dmanthree

I posted a "mini review" of the Michelin Power Road, and some who read it were surprised at how quickly I wore out the rear tire. FWIW, this is a shot of my current rear tire, a Conti GP 4 Season, with about 1,800 miles on it. Shows a little wear, but a long way to go. I've switched to them since my "local support team" is on the road.

NoWhammies

I might be missing something here, and I admit that I am not familiar with GP 4 season tyres, but this looks like normal wear to my eye after 2,900 km.

dmanthree

No, seems normal to me. But i a previous thread I mentioned that I wear out the rear tire when riding Michelin Power Road tires after less than 1,500 miles. Just posted this to see if I'm still grounded in reality. But I do wear out some tires pretty quickly.

But not these. They're excellent tires by any measure. Not a race tire, but damned good.

Koyote

That tire looks new to me.

dmanthree

The front tire looks even better. Both have the same mileage on them. It's a very durable and long wearing tire and I expect to get about 3K miles out of the rear, a lot more out of the front. Honestly, it takes a few hundred miles of riding just to wear down the front tire center seam strip.

Koyote

If you have already got 1800 miles on it and it looks that good, you'll get way more than 3000.

Seattle Forrest

I've never heard anything but praise for the longevity of GP 4 Seasons. I've heard they're pretty good in other ways too. I thought that looked almost brand new, too.

dmanthree

I think so, as well. And while I've sliced other tires, these things are pretty tough. I've never even flatted one. For me they're a bargain.

dmanthree

Nothing but praise from me, as well. They roll well enough so I'm considering just riding them all year, rather than just in the "off season" times. The peace of mind they provide is really nice. I've never flatted one. And yes, I just jinxed myself...

79pmooney

I have slightly different tire priorities. #1, keeping me off the pavement. #2, reliable. #3, consistent so when I go to by the next tire, I am not surprised, even if the model had changed some.

For #1, I want tires with good, predictable grip. From the rubber compound, not the tread pattern so it stays a good gripping tire long after the thread is gone. #2 means good details. Quality beads and bead/tire connection. Tread that stays on. #3, I want to know what to expect if I do a downhill corner on a new tire. (I did a corner at the bottom of a fairly steep hill that I had done many times before on sewups. This was the late '80s. I had on brand new clinchers. Pouring rain but this was Seattle. I done that corner in the wet many times. Coming into the apex of the turn it was "Oh ***! I'm not going to make it." I don't like those surprises.)

I see the endless love her for Continentals. I tried them every 5-10 years for a while. About half those tires I flat out didn't trust. I don't think I ever wore them out. Just replaced them when a tire came along I felt safer on. About 20 years ago I started using Vittoria tires. First, what I call "the greenies", the early dual compound tires with part green tread. The medium weight ones made very good all weather commuter tires. This showed especially in the fall with the wet and rotting leaves. Now, Vittoria did have a stretch of real bead issues (probably as they were shifting manufacturing to Asia). I went away, tried a bunch of tires for a while, used Rubinos briefly (slippery!) then discovered Paselas. Not as grippy a tread, but very consistent and reliable. Still use them as my city/commuter and gravel tires. Then I started spending the big bucks on the Vittoria Open tires, especially the Open Paves and now the G+ and G2.0.

The caveat of the Paselas is the thin sidewalls. Very strong - but don't scrape them! Curbs and brake shoes will kill them quickly. They don't take kindly to scraping fenders. The Open Vittorias are more forgiving, but not a lot. I believe those thin sidewalls are a real part of the excellent ride and good grip. (And seems to be a consistent theme for all the tires I have really liked over the decades.)

dmanthree

Did you ever try the GP 4 Seasons? They are excellent t keeping you off the pavement, and have been VERY consistent for me over the years. A few years ago I had a 100 mile charity ride and the prediction was...rain. I'm a jinx. I switched to the G{ 4 Seasons the day before the ride and while lots of other riders flatted that day, I didn't. And they grip really nicely in the rain. They don't roll as fast as the GP 5000, or other lighter race tires, but if you want a nice combination of durability and ride, well, they work.