baldiesrt

I just got back from my LBS and i told the mechanic i am going to do my first sprint tri. (only 10 mile ride) He recommended me on getting tires even when my bike is new?!? They came with Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick. I only rode 150 miles on them. What do you guys think? He recommended me getting the continental gp 4000. Saw online and its like 90 bucks a pair...very pricey.

Thanks in advance!

Seattle Forrest

Well, I'd want you to buy stuff, too, if it put money in my pocket.

GP4000S are fantastic tires. Truly excellent. The Rubinos are decent. But you don't need new tires, and it would have to be one of the closer races in history for them to make a difference between winning and losing. The smart thing to do if you aren't Bill Gates, is to get the GPs when you wear out the tires you have now.

Also, your LBS has a pretty fair price on the tires. Mine wants $150 a pair. For clinchers.

baldiesrt

Thanks Seattle. Not a bad idea. Oh that price was from ebay, new. Not sure how much my LBS is.

Thanks again.

asgelle

based on Al Morrison's data and analyticcycling.com, changing both tires would save 10-15 W, which would translate into something like 0.5 mph (20-30 sec.) faster on flat ground. You'll have to decide how important that is.

caloso

Rubinos are fine. Wear them out and replace with Contis, if you like. But wear out the Rubinos first.

lwrncc

FYI ribble is having a sale on tires now. I already stocked up last year though. Other popular tires to try are Krylions (or the new Pro Race 4 Endurance). I have a set of Krylion 25, haven't tried them yet as I plan to use them on a new 23mm wide rim build soon.

asgelle

Or get a set of dedicated race tires. Eventually you'll wear out the rubinos and the GP4000s, but you'll do it using the slow set for training and the fast set for racing.

Seattle Forrest

That's where I got mine. Four of them for $140, with shipping included. But that was something like nine months ago.

Triguy

a. If I were doing my first tri, I wouldn't buy a thing. I'd go out and enjoy myself, even if it meant giving up a handful of watts.
b. If I were going to buy a dedicated race tire, I'd go a touch faster than the 4000s. They are great all around tires, decent rolling resistance, decent aerodynamics, good puncture resistance. However, particulary for triathlons, a 20/21c really should be considered for the front.

Triguy

asgelle, I have revision 9 of al's data and don't see the Rubino Pro Slick on there. Am I missing something?

asgelle

No, he doesn't have it. I just used something similar.

Triguy

I guess I'd be surprised if it were that much worse, say around .00384. Vittoria says the Rubino pro is supposed to have about 25% more rolling resistance, which would be more along the lines of ~.0032 if you extrapolate Al's data. It's a light tire, with decent TPI, and an average puncture breaker; no reason in my opinion to think it would be too too slow.

But of course we're both kind of guessing... If only all decisions could be more informed.

Jandro 

I hated the rubinos that came on my s2. They were garbage - no grip, crap when it's even a little damp on the ground, cut and punctured easily, etc. Swapped them for gp4000s and couldn't be happier. The difference in grip while descending/cornering is night and day.

My $0.02