deepakvrao

Fantastic rolling, great quality ride, great flat protection, but after having 3 sidewall cuts on 3 tyres, all within 500km, just not worth the heart burn.

Threw away one tyre at 170km and 2 within 500kms. Though 1 set is going fine now for about 4000, just cant trust these tyres anymore.

Anyone with similar experiences? Or do you think I got a bad batch?

scirocco

It sounds like your roads must be too bad for lightweight road tyres. Sidewall cuts should be very rare. If your roads have enough glass or road debris to regularly reach up the side of the tyre and cut the wall, you probably should be considering a heavier duty tyre. None of the lightweight racing tyres like GP4000s or PR3 have kevlar belts in the sidewalls, only in the main tread, so almost anything will cut the sidewalls.

deepakvrao

Yeah, maybe you're right. friends have had great experiences with Rubino Pros. Are they with thicker sidewalls? Just ordered a pair of Ultremos. I know they are also light weight, but I'll try my luck.

Cdy291

Rubino Pros have side walls as thin as paper. What sort of pressures are you using. If you are pumping up your tires to hard for your body weight that can easily lead to more frequent side wall cuts.

deepakvrao

I run 120psi but I'm 79kg [174 pounds].

kindablue

https://www.vittoria.com/tech/recom-tyre-pressure/

I'm no expert, but you may be running your tire pressure too high. Someone on this forum threw out a great equation for determining tire pressure (maybe PSMIT?), but i'm too lazy to search.

FWIW, I'm 170 ish and I run 100 in front, and 110 in rear. Just switched from Gatorskins to GP4K and have only had one sidewall issue (on a rear Gatorskin with ~4000mi on it... was time for the little guy to go anyway).

foresthill

I also weigh 170 and run 100/110, based on the same formula, i'm sure. It's hard for me to imagine that an extra 10 and 20 psi would be causing that much of a problem, tho.

I've been using GP4000s for several years now, and believe it not, I've never had an in-ride flat on them (I've had one or two punctures that resulted in really slow leaks that manifested the next day.) Never had a sidewall issue either.

Now I will cross my fingers and hope I don't break my winning streak on my ride tomorrow.

JustMe

I don't think you got a bad batch. I have had similar experience when I do frequent rides in the local mountain roads where there is a fair amount of scree and small rock debris on the roads, particularly after storms. If that's the source of your problem, I doubt, as others have mentioned, that you will have a better experience by changing to a different light weight tire, although I noticed today that Bontrager seems to have more rubber in the sidewall. I've been using the GP4K since they replaced the 3K, and am considering a change for other reasons, but sidewall vulnerability is certainly an issue.

Carbon Unit

Continental 4 Seasons. You won't get any side wall cuts but they don't feel like 4000s either.

banerjek

With sufficiently crappy roads, you can cut anything. I've sidecut Armadillos, Hardcases, and Schwalbe Marathon Plus to uselessness.

But I agree that the Conti 4 Seasons is a good all rounder tire with decent flat and sidewall cut resistance.

WHOOOSSHHH...

I have tried them all. I have come to the conclusion that they are all about the same, as far as flats. I think it's more about air pressure, road condition, and luck!

guadzilla

Yes, Psimet. According to his formulas, for Deepak's weight:
23s: 100f, 110r
25s: 90f, 100r

I am 180lb/82kg and that is what I run.

Btw, Deepak - I've used GP4000s on our island roads that are orders of magnitude worse than what you guys have in Bangalore. No problems with sidewall cuts or flats. But then, I also use PR3s as my daily riding tire and have only had 2 flats in >5000km of riding, so maybe I'm lucky when it comes to flats.

V.

Bob Ross

Heh-heh. Ain't that the truth! On my very first ride on brand new Armadillos I banked through a corner that some hooligans had littered with 1/2" carpet tacks! Sidewall es mort!

But to the OP, it sounds like you're underequipping yourself for the types of roads you're no doubt encountering. I've been riding Conti GP4000S on my main road bike since they were first introduced, and I've found them to be no more (or less) prone to sidewall problems than any of the other tires (Hutchinson, Specialized, Michelin, & Conti Attack/Force) I've used over the years.

RonH

I had the same experience. I've been riding on GP3000, then GP4000 for several years. My last 3 flats with GP4000 were sidewall cuts. Atlanta roads are crappy and filled with broken glass, metal debris, etc.
I did some research and finally went with Grand Prix 4 Season tires. The sidewall construction is slightly different from the GP4000.
No flats yet. Got my fingers crossed.

rdubbz

Same here. I'm 2/2 with the sidewall bulge. was running pressure at 100 psi and don't even recall running over anything, just started hearing rubbing against my frame. recently decided to give them one more shot, chalking that up to a bad batch maybe.

datlas 

Bad luck, bad batch, bad roads, or a combination of the three.

Most of us are very pleased with this tire (sorry for the American spelling), but you may wish to try other more durable tires to compare.

Nachoman

that would piss me off.

Accordion

Wow, I could have written this quote! I have 7000 miles on GP4000S tires with zero in-ride flats. Two flats that were slow leaks and manifested overnight that I changed in the morning but that's it. Great handling, great durability, problem-free. I'll never switch.

Carbon Unit

I had a similar experience. About 150 razor blades for a utility knife were scattered though out the bike lane. At least a half dozen riders had their tires destroyed but I was lucky enough to not be one of them. A cyclist motioned for on coming riders to stop.

I have only used two different tires. I have had GP 4 Seasons which are durable and then GP 4000s. I have had a few 4000s destroyed because of side wall damage but I still love the way they ride. They are a ***** to install when new though. I had some suggest that I should try Michelins.

ancker

Where might I find this formula?

scottgarrett

Bad roads and a heap of debris. What you might try is using a rubber anti-flat sealant in the tube, or a Kevlar band glued inside your sidewalks with tubular adhesive. Both of these are heavy, messy solutions and would be a right old pain if you did flat and have to change the tyre. Otherwise, taller stronger tyres like Continental Gator Ultraskins in 25 or 27mm might puncture less often.

kleinboogie

That's it. I'm returning my 5 sets. Or not.

halfspeed

Duranos would probably have been a better choice for Schwalbes.

guadzilla

Do a search for Psimet tire pressure or some variant thereof - and if the Search Gods are willing, you'll find the thread (sorry, I havent bookmarked it or saved it as a pdf).

Or maybe The Man himself will come by and re-post it.

climber7

that chart from vittoria is interesting. i have rubino pros (150 TPI), and the sidewall of the tire says min pressure 100 PSI, max 145...or something close to that. but the chart has everyone under 143 pounds at or under 100 PSI. which do you think is a better guide? i'm right at 143 pounds, so if i went by the chart, i'd be right around the minimum pressure recommended on the tire.