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Continental Grand Sport Race Tyres

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Continental Grand Sport Race Tyres

Old 05-14-23, 08:37 AM
  #1  
jonb5
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Continental Grand Sport Race Tyres

A month ago I purchased a new Stevens San Remo road bike, so far I'm happy with it but today I punctured both tyres.

I was about 12 kilometers into a ride when I rode over some rubber (about an inch high) which had been used to fill a crack in the cycle path, surely this should not be enough to puncture 2 tyres which have only ridden 300 kilometers in total.

I pushed my thumb into the rubber and it didn't seem particularly hard, a few other people went over the rubber on e-bikes and didn't get punctures.

Has anybody heard of problems with the Continental Grand Sport Race Tyres? Are race tyres unsuitable for riding on normal roads and cycle paths where hitting the odd bump or crack is unavoidable?

Cheers
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Old 05-14-23, 08:57 AM
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So what did you find when you fixed the flat? Did you inspect the tube and tire and find out what sort of flat it was?

Just guessing you may not have had enough air in your tires and got a pinch flat when you went over that 1 inch disparity in the road surface. But it could be anything. Sharing more about what you found when you took the tire off to repair or replace the tube will be helpful. Or is this a tubeless tire?
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Old 05-14-23, 09:56 AM
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Sounds like a snakebite. Check the tube for a pair of holes about a cm apart. It's probably not that the tire is bad, just underinflated and you hit something that squeezed the tire between the bump and the rim, and the tube, being the weakest part of the system, got pinched and holed. It happens on rocks, potholes, ridges in the road (as here).
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Old 05-15-23, 01:16 AM
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Thanks for the replies, sounds it could have been a snake bite or pinch, the tyres seemed fairly well pumped up when I went out, but probably should have had a bit more air in them.
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Old 05-15-23, 04:51 AM
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Do you have a tyre pressure gauge. If not get one. This will help calibrate your thumb.

Floor pumps gauges are notoriously off.

For tire pressure usually the pressure marked on the tire side wall is the range or the maximum pressure. Use one on the online tire pressure calculators to determine the starting pressure based on you weight and tire width and riding style.

Here is one I like. There are others.

https://axs.sram.com/guides/tire/pressure

Edit: Forgot. Welcome new person.
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Old 05-15-23, 10:42 AM
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If the tire gets a pinch flat and you are riding at the recommended tire pressure, then you need to raise your tire pressure if you intend to keep hitting such things.
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Old 05-28-23, 01:30 PM
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I’ve had 28c tires original on my bike. Over 3000 miles without any issues or even having to replace a tube. Only swapping them because of mileage and wear. FWIW
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Old 05-28-23, 01:57 PM
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Pinch Flats
Pinch flats are two small slits--the "snakebite" (or sometimes just one slit) on the inside portion of the tube. Flats from sharp items poking through the tire are on the outside of the tube, not the inside like this.
It's always worth looking for the hole in the tube, to make sure that it wasn't caused by something sharp that might still be in the tire. But two flats right after the bump is pretty obvious!

It's caused by hitting a bump hard enough to compress the tire flat against the rim. The tube is caught between the mashed down tire and the rim edge, cutting through it.

Way too low air pressure makes pinch flats more likely.
Sharper edged potholes or rocks are more likely to cause pinch flats than rounded edge objects.
And speed is a big factor -- pinch flats are way easier at downhill speeds.

My latest one was hitting a sewer grate slot where the tire slammed into the far end of the slot. That sharp edge instantly flatted the tire, and I was only going about 10 mph.
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Old 06-01-23, 08:55 AM
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I'd switch over to GatorSkins
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Old 06-02-23, 01:00 AM
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After reading Ray Hosler's blog post on these tires, I picked up a set of 25mm and a set of 28mm. I haven't ridden the 25mm but I have ridden the 28mm on my commuter bike. It's not as supple or fast as a Conti GP but it's still pretty nice and has better wear and puncture protection characteristics than the GP series of tires (on paper, from Conti's own comparison charts). Despite the word "Race" in the name, I would consider these all-rounders/training tires. Sounds like OP may have been under-pressured and experienced a snake bite; I don't think thicker tires would have prevented that if they're also under-pressured.
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Old 06-02-23, 01:49 AM
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wich exact model of the Continental Grand Sport tires?
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Old 06-02-23, 01:55 AM
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Originally Posted by ctripblog
wich exact model of the Continental Grand Sport tires?
For the Grand Sport Race, the only differentiation is wire vs. folding bead, I think (and size, obviously).
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