a pair of Continental Gatorskin tyres which are without doubt the worst tyres I've had: an utter pig to remove, slow rolling and, despite the name, far more puncture-prone than I feel is reasonable. I rode a pair of Michelin Pro Race 2's from July until well into a mucky autumn without a single puncture but have had 5 or 6 since switching to the Gatorskins. I rode the same hack bike through a whole winter on old Open Corsa CXs or Conti Ultra 3000s with fewer punctures than I've had in two months.
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
I'm in the market for some winter commuting/training tyres. I currently have a pair of Continental Gatorskin tyres which are without doubt the worst tyres I've had: an utter pig to remove, slow rolling and, despite the name, far more puncture-prone than I feel is reasonable. I rode a pair of Michelin Pro Race 2's from July until well into a mucky autumn without a single puncture but have had 5 or 6 since switching to the Gatorskins. I rode the same hack bike through a whole winter on old Open Corsa CXs or Conti Ultra 3000s with fewer punctures than I've had in two months.
Tue, 03 Jan 2006 18:31:11 -0000, Mark <[email hidden]> skrev:
Quoted message said:
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
Cheers,
Mark
IMHO you'r demanding too much from one tyre. If you can get high puncture resistance, will you not be willing to accept more rolling resistance? Commuting every day during the winter - rain or snow - I will not take any punctures, so I have found a completely resistant tyre from Holland: Dutch Perfect. It's heavy, it is not easy to mount, it's not cheap either. But it will not puncture and it will give me good training while commuting - and it will prepare me for a bigger thrill when I change to the racer in spring.
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
I'll be interested in the answers too. I agree with you about the Gatorskins except that I have not found them either hard to fit or particularly slow. The puncture rate is ridiculous.
"Dave Kahn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Mark said:
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
I'll be interested in the answers too. I agree with you about the Gatorskins except that I have not found them either hard to fit or particularly slow. The puncture rate is ridiculous.
Tee hee - I'm quite happy with mine (700x28 - does that make a difference?)
I'm in the market for some winter commuting/training tyres. I currently have a pair of Continental Gatorskin tyres which are without doubt the worst tyres I've had: an utter pig to remove, slow rolling
Don't know if you mean *Ultra* Gatorskin but the UltraGatorskin isn't all that slow. So if you want faster than that but with more puncture resistance then maybe Ivar is right: too much to ask.
Quoted message said:
and, despite the name, far more puncture-prone than I feel is reasonable. I rode a pair of Michelin Pro Race 2's from July until well into a mucky autumn without a single puncture but have had 5 or 6 since switching to the Gatorskins. I rode the same hack bike through a whole winter on old Open Corsa CXs or Conti Ultra 3000s with fewer punctures than I've had in two months.
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
Panaracer Pasela is more puncture resistant than Ultra Gatorskin, not terrible to fit, fast-rolling and lightweight for its type. There's a folding version as well to knock a few more grams off (Spa; SJS). Actual width of the latest versions (as sold by Wiggle for example) match the stated sizes, but older ones are a half to one size smaller.
I have a pair of these on my touring bike and Ivar is right, but they are hard to find in the UK so an extremely viable alternative is the schwalbe Marathon plus which is just as bomb proof and although heavy rolls well.
SW
" I have found a completely resistant tyre from Holland:
Quoted message said:
Dutch Perfect. It's heavy, it is not easy to mount, it's not cheap either. But it will not puncture and it will give me good training while commuting - and it will prepare me for a bigger thrill when I change to the racer in spring.
Tue, 03 Jan 2006 18:31:11 -0000, Mark <[email hidden]> skrev:
Quoted message said:
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
IMHO you'r demanding too much from one tyre. If you can get high puncture resistance, will you not be willing to accept more rolling resistance? Commuting every day during the winter - rain or snow - I will not take any punctures, so I have found a completely resistant tyre from Holland: Dutch Perfect. It's heavy, it is not easy to mount, it's not cheap either. But it will not puncture and it will give me good training while commuting - and it will prepare me for a bigger thrill when I change to the racer in spring.
Yes, I'd take more rolling resistance if it meant fewer punctures. I was just hoping that somebody would know of a miracle tyre that could do it all :~)
I'll have a look at the Dutch Perfect and some of the others recommended.
"Dave Kahn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Mark said:
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
I'll be interested in the answers too. I agree with you about the Gatorskins except that I have not found them either hard to fit or particularly slow. The puncture rate is ridiculous.
Tee hee - I'm quite happy with mine (700x28 - does that make a difference?)
Mine at 700x23. I spoke to someone else the other day who had been using a pair of 700x25s with very little trouble - perhaps only the 23s are so puncture prone? As I already have little room between tyre and mudguards I can't fit a 25 to find out.
I'm in the market for some winter commuting/training tyres. I currently have a pair of Continental Gatorskin tyres which are without doubt the worst tyres I've had: an utter pig to remove, slow rolling
Don't know if you mean *Ultra* Gatorskin but the UltraGatorskin isn't all that slow. So if you want faster than that but with more puncture resistance then maybe Ivar is right: too much to ask.
Hm, perhaps I was more spoiled over the summer than I realised by riding on the Pro Race 2s! Now that I'm nore used to them the Gatorskins don't seem quite so bad, but my initial inpressions were they were hard work and hello? is that tyre flat already?
I also wonder if the rims (2005 Shimano Tiagra factory wheels) I have are particularly large, though I haven't had much trouble fitting other tyres to them.
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
and, despite the name, far more puncture-prone than I feel is reasonable. I rode a pair of Michelin Pro Race 2's from July until well into a mucky autumn without a single puncture but have had 5 or 6 since switching to the Gatorskins. I rode the same hack bike through a whole winter on old Open Corsa CXs or Conti Ultra 3000s with fewer punctures than I've had in two months.
So, who can recommend a training tyre which is reasonably puncture resistant, easy to fit, fast-rolling and not a Conti Gatorskin?
Panaracer Pasela is more puncture resistant than Ultra Gatorskin, not terrible to fit, fast-rolling and lightweight for its type. There's a folding version as well to knock a few more grams off (Spa; SJS). Actual width of the latest versions (as sold by Wiggle for example) match the stated sizes, but older ones are a half to one size smaller.
"Dave Kahn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
I'll be interested in the answers too. I agree with you about the Gatorskins except that I have not found them either hard to fit or particularly slow. The puncture rate is ridiculous.
Tee hee - I'm quite happy with mine (700x28 - does that make a difference?)
My 28s are fine too - several thousand commuting miles with just the one puncture.
Yes, I'd take more rolling resistance if it meant fewer punctures. I was just hoping that somebody would know of a miracle tyre that could do it all :~)
I'm still on Schawble Stelvios on the training bike. 23mm race tyres 🙂
They are pretty puncture resistant, but require care in the muck.
For commuting, some big fat, heavy and puncture proof Michellen touring tyres. Roll like a slug compared to the Stelvios though.
Utterly bomb proof IME, quite heavy but they seem to be made of some hard compound that rolls very easily, although by the same token is more slippy on some wet surfaces.
"Steve W" <[email hidden]> wrote
Quoted message said:
I have a pair of these on my touring bike and Ivar is right, but they are hard to find in the UK so an extremely viable alternative is the schwalbe Marathon plus which is just as bomb proof and although heavy rolls well.
Panaracer Pasela is more puncture resistant than Ultra Gatorskin, not terrible to fit, fast-rolling and lightweight for its type. There's a folding version as well to knock a few more grams off (Spa; SJS). Actual width of the latest versions (as sold by Wiggle for example) match the stated sizes, but older ones are a half to one size smaller.
I'll second that. I'm running them on the fixer and the rear of the Speedmachine and have no complaints. Pity they don't do a 406 version...
Mine at 700x23. I spoke to someone else the other day who had been using a pair of 700x25s with very little trouble - perhaps only the 23s are so puncture prone? As I already have little room between tyre and mudguards I can't fit a 25 to find out.
No. 700Cx25 in my case. I get an average of around 220 km between punctures. It's quite baffling. Occasionally I'll go several hundred km without a problem and then I'll get three separate ones in the space of an hour. I've also ridden through horrible wet flinty stuff with no problems when people have been puncturing all round me. Then I'll collect one on a clean dry smooth road.
Some people swear by them, which is why I've stuck with them for so long, wondering if I've just been unlucky.
