Originally Posted by
Dylansbob
I've been kinda tempted to try wired Zaffiros, sine I found 32s for $17 at Cambria.
I just got a set of the 27" Zaffiros from Cambria today.
Off the bike, they feel pretty similar to a Pasela -- a bit thick (though less so on the sides), not terribly supple, but softer material than many other cheap tires.
I've read that wire beads themselves can contribute to a tire have a poor ride feel. That's tough to say because there just really aren't many (if any) high thread count tires with wire beads. Generally the tires with wire beads are pretty stiff to begin with. I guess maybe someone could compare folding bead Paselas to the wire bead version. Like everything with the feel of a bike, it's a huge pile of marginal gains. Good fit, good geometry, good build, good frame material, good rims, good tires, good tubes...they all make the ride better. Any one of them has to be pretty bad to make the ride bad.