bigsky109

I am running Continental Ultra Sport II right now and they seem to be great tires. I just ordered another set in RED when these wear out. Seems they are the best tire for the money. Roll nicer than my Vittoria's which were the originals.

philbob57

RL7836

Go to one of the Crr testing sites (rolling resistance), pick a decent model near the top (as many people noted - Conti GP4000SII are always in that range), get the biggest tire your frame will handle, weigh each wheel of your bike (while you're on it), get the ideal pressures from a website (much lower than you probably use), install latex tubes (only downside is that you'll need to pump before each ride - something you should probably be doing anyway) and prepare for the most efficient, comfortable, flat-free rides you've ever had. Simple.

Clipped_in

Merlin is good, I've bought a lot of kit from them including tires. Just know that it takes me 2-3 weeks for regular shipping to Utah.

^^^^^^^This!!!!
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fietsbob

All the traffic here is about performance, not utility tires.. want long milage get a hard durometer compound tire..

Last long bike tour I used 622-40 Suomi Nokian A9, their studded tire casing , but without the studs ..
tire looked like new when I finished.. a Feb-Nov/97 tour.

Not icy here often, But the 26-1.9" Studded ones are still fine , 30 years later..

dim

I've used Continental 4 seasons a few times and they were OK ... better grip in the wet than Gatorskins, roll faster than Gatorskins or Durano Plus and very good puncture protection .... I might use them again next winter if I choose tubed tyres again (I have tubeless ready rims so I can use tubed or tubeless, and there are loads of really good tubeless tyres at the moment)

but as I said previously, for very fast, comfortable and durable .. I've yet to find better than Specialized Turbo Cottons

WizardOfBoz

There's a whole theory of behavioral economics based upon splitting people into two categories: satisficers and optimizers. The satisficer that needs a sweater goes to the most convenient local store and buys a sweater they have in stock. Or goes online and within five or six choices, orders one. He/she has a sweater, is warm, and moves on. The optimizer (and I'm not pointing fingers: I fall into this category) does all the research, compares all the options, and is paralyzed. They finally realize, in May, that the weather is warmer and they probably can give up their research on which grade of Alpaca to have custom woven into the sweater because they no longer need a sweater. And they realize that they've been cold all winter. H A Simon won a Nobel prize for developing this idea. BTW, satisficers tend to be happier than optimizers.

There's also compelling research that shows that too many choices actually DECREASES satisfaction with the choice we make. See Barry Schwartz' book, "The Paradox of Choice".

So you're screwed: you're an optimizer who is facing an overwhelming number of plausible options. You're going to be unhappy trying to decide, and once you decide, you're going to be unhappy worrying about whether you made the right decision.

I went to Amazon, put in 700c tires 25mm, and got a list of options. They used to allow you to sort by sales, but now the relevant option is to sort by customer rating. For niche products, this rating can be gamed by vendors, but I think for products where tens or hundreds of thousands of sales are made, the ratings probably reflect reality. The most highly rated tire was the Conti Gatorskin Gator folding. Expensive: 80 bucks. The Gatorskin Duraskin folding was next and cost about 47 bucks, but you can get a two-pack for 67 bucks. Or, if you like Trek stuff, get a pair of Bontrager AWs. I've ridden both Gatorskins and Bontragers, and I noticed something. For both brands, when I pedaled, the bike moved. Not sure if others have had the same experience, but it was unnerving. I figured it out, though, When I pedal, it moves the chain which turns the rear wheel which spins the tires, which moves the bike. You'll have to decide whether you like this or not. If you don't want the bike to move, though, don't get tires.

If you want your bike to move I'd say that you should just buy a pair of these and go riding, and every time some self-doubt creeps up on you ("Omigosh, did I buy a tire that is not perfect in every way?? Oh no oh no oh no!"), you force yourself to find a nearby hill that's REALLY challenging, and ride up and down that hill ten times. Every time you worry about your flippin' tires.

Unless you are in the Tour de France, the extra performance of some ideal tire (which we don't even know exists) isn't going to compensate for all the negative effects of worrying about tire optimization. Heck, if the tire is sluggish, its more exercise!

My advice: pick something, buy it, go riding, and don't worry about tires.

RockiesDad

Got these...
https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...-folding?fltr=

For me it was pricing, value and weight that led me to purchase these. I am happy. If not, then I'm out only $40 for the pair. I would feel worst if I was unhappy paying $40 per tire...

Get something and just go for it...

fietsbob

Too Much online time. Walk into a bike shop buy what fits.

Oneder

My next tire purchase will be Schwalbe Marathon Plus. They can take 90+ PSI or ride at lower PSI, and they seem to be slowly wearing and great for preventing flats, yet not totally crazily expensive. So buy those and let me know how they work out.

Jax Rhapsody

My first roadbikr had some type of gatorskin tire on it. They were good. They were kinda olr and got flats I ended up switching the tires from my fixie, forgot what they were, but they had an asymetrical tread. I got a Genesis Roadtech and rode on its oem 700x38 whatevers. The other tires were 700x28. The roadtech was slow, despite everything else about it. I wanted another set of gatorwhatevers but ended up with 700x23 CST Corre slicks. They were cheap and yielded good perromance. I walked in th shop, scanned the tires and grabbed them. Even though I could power through the oem tires, i think the key was narrower tires. Just pick a damn set. At the enr of the day most of us aren't in a racing situation, and moet are held on public roads, anyway. You can always power through the tires,after a while, they won't be holding you back, that much. Personally my main thing is price; I don't want to spend $40 on a tire... not while I'm a po boy.

Slightspeed

Simple.
Gatorskins for modern bike, great all around tire. Panaracer Pasela PT for vintage, great all around tire with a vintage look.
Don't overthink it.

Oneder

Many people complain of flats with gatorskins though, and the ride is certainly not the best. I might try them if they really were all that when it comes to flats but it's clear they are not.

WizardOfBoz

I thought that the ride was fine on my Gatorskins. Probably would get bigger ones (I'm 240 pounds, and was riding on 25mm 700c). I like my tubeless R3's a little better (lighter, slightly better ride). But the Gatorskins were fine.

It might help if you defined "best". Best absorption of road bumps? Best handlling? Best stability on long straight runs? Best downhill? Good climbing?

Kedosto

surak

OP, don't let lazy satisficers bring you down with their complete lack of ability to discern quality. The same arguments they'd make sound like wisdom, but completely ignore the fact that riding is not only about moving the bike forward, but enjoying it. I mean, what they're arguing can basically be used to say we should all HTFU and be out riding penny farthings. You pedal those and sure nuff, they move!

I'm not saying you need to agonize until you find the undisputed best choice tire, but there's little disagreement on good-tier tires on BF. For clinchers I've seen many backers of GP 4KsII, Endurance Pro4 v2, and Turbo Cottons. Want something even cheaper than whatever random Amazonians (who btw in aggregate know as little about quality bike components as a random person off the street, as I've learned from buying popular and highly reviewed but ultimately crappy no-name accessories one too many times) have rated? I hardly think a pair of Endurance Pro4s, $70 for thousands of miles at Performance Bike without even their very common discounts, is an astronomical price to pay.

Oneder

This talk of satificers and stuff makes it sound like a mental disease. Though if you truly just buy the closest or cheapest thing there is every time then it may indeed be a mental illness, same thing if you can never make a decision I guess.

Surely everyone has priorities when it comes to tires. The total mileage they can make, the flat resistance, how much wattage is lost to the tire, price and so on. Once you figure out how much those matter to you all you have to do is figure out a rough idea which tires provide them and at what price. That requires some education ie reading tire reviews on amazon or web articles and so on. Not to mention word of mouth such as all the people who badmouth gatorskins for their ride every time they get mentioned.

Once you have assessed your needs and have at least some idea of the capabilities of the major tires then it should be an easy decision. I care a lot about not getting flats, but also don't want to spend a crazy amount of money. After reading up a bit that made schwalbe the obvious choice for my needs, no need for weeks of indecision.

WizardOfBoz

A golf clap. Cool! I never got one of those before. Thanks, Kedosto. As an aside, my (alas, now gone) father was a PGA touring pro for a short while, and actually got real golf claps. Alas, I can't play golf to save my life. So its cool to get my first golf clap!

BTW, my note above is not knocking people trying to figure out the best kit for their situation and preference. I do that to the nth degree. I'm an engineer, and sometimes being an optimizer is actually my job. Right now, I'm trying to figure out if I want to use a Dura Ace cluster I have, or stick with an Ultegra cluster. And to make fun of myself, this level of optimization for a hack rider like me is pretty silly! So I was just pointing out that one can be paralyzed by indecision and that can keep you from enjoying a ride. I was also pointing out that after one makes a decision, relax and enjoy the ride rather than second guess.

WizardOfBoz

Moderation in all things. Hesiod (c.700 bc)

Satisficing isn't mental illness, nor is optimizing. Actually, Herbert Simon was pointing out certain fallacies in behavioral economics. The classic thought was that people make decisions that are optimal for their situation. Simon pointed out that there's a cost involved in figuring out what is optimal, and so some people are good at punting: they know they need a sweater and they buy the best option that doesn't cost them a whole bunch of research time. So the satisficers aren't mentally ill, they're just practical.

There's another book on how people make decisions that's pretty good. It's a best-seller, called "Thinking Fast and Slow" by another Nobel laureate, Daniel Kahneman.. It highlights two types of decision-making. The first is essentially satisficing. "You want fries with that?" "Italian or Chinese for lunch?" "Cream or sugar with your coffee?" These questions you probably can answer almost without thinking. That's "fast" thinking. For other questions (like multiplying 756 time 342 in your head) your brain shifts gears requiring all your brain power and focus. That's the "slow". I guess the OPs question about tires can fall into either category depending on how much optimizing one wants to do.

WizardOfBoz

Satisficing is not a complete lack of ability to discern quality. It is recognizing that figuring out the absolute best thing in the world takes time and effort. Your decision balances the goal of finding the best tires with the cost (and if you read the OP's posts, the mental anguish involved) in figuring out the absolute best. Not sure if the difference between GP4000s and Vittoria Rubino Pros is the difference between a TdF-level ride and a Penny Farthing!

I tend to overoptimize, hence my advice to the OP. I mean, for years I rode a custom-made-for-me Paramount with full Nuovo Record stuff. I sweated the details between Regina D'oro and other chains (if these names mean nothing to you, I hope you are enjoying your youth!) And now I have a Series 6 Domane with full Dura Ace (except for the cluster, that's Ultegra). And I'm trying to justify swapping out Bontrager Paradigm Elite wheels with Campy Shamal Ultra 2-ways.

It actually would be cool to have a Penny Farthing, though...

Retro Grouch 

Oh dear! There are already so many tire choices and, the longer you wait, the more alternatives may come out. Also, experienced riders have strongly held but conflicting opinions regarding tire choice so advice from others tends to be confusing. Here's my philosophy:

If you regularly ride with the same group of folks, check out what tires the majority of them seem to be using. Buy those.

I don't know if they will be any better or not but, if you ride with a group regularly, you will eventually puncture. When that happens and everybody is standing around watching you fix your flat, if you are using the same tires as the rest of them, at least you won't have to endure a lecture about what crummy tires you chose.

cyclintom

A great deal of the choices would be eliminated depending on the roads in your area. In most of California the roads are now so bad and broken glass so common that you have to use something like a Gatorskin. They have competition (finally) from many other tire makers. Specialized makes the Armadillo but I personally don't like the staggering price or the funny inflated shape. It also doesn't have any better traction than the Gatorskin which isn't bad. It just isn't a racing tire.

Michelin makes an entire series of "Endurance" tires which in my experience are much better than the Continental or Specialized. There's the Krylion, the Pro4 and the Power.

A new one on the market is the Hutchison which they claim to have traction as good as racing tires, low rolling resistance like a Michelin and flat protection as good as a Gatorskin but the price can knock you over.

There are some others but I can't remember their names (Fat Tire?).

If you put 28 mm tires on your bike you have to be careful to only inflate them to the proper pressure for your weight or they are a little difficult to control on bumpy roads. But inflated properly they make stiff carbon bikes ride like a full suspension bike.