flip18436572

I am running Shimano WH-R500 rims (20 spoke front and 24 spoke rear) and the tires are the stock Vittoria Zaffiro, which is a road race training tire. I have about 1000 miles on them and the center of the tire is bald, but that might be because of the rollers that I have been using them on.

I plan on putting a LOT of road miles in this year. I don't care about light weight or the best compound for racing, what I want is a tire that will last for a lot of road miles.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am also planning on talking to my LBS about tires and will probably buy from them as long as they are like normal and give me a decent price. I will pay more for them to stay in business.

Wino Ryder

Michelin 'Krylion Carbon'

Vittoria 'Rubino Pro'

Continental 'Ultra Sport' or 'Sport 1000'

All these are high mileage tires I recommend.

chipcom 

Continental Ultra Gatorskins

webist

Ditto.

I'm using Continental now and hae used Michelin in the past.

howsteepisit

I really like Rivendell's Ruffy Tuffys in a 28 mm width if they will fit your frame. They seem to be lasting a very long time, no flat problems.

CliftonGK1

+1

I love my Conti UG's. I have them on both my bikes; 23f/25r on the road bike, 28f/r on the commuter.

I had Schwalbe Marathon+ on my old commuter, and I put over 3000 miles on them and they still had plenty of tread left. So I'll put a vote in for Marathon+ also; but they are heavier than the Conti UG's.

flip18436572

Just to verify, the tires I have now are

700 x 23c

And I am looking for somehthing similar.

mkadam68

I'd recommend the Continental Sport 1000s or the Krylions. I'm not familiar with any Vittorias.

I liked the Krylions. They lasted a couple thousand miles (maybe 2,500?). I tried some Race2 Pros, which promptly wore out in about 1,000 or less. Same results with Vreddestien Quatro TriComps. Both nice tires but wear quickly.

You'll find the high-end tires will wear out quickly--especially with us Clydes. They're made to be supple and give a comfortable ride at a narrow width. So they skimp a little on the rubber to achieve this.

Currently, I ride a Vreddestein TriComp reflective on back and a Continental Sport 1000 on front for my commuting and other training, while my race wheels (maybe 50 miles a week?) are Michelin Race2 Pros.

Tom Stormcrowe

Continentals mentioned

Also, the Soma Everwears are a nice tire.

fc_

I've been having good luck with panaracer pasellas tg. 1500+ miles (quite a few loaded down for commuting) on one set (700x35) and just starting to show wear in the rear. Looks like I should be able to get another 1000 miles on them easy.

(of course, having said that, I'll have a month of flats to deal with. )

Wino Ryder

Wore out three sets of 'gatorskins' until I got wise and tried the Vittoria 'Rubino Pros'. The gatorskins were great tires mind you, but I could never get more than 1600 miles out of them at my weight, which at the time was around 250. The gatorskins surely cut down on my flats though, and I may even try them again, now that Conti has somewhat redesigned them and made the sidewalls more durable.

The Rubino Pros (so far) were about the best in mileage, getting over 2000 miles out of them before I switched to the Michelins. The Rubino Pros and the Gatorskins both were good on flat protection though, but a little sketchy in the wet from my experience. The Conti Ultra Sport are probably the best bang for the buck IMO. They have the same durability as the others, good in the wet, with only slightly less flat protection, but are quite the high mileage tire at half the price of Gatorskins or Rubino Pros.

The Michelins are still relatively new on one of my bikes, so I cant really say, but so far-so good.

CastIron

I concur. Consider the 25c model as well for your needs.

Did not like the Rubino Pro's much when I had them. Not bad, mind you.

froggmann

++++++1 on the Conti Ultra Gators, mine are 700x25 with almost 2K on them.

jaxgtr

I had a set of Michelin Krylions on my Specialized and had nearly 900 miles on them and they looked brand new. I am no light weight and I was getting superb milage out of them.

I know they are pricey, but the Bontrager Race Light Hardcase tires I have on my hybrid have been a fantastic tire for me. I have close to 1500 miles on them and they easily look like they have another 1500 miles on them and have been almost flatproof as I have had only one flat. I currently run the 700*28's, but I know they have them in 23's ad 25's.

Halthane

Specialized Armadillos
Conti Ultra Sports
Hutchinson something er-others... not the fusions, but they have a mid price one that isn't bad.

I really like the conti ultrasports, they last a good while, not as long as some, but they are very inexpensive for the quality, so I get the same or better mile/dollar performance and I really like the way they ride.

Prosody

A 700 X 25 tire on the rear wheel will last longer than a 23, and will be a little more comfortable because you can run a little lower pressure in it. I'm in the habit of putting a 23 on the front and a 25 on the back. This, of course, means I don't move the front tire to the back when the back tire wears out.

I've been using the conti ultra gatorskins and like them better than the Michelin carbons. For all practical purposes, though, you will have to try different tires until you find one that suits you. Michelin, Continental, Vredresen, Vittoria...all good brands.

Wogster

Why nor use the 25s front and back, I doubt you will notice much of a performance difference over 2mm?

Paniolo

You will definitely reduce your tire life from trainer use ( I keep a couple of worn out tires for trainer use). I'm pretty happy when I get 2k out of a rear ... fronts will get 2x-3x more. Best practice is rotate front to rear and put new on front, but I'm often too lazy to do that. I usually buy 3 of whatever quality tire I can find on sale around the low $20 range each. Then when I mount up the 3rd one start watching for sales for the next set.

Vittoria 'Rubino Pro' ... have close to 1k on my first rear. Bought at PBK for $18. wearing good, no flats. Don't seem to roll quite as well or be as supple. A solid value.

Veridstein Fortezza SE ... paid around $21. Usually got a little better than 2k on a rear. Good flat protection. Liked the way they rode a little better than the Rubino Pro's. Among my favorites for performance at a value price.

Michelin Pro Race 2 ... don't really fit in this class, but when I could get them for $25 from PBK I loved them. Usually got 2k or a little less on a rear. Good on flat protection. Loved the way they rolled and rode. Very difficult to mount on Campy rims combined with increasing price is why I moved on.

Conti Ultra Gatorskins - Only tried one set, got a nail through one on first ride, other lasted 2k. rode nice. I never found them cheap enough so moved on.

Specialized Armadillo - (this was a few years ago, they have changed the tire) Excellent flat protection, great for commuting or dealing with lots of road debris. I noticed the weight and they were a stiff tire that did not have good road feel. I think I got 2k or maybe a little better out of them. Being specialized they were never on sale or available at discounters on the net. I would only get them again if I had real flat issues.

nymtber

Im using Michelin Krylion Carbon 700x23c on my road bike. faster and more supple than what specialized had on it. Dont have many miles on them since i didnt get them on till late in the season and I started doing more biking with my girlfriend on a trailway than on the road (no complaints really ) Ill get the bike out when it warms up and the roads are cleaned from salt

e-bay has great deals

flip18436572

So, there are a lot of options, and it looks like a lot of you buy your tires somewhere besides your LBS? Are the prices that high at the LBS? I haven't asked, but I will the next time I am there.

mkadam68

biketiresdirect.com can't be beat on regular prices. Occasionally, PBK has a sale that beats them. But not often, and not on all tires.
(Of course, PBK as so many other good prices... )

Wogster

In Canada a good place to look is Mountain Equipment Co-Op their cheapest road tire in a Cheng-Shin 27 x 1 1/4 for $4.50 lots in the $15 - $20 range........

flip18436572

I used Cheng-Shin on my daughter's motorcycles (dirt bikes) and they are very hard and not as much traction as the better dirt bike tires, but fit their purpose well. I never thought about them for bicycle tires. I wonder if they make cheap tubes, because at $5.00 a tube from the dealer, it seems like a lot for a bicycle tire tube.

Long deKlein

I've been running Krylion Carbons, but I only get about 1500 miles out of them. At 1K, they're noticeably flat in the center, and by 1500 the Kevlar is showing through. I'm 235#, and run them at 140 PSI. Currently trying Conti 4 Seasons as the Carbons were a bit squirrely on wet pavement, hoping I'll get more miles out of them as well.

bigbossman 

I went to these once because they happened to be on sale when my Pro 2's wore out, and was very unhappy with them. Compared to the Michelin's it was like pedaling through sand. I switched back.

Why don't they fit into this class? I put about 3500-4000 miles a year on my bikes, and these tires last just fine and roll/handle/feel like all get out. They may only last 2000-3000 miles, but so what? That's a years worth of riding for most folks anyway, and the ride is great and more than makes up for any longevity shortcomings, IMO.

I do about 8-9 centuries a year, and the Pro 2's are my tire of choice - GP4000's being a close second.