Decent, puncture repelling tyres

I’d agree with that.
And you make good points about other tyres being on offer.

Hmm…

So do you now need to kill yourself? :thinking:

1 Like

Oh no!!!

Is the TL moniker tubeless???

EDIT: YEA! Yes it is.

So I’ve found 5000s and tubes for £78 a pair.
But tubular Corsa G+ are now only £94 a pair :thinking::sob:

I also found rubinos wear out really quickly.

I’ve found the opposite, which is why I’ve stuck with them for so long!?!

Okay, so that link you gave me, I’ve used it for tubular tyres before, but not my training tyres.

I set up a custom list of the best performing puncture resistant tyres, with a lower rolling resistance of my Rubino’s at 100-120psi, as I love rock hard tyres and my Reynolds 725 steel frame just soaks it all up.
Rubino scores 12pts on the protection scale, watts are given as lower for a pair.

Continental GP5000 = 10pts (-14W)
Continental GP4000ii = 11pts (-9W)
Michelin Pro4 Endurance v2 = 15pts (-6W)
Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR = 20pts (-2W)

Looks like the Conti’s aren’t really a puncture resistant tyre at all, more lower Crr, which I’d rather forego for the sake of freezing at a roadside.

The Michelin offers less Crr and more puncture protection than I currently have…but the clear winner is the Pirelli!!! Topping out on 20pts for puncture protection and having an equivalent rolling resistance means I certainly won’t be any slower…but they’ve tested that as tubeless only, not with a tube as a tubeless ready (TLR) tyre, damn it.

Looks like the Michelin have it!

Vittoria Randonneur Pro 32s … 2 sets … 5+years many 1000s of km… 2 punctures… and one was last sunday with a tiny metal shard that no tyre would have dealt with.

A bit dead but bulletproof for me through all sorts of winter / gravel / accidental off road conditions.

(Always hated gatorskins until we had a spell of 25-30c when I was in Germany, then they became super grippy!)

What fraction of drag are we talking for rolling resistance ?.. How big a trade off is worth saving the risk of 10minutes stationary at the roadside ? (especially if that’s -3c at 3am hehe)

Michelin Pro4 Endurance are a good tyre IMHO, been using them on my summer road bike for years (since they were called Michelin Krylion Carbon!)

2 Likes

I use Challenge Strada Bianca on my winter bike, really nice tyres, never had a punture, equally happy on Gravel or Tarmac, grip well, nice an supple. Rolling resistance not the best, but certainly not awful… absolute pain to mount the first time though

The reason I would take the risk of being beside the road, is grip, things like Randonneur and Gatorskin and even Rubino have none - an extra 20w to go at the same speed you just have to work harder, but if you’re riding with others, you can’t corner at different speeds without being dangerous.

@Poet reviewing the rock hard tires will probably help on the punctures too, a bit of give and you might not force the thing in.

1 Like

Maybe I’m doing them a disservice. I used them for years, but commuting I was burning holes through them ina regular basis. Maybe it was down to the large “load” I was subjecting them too.

To be fair I doubt I’ve ridden anything else long enough to compare.

I panic bought a set of Schwable Lungo. No punctures yet but my god they roll like shit. Only 11 quid each. Tempted to just bin em and get some more marathons.

1 Like

You’re right, they’re not. They are a fast do it all tyre, that have very low crr but arent paper thin. Hence being a frequent choice for a tri race tyre. Testers might go for something faster, as they may have numerous races and will want to take the chance.

If puncture resistance is all you care about, then I would agree they aren’t the best choice. But as Jim has said, personally in the winter, I’d care quite a bit about grip. A puncture is an inconvenience. Sliding out is much more dangerous.

1 Like

I never get punctures (on my turbo)

Who bothers cycling outdoors these days?

3 Likes

I did once, rear tyre exploded with a very loud bang

Done a stack of miles on the Michelins, great tyres, about to get another set, only started getting flats when they were well past the point that they should have been binned!

1 Like

My rear tyre is mounted the wheel in the corner. Direct drive…

Since switching to direct drive, I have been puncture free on the Turbo as well

2 Likes

I’ve punctured on a direct drive turbo, and I’ve only turbo’d like 10 times in my life!

Was it all that extra weight on the front wheel Jim?!

1 Like

It certainly was!

1 Like

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Race riding = GP5000

Proper Winter riding = Gatorskins. Stop being such wusses.

1 Like