phtomita

Still new to road biking - 1 yr+ - and was looking for some thread about tires for road bikes but can't find any dedicated thread.

If $$ is not the problem, what are the best tires on the market?
Looking for a 700x25c.

mercator

Given you are new to the sport, I'll presume you are not likely to be running tubulars, although there are some good arguments for their superiority.
There will be plenty of folks who recommend tubeless clinchers, which limits the available range of very good tires you could choose.
You also don't indicate what your needs are regarding durability and flat resistance, but if $$ is no object, I would recommend the vittoria corsa line.

phtomita

I was looking for them over my lunch - web surfing
Continental Grand Prix 4000 S II looks a good one for me. Good flat resistance for normal road with some debris, and good rolling resistance.
Planet Cyclery has great price on them - after reading the comments about them in this forum, seems a good choice to buying from them.

The Victoria Corsa seems very good fit if you are a speeder - that unfortunately I am not.

memebag

Conti GP 4ks2. Monitor the sticky hot deals thread for discounts. Can usually pick them up for $25-$30 each. I always have a pair in my tire stash.

BarryVee

Ribble Winter Sale (I ordered four tires & tubes for spares, tires were a couple bucks less than today)
Continental GP4000S II $31.07
Continental Race Inner Tube $3.39

phtomita

Now I noticed the thread name is damn ambiguous to what I meant....
I was trying to refer to bike tires and for fun used shoes instead.... and it looks I am looking for shoes for riding the bike ... LOL...

MOD Note: Corrected title to "Tires".

San Pedro

Michelin tires are nice as well. I loved the ride of the Pro4 Endurance v2 tires.

shelbyfv

You can and probably should ask a mod to change the thread title.

bruce19

I've been happy with Vittoria Open Corsas but there are lots of nice tires out there.

datlas 

General consensus is Continental Grand Prix 4000s tires are best, but there are plenty of other options out there.

Your title is confusing since it is asking for "Shoes" not "Tires" btw.

Shuffleman

I would agree that they are good tires, I would not agree with there being a general consensus of them being the best. It is purely subjective. I personally prefer Vittoria tires such as tte Rubino Pros or the Corsa. If I lived in an area with bad roads I would go with the Gatorskins though. Either way, most tires are pretty good, just pay attention to your road structure to figure out what you need.

wipekitty

Another fan of Conti Grand Prix 4000SII here I switched maybe two years ago, and am not tempted to try anything else for road cycling.

Another tire that I didn't mind so much was the Maxxis Refuse. It's more in the category of a Conti Gatorskin - a bit heavier with better puncture resistance. I would use it again if conditions warranted it.

canklecat

I'm still liking Schwalbe One V-Guards. More than 1,500 miles since getting 'em in July. Ride great all around. Low rolling resistance.

Two flats, one from a tiny shard of glass. The other from broken slate scattered across the road, dropped by a construction crew. The stuff was razor sharp and cut the rear tire in three places. Only nicked through the puncture shield in one place. That was six weeks ago. I'm still riding that tire, no signs of bulging or failing, although I check it carefully before and during every ride.

I'm tempted to go cheaper since various discounters have plenty of good tires on sale. But the replacement Schwalbe Ones would be a middle of the pack cost, not the most expensive, and they're been really good tires.

UmneyDurak

I like round ones.

cormacf

I did two centuries and a double century on those last year in 28mm,
and I agree.

dmanthree

This is usually a holy war, but I prefer Conti GP 4000s II for summer riding, and Conti GP 4 Season for late fall/winter/early spring riding. I hate flats in the cold and dark.

Wileyrat

The best tires I've ridden on MY bike are Conti GP 4000sII's 25mm

What works for you may be different.

Wildwood 

Veloflex or Specialized tubulars.
One year of riding = time for a step up in the wheel department.

caloso

Best for what? Suppleness? Rolling resistance? Flat resistance? Durability?
Tubular? Tubeless? Clincher?

The fastest, most comfortable tires I have ridden are Vittoria Corsa Evo tubulars. But expensive and not particularly long wearing. I saved those for racing.

Specialized S-Works Cotton Turbos nearly as good in a clincher, but again expensive and not long wearing.

On the other hand Maxxis Refuse are inexpensive and bombproof but heavy and stiff ride.

My best bang for the buck is Michelin Pro4 Endurance. Commute tires you can race on. Or race tires you can commute on. And not too expensive if you look for sales from the UK sites.

canklecat

I'll take another look at the Conti Grand Prix 4000SII. The rolling resistance review site indicates it tests almost identically to the Schwalbe One V-Guards I like. Sounds like a good alternative without much adjustment to a different feeling tire.

79pmooney

The new Vittoria Corsa G+ tires are a real step up from the older Corsas. The 28c's have no issues on bad roads (and feel wonderfully secure on iffy surfaces). They do flat however. Not a lot, but they are an expensive tire where the ride is emphasized over flat/cut protection.

I absolutely wouldn't sweat road surface with those tires as long as 1) Ihad tires big enought o not pinch flat and 2) there wasn't too much sharp debris. The 28s go off pavement just fine.

Ben

Psimet2001 

It's a constantly evolving selection. Thankfully. it means things change.

Michelin have produced a ton of great tires over the years. The current "Pro" model generation holds up well to its pedigree - Pro 4 Service Course.

Conti GP 4000 S II is still considered one of the top tires available. I personally have raced and trained on it in the past for great lengths of time. While it is a great tire it has very poor "feel" characteristics. It's like buying a fuel efficient car and driving it in a performance application. It gets the job done but....yeah.

Clement LGG - Often looked down upon tire simply because of low thread count, it's molded, and its inexpensive. That's unfortunate as it's probably the best daily value tire out there. I can't tell you how well that tire has served us in the past. Has been a favorite for years now.

This year we are switching to the Pirelli lineup. We did a bit of a video on them as well:

atwl77

Also consider Panaracer GravelKings. Despite the "gravel" tag, they're excellent on both smooth as well as pothole-ridden tarmac.

Laurido92

I like the Michelin Pro4 Race tires. I've had the Service Course and now I'm using the Endurance. I find them very comfortable. I got almost 4k miles from the Service Course.

pesty

My personal opinion, if your rims are tubeless ready, run tubeless. If you run tubeless, my new favorite is the Panaracer Evo 3. Really grippy tire, seems to have good puncture protection, good traction in the wet. If you never ride in the wet, Schwalbe Pro One is a really fast tire with good dry grip. I also have a set of Maxxis Padrones on one of my pairs of wheels, which is better wet grip than the Schwalbe, but not quite as fast. But if I were looking for another pair of tires today, I'd be looking for deals on the Panaracer.

Standard clinchers, well... I haven't ridden them in about 10 years, but my favorites were always Vittoria Open Corsa CXs. I tired a few sets of Conti's including the 4000's that everyone seems to love, as well as the Attack/Force, and wasn't that big of a fan. Just didn't have the subtle comfortable ride of the Vittoria's. Honestly, if tubeless wasn't as close to the Vittoria in ride feel, I'd probably still be riding them.

All that being said, you really haven't given us anything to go off of in terms of what conditions you ride, what types of roads, potential road hazards, etc. Some tires might be better in certain conditions than others.