Senrab62 

The paselas mentioned, in my experience, are fine. Not good. Just fine. They roll well enough, and provide decent road feel for price. And they never flat. I am, however, a fan of the gravelking slick. Although their tanwall version is not as nice looking as the paselas in my opinion, they ride SOOOO much better. And I typically find them for the same price as folding paselas.

That being said, there are a lot of good tires available for approximately $80 or less shipped a set. For $20 more total , you can have an excellent pairing (corsa, veloflex, etc). Problem for me is a lot of bikes = a lot of money spent on tires!

Tires are cheap based on hours of enjoyment though. Even as a Clyde I am not brutal on tires. Even stickier tires I can get 2000-2500. If not more. That's a lot of time, exercise, enjoyment, reflection, and decompression for a $100. It's all relative.

Was going to do 27" for a build and period correctness, but lack of good tires in tanwall makes it a no go. Wish there was a stronger selection in that size. Anyone know if sand canyon is still offering tires? Or are they dead?

Roadies_Rok

I'm riding a set of 25mm Continental Ultra Sport III's on my road bike (Litespeed Arenberg) and have no complaints. I don't race so I have no need for the high dollar tires only to be flushing money down the toilet the first time I get a flat. The LBS where I buy a lot of my stuff had just gotten the Ultra Sport III's in and I picked them up for $18 per tire. As stated here they do fit the rim tightly and I have to use a tire lever to get that last little bit of bead onto the rim (I have no idea what a "tire jack" is . . .). The Ultra Sport III's are a directional tire and IMO provide a good ride. After I got the tires and mounted them a couple of people I ride with said "dude, you should have gotten the Rubino Pro's" which is a tire I have long been curious about but so far have not ridden. My one experience with Vittoria was their Diamante Pro tire which did not impress me.

I am seeing a lot of comments about the Pasela tires and I have heard good things about them but again IMO the Panracer Stradius Pro tire from back in the day was arguably the best clincher tire on the planet bar none. Great, compliant ride and grip for days.

YMMV but this is my experience and hopefully it will help someone.

3alarmer 

...nothing goes inside the tyre when you are levering it on, so less chance of contacting and pinching the tube. You're welcome.

Andy_K 

I took the Zaffiros out for a first ride today (about 15 miles), and I can report that they are adequate. In absolute terms, I'd give them a solid C. Adjusting for price, maybe a B+. Also adjusting for available 27" options, a grudging A. On a relatively nice hi-ten frame (to the extent that such a thing exists) with boat anchor wheels, the tires did not surface as a problem. That's feint praise, I guess, I enjoyed the ride. I think a top tier clincher in the same width would have taken up a bit more of the road buzz, but it didn't feel sluggish and the traction seemed good. I'd consider them a solid option for sub-$20 wire bead tires.

randyjawa 

To be honest, I don't think that I have ever had really good tires. Usually, I go with least expensive and hope for the best. Recently, I installed a set of Michelain Dynamic tires on my old Torpado...


Did I find the ride quality to be great? Not really, but pretty darn good and certainly satisfying...


The Torpado is an entry level machine, fitted with steel fenders, cottered crank a plastic saddle and anything but an exotic tube set. The new tires are 700c x 28 (I am into larger tires, these days, and have hung up those 23s). The tires did feel good, offering decent cushioning and sure cornering but, being larger, lacked in the speed and agility categories (my opinion only). They were round, something I really like in a tire, and did not suggest that tiny hop that cheap tires sometimes present. In addition, the bike needed gumwalls and they certainly fit the vintage appeal part of the equation...

My point is, at twenty bucks CND each, I will buy another set for my Legnano and perhaps even the Marinoni, my primary rider.