chizlr40

Hi all haven't been on in a while but after losing my job to covid I have lots of time to ride besides just commuting. Anyway looking for 700x25 clincher for my road bike with excellent puncture resistance. I dont race but lots of urban riding and light touring. Suggestions? Looking at Pirelli and gatorskins

Iride01 

I wouldn't go for puncture resistance unless you really do flat often. I find the newer tread compounds don't hold rock shards and stuff as did some of the old tires I used to run. So I don't even inspect my tread for them before riding anymore.

However you named two decent tires for puncture resistance. I think Michelin has one too. But I find Continental GP 5000's to be such a good quality ride, I'd put up with a puncture or two a year.

berner

I've been using Specialized Turbo and Turbo Pro tires with good results. No flats in 4500 miles so long wearing also. And they are better riding than Gator Skins. https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-pro/p/155513?color=229985-155513&searchText=00016-1126&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6t3rt8f16QIVfYtaBR3UzAGWEAQYAiABEgJ5A_D_BwE

Leinster

I have Kenda Kwests (or Kwicks? Maybe I have the kwicks) in 25c on my commuter, the only flat I've had on them in several years was when I properly biffed my underinflated rear into a big pothole. They roll pretty ok for a very affordable tire, but not quite as nice as the Conti GP4000s on my other road bikes. Nicer than the Schwalbes that came with my CAAD10.

DaveSSS 

Michelin power endurance. Best tires I've used in the last 25 years. Gatorskins give a harsh ride.

bruce19

I've ridden Conti, Michelin, Vittoria.....I don't really see much difference. But, a year in with Mavic USTs and zero flats.

Bah Humbug

Interesting; I have definitely found chips of flint and glass in my GP5000s. Enough that this afternoon I installed a pair of Michelin Power Protection+, since I don't want to make the call of shame on a morning ride. It actually has a bead-to-bead belt on a 110tpi tire. It's the only one I know of like that.

noodle soup

A close friend tried them. They were very puncture resistant, but not as comfortable as the Pro4 E or Krylion2 E tires.

greatscott

There a lot of good tires these days on the market. I'm not saying what I use is the best but when they were on sale the price was right, so I bought a set of Specialized Roubaix Pro tires, tried them and like them a lot, so when the went on sale again I bought a second pair. They last a long time, have great traction even in the rain, and so far no flats.

My rule for buying tires is that I never spend more than $35 for a tire, but I'll occasionally find tires that cost twice that much on huge discounts at the end of the season sales. When I got the Specialized tires they were normally $40 each but they had a buy one get one half off, so that put them at $30 a tire. Lately though I've been having trouble finding expensive tires for 50 and 45 percent off, but again I never buy tires at full retail prices.

tkuczura

Off season purchases are the way to shop. Great advice

CAT7RDR

I have about 1200 miles on a pair of Bontrager T1 light touring tires and I am pleasantly surprised with the ride quality on 25 mm and puncture resistance. They are hardly showing any wear and I have run over glass fragments without a flat. They are also less expensive alternatives $23 to Gatorskins or Armadillos.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/e...-tire/p/08860/

Carbonfiberboy 

Vittoria used to make a Rubino Pro Tech III tire with bead-to-bead and 150 tpi. We used the 28mm version on our tandem for loaded touring. Wonderful tires, never had a flat with them, which is saying something for a tandem. We rode some quite horrible roads on them, rocks the size of potatoes. You can still find them here and there in 25mm, ebay and a few stores. Has to be the Tech version. I couldn't say how they ride on a normal road bike, but their reviews were good..

Bah Humbug

Interesting. I actually like the P4E better even before riding them - they were easier to install and the complete lack of tread meant it would be easier to spot debris and damage. From a comfort perspective, I did bump up from 25 to 28, so hopefully it'll be a wash with lower pressure.

canklecat

I'm satisfied with Continental Grand Prix Classic skinwalls, 700x25 only. Kinda retro-style -- shallow chevron tread along the shoulder, raised center with shallow sipes, translucent reddish-brown skinwalls -- good all around tires. About $30-$35 each.

I already had relatively few punctures anyway, and none with these after 10 months and a couple thousand miles. I had one snakebite pinch flat from running over a broken brick, but no puncture flats. Good balance between reasonably low rolling resistance, good grip, durability, smooth ride and puncture resistance.

Before then I used Conti Ultra Sport II, which were a bargain and had most of the qualities of the Grand Prix Classics, but were a PITA to mount, a common complaint about the Ultra Sport II. I needed a Kool Stop bead jack to mount them. No such problem with the GP Classic skinwalls -- I can mount them with my hands, despite aging hands and some arthritis.

I just installed some Silca latex tubes with the GP Classics this week and they feel even better. Dunno if they're any faster -- I'm not even fast among the old dudes in my area. But they feel better on chipseal. Lively, smoother, almost "lighter" or more responsive.

noodle soup

I've had good luck with GP Classic as well, and have a set ready to go on the tandem, I wish they were available in 28mm.

kingston 

For the kind of riding you describe which sounds like a combination of commuting and mixed-surface JRA where durability is more important than speed I prefer Schwalbe Marathon on Marathon Plus

taco2ewsday

No context on ride quality as these are my first road tires but 900 miles and only one pinch flat (failed attempt at bunny hopping a curb for a car that wasn't giving enough space) on my continental GP 4 Seasons.

Iride01 

Bah Humbug The GP 5000's I've only been riding a few months and they are currently on my Paramount. So I don't ride it as often as I use the Tarmac I just got for almost all my bike rides. So I hope they aren't bad enough about picking up shards that I have to check every ride. My son has the GP 5000's on his bike for probably six months and he hasn't mentioned or had any issues I'm aware of.

The Tarmac still has the Specialized Turbo Pro's on it that come standard. Only 60 TPI tires, but I haven't pulled shards out of them yet either after 500 miles. I'll probably keep them on for the year at least and then put on the spare GP 5000's and see if there is any notable difference in data or perception.

Vittoria Rubino Pro III's are what I rode for probably five years. Sad that they don't make that particular same model anymore. I can't think of any time I pulled a shard, thorn or anything that hadn't already flatted me. And such flats were rare. Most of my flats on them was me stupidly trying to avoid cleaning and retaping the rims where the tape had lost adhesion. You'd think rim tape should last at least 20 or more years <grin>!

The worst tires I ever had were Continental Ultra sports. However, the model of Ultra Sport I used isn't made any more so the newer models may be different. I went through several sets of them and they were the tire that started me inspecting the tread every ride and almost always flicking out a piece of rock shard or something every time. They also were the worst riding and shortest life tire I've ridden. Even the Kendas I used on my bikes with 27 inch (630 BSD) tires were much better in all respects compared to that particular model Ultra Sport.

dmanthree

Another vote for the Conti GP 4 Season tires. An excellent blend of durability, ride, and handling. I ride them for late fall, winter, and spring and have never flatted one. They wear well, too.

Germanrazor

Conti GP 5000’s that I have been running are doing great on varied pavement quality. But I run 23’s instead of 25’s.

smashndash

It’s quite sad that Vittoria doesn’t make many reinforced tires. Their only reinforced tire seems to be the Rubino Pro Endurance, and that has a “subzero” winter compound, which many people don’t want. I’d froth at the mouth for a proper training tire with the Corsa’s 4C.

OP, the Pirelli Cinturato is a pretty good bet. The Specialized Roubaix Pro also seems good.

I would look at the GP4 seasons before going with the gatorskins, which have a hard compound.

canklecat

Yeah, the original Ultra Sport ruined the reputation of that lineup. The Ultra Sport II is really good for the money, by far the best bargain tire I've ridden. Many folks shopping for low priced road tires buy the Vittoria Zaffiro. Now that is a terrible tire. The US2 was far better.

While I've mostly ridden the Conti Grand Prix Classic skinwall the past year, it doesn't really ride or perform much differently from the Ultra Sport II. I might try the new Ultra Sport III as well.

Main problem with the Ultra Sport II is the extremely tight fit. For me it was impossible to mount without a Kool Stop bead jack, so I already stuck the bead jack in my pocket for rides.

Switching to the Grand Prix Classic solved that problem. And I just switched one bike to latex tubes, which can be damaged if pinched between bead and rim during installation. The GP Classic avoids that risk.

Miles2go

This. I've been running these for a long time, riding in a flat prone cycling mecca, and have had excellent luck with them. I have one road bike with 23c Power Endurance and one with 25c.

Most people I ride with have been on the Conti 5000 bandwagon until a couple of weeks ago where a good number of them had tire failures or flats all within a 2 day period.

One of my fellow riders here seems to do about as well as me using the Specialized tires mentioned in this thread previously. That's my user group's experience.

gios

I got my Vittoria Rubino Pro 3 Folding Road Tyre 700X25 from Merlin Cycles back in June 2017 for $40 and change shipped. They are still on there doing their thing.

noodle soup

3 years on a set of tires?