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I’m a bit of a noob when it comes to road biking and my road bike is a few years old and has cheap 23c Vittoria Slick tyres. The ride is pretty harsh so I’m thinking of going to 25c or 28c, is 28c noticeably better in this regard?
I don’t want to spend loads on top of the range tyres, so what is a good midrange road tyre?
Cheers
much more comfy - it's really just a matter of what your frame & fork can accommodate
and don't forget to keep the pressures quite a lot lower than the 120+psi some folk used to put in their 23s
just on the road ? Maybe schwalbe durano? Not ded cheap but lasted very well when I had some before going tubeless and they gripped/rolled pretty well as I remember.
I went from a harsh 23c to a very comfortable Conti GP4000 25. I tried a 28, it fit in the fork fine but fouled the brake when the cable was slack. Campag Record. I really didn't want a sudden OTB if the cable slipped or stretched so stuck with the 25.
First thing I would say is don't take tyre widths as gospel, they vary between brands and even between models, while the internal rim width of your wheelset will affect the real width too.
For example, 28mm Continental 4 Seasons measure ~29mm wide on my Hunt Aero Light Disc.
28mm Continental GP4000S II measure ~31mm on my rear Hunt wheel, but having moved it across to the Fulcrum Racing 77 DB this morning (after only just making it home yesterday after the Hunt freewheel spontaneously threatened to not engage for forward propulsion, sadly before I even got to do a single VO2 max effort up a cat4 hill) it measures ~32mm.
My Cube road bike came with 25mm Continental Grand Sport Race that measure ~27mm and I definitely noticed the extra comfort of the 28mm version (~31mm wide).
IMO you want at least 5mm clearance to the chain stays.
Tyre choice will depend on your budget for the pair and things like how frequently do you get punctures on your typical routes.
Over the last ~2.5 years, for outright performance I'd rate the order as...
GP4000S IIs (by a country mile)
4 Season
Grand Sport Race
Rubino Pro G+ Isotech (check model, £20 at Merlin)
However, I've binned one GP4000 through a sidewall rip and the rear is quite worn after ~2500 miles.
Grand Sport Race are over two years old and now on my fat 29er wheels, should last until around next spring.
4 Seasons only done ~1000 miles tops but still looks brand new, very little wear.
Rubino have barely been ridden, they felt very sluggish after a first summer of GP4000 and perhaps unfairly promptly replaced with 4 Seasons which felt much nicer.
Thanks for the advice - I’ve been doing some more research and it looks like the maximum width my frame will take is 25c so I will give the Rubino’s a go.
I have been riding 30mm for a few years then bought a second hand bike with 23mm tyres, ****ing terrifying downhill. 25mm or 28mm are nicer 30mm start to get a bit slow imo.
I have the Rubino Pro in 25 (not the graphene version) and they feel absolutely terrible compared to GP4000s (which I’ve used in all widths, and all have been excellent in every way). The difference between them is enough to transform the character of a bike. I always paid £50 a pair for GP4000s, and the £20 I spent on a pair of Rubino Pros seems like a waste of money in comparison.
The single biggest upgrade you can make to a bike is tyres and tubes. A wide tyre is not faster or slower, in fact for the same tyre compression, they all have about the same rolling resistance. The important part in that is “same”! You can run bigger tyres at lower pressures for same comfort. But you won’t go faster.
A good 25c tyre will see you well and save you energy. I’ve now run most of them in several widths. Rubinos are pretty slow but I ran 28c on a training bike. I lent that bike to a rider for Ride London and the rider was very happy.
For outright performance, THE goto tyre now is the GP5000. I’ve been very impressed with them, especially with latex tubes - not for the beginner. They are about £35 an end at Sigma Sport and will save you about 15 watts over your Rubinos. That’s free speed but great compliance and comfort. 15 watts is a lot of training.
Having said that, I’ve just mounted three 20c GP4000 s2 on the trike for a loooong race tomorrow (Welsh 12 hr TT). That’s because aero matters and I’m running three HED 3 trispokes with narrow rims.
I’ve previoualy loved Schwalbe tyres too, the Duranos are on another recumbent trike and have been super tyres too. But the GP50000s are in a different class that includes comparison to Vittoria Corsas which I raced for two seasons and Corsa Speeds (what a tyre - fastest in the world but a harsh mistress).
There are really no bad choices these days. Except Gatorskins - tyres of the devil.
Really annoys me when people roll out the link to the wide tyres are faster report, by a company specialising in wide tyres. Zipp and Enve have also produced a report stating that 23mm is the fastest, I’ve previously linked to them but can’t be bothered trying to find it.
Tired has it. But I love my Corsa Speeds, no puncture resistance and it feels like you’re riding directly on the rims, but for TT and Crit they’re a great tyre.
Gp5000 or Michelin Power Comp for me are the perfect mix of comfort, speed, grip and puncture resistance.
Vittoria Corsa G+ for ride quality.
Conti GP4000 for worse ride quality but more puncture resistant and slightly faster tyre.
GP5000 for speed and reasonable ride quality but least puncture resistance.
Latex tubes whatever you buy, but i'd carry a butyl spare.
If in doubt just buy some GP4000s in 25mm. Or 28 if you spend more time riding rough roads than smooth.
Patron its seems surprising then that pro's even in paris roubaix rarely go over 28 -29 mm.
At about 8:20 in
and if you have the patience to wait till about 10s later you can see that not all road rides cross pave and not all road rides are on shit roads.
Wimps the lot of ya...
My road bikes won't take more than 23mm. Absolutely fine. Done 60 mph on 20mm. 2 of the 3 are high end steel so are far more comfy than alloy or carbon.
My 11 year old Cube road bike is able to take 28mm 4 Seasons and the difference on comfort over 23mm tyres is astounding.
Wimps the lot of ya…
My road bikes won’t take more than 23mm. Absolutely fine. Done 60 mph on 20mm. 2 of the 3 are high end steel so are far more comfy than alloy or carbon.
Yeah but try riding 28 and 30's for a few years then going back to 23!! I used to ride 20's no probs but would dream of it now!!
My 11 year old Cube road bike is able to take 28mm 4 Seasons and the difference on comfort over 23mm tyres is astounding
Yep and certainly dont seem any slower. My bike with 23's accelerates up climbs like a rat up a drain pipe but it is pretty light too so that maybe that biggest factor. I'll certainly switch to 25's when I need new tyres, nit sure 28's will fit.
Wimps the lot of ya…
Not all of us. I rode 231 miles on three 20c tyres today. GP4000s are nice tyres but wider is more comfortable. AND it’s steel. And weighs 14 kilos (planted!)
I go from a 32mm to a 23mm tyre regularly, most weeks, I have a set of wheels with 40mm deep rims, 17.5 internal and 32mm tyres, used for my commute and wet weather rides. I also have a set with 16.5 internal and 60mm depth, running 23mm at the front and 25mm rear. A noticeable speed difference (different frames as well, so that makes some difference).
What would really be interesting would be for multiple tests to be completed using a power meter, taking into account different riding scenarios, acceleration, hill climbing and even some coasting, over long distances over standard roads and back roads. Be interesting to see the results.
Much more conclusive than a roll down test.
Might do this myself in October when I next go to Wales. Would want a good 40 minute climb (bwlch y groes from Betws-y-Coed), plus a fast descent (2 miles fast descent, the odd switch back, but also a couple of junctions so stopping followed by big acceleration). I can put 25mm tyres and 35mm tyres on the same bike and same rim. Just need to hope I get two days of similar weather. Won’t be an exact science but interesting for me.
Comfort wise, I honestly think this is over egged. Yes there’s a difference but I’m equally comfortable doing a long ride on my Aeroad with 23mm tyres as I am doing it on my Domane with front and rear isospeed and 32mm tyres. There is a difference, but it’s not like the 23mm tyres are uncomfortable. I did 4 hours on the Aeroad yesterday, no aches, no wishing I was on a more comfortable bike or wanting wider tyres. Roads near me, Chilterns, are OK, some broken sections but generally they’re fine. No huge hills, but constant rolling.
Tough one to control for. I normally callibrate at Hillingdon circuit. Have all manner of tyres, but no doubles of wheels, and I'm not sure I can be bothered to swap tyes on the circuit.
Have on various wheels:
Conti GP4000 SII 20, 23 and 25c on the trike and on some 45 mm rims
Conti GP5000 25 (awesome tyres) on my 55mm carbon rims on the best bike
Schwalbe One 25 on Open Pros for fixed and commuting
Vittoria Corsa 23 and 25 on Jet6/9 for racing and on CXP33s as spare wheels for the TCC team
Vittoria Corsa Speed 23 (OMG so fast) laid down as too puncture prone but also 33mm track rims
Schwalbe G One Speed 32 TL faster than they have any right to be) on Ksyriums
Vittoria Rubino 28 on 30 mm rims
Love the Corsas, but the early version delaminated. Loved the Corsa Speeds, but puncture prone. Love the GP5000s. Frankly these in 25c with latex tubes are my go to and first recommendation now. If they did them in 20c I would be truly in love, but they are unlikely to now.
I did 4 hours on the Aeroad yesterday, no aches, no wishing I was on a more comfortable bike or wanting wider tyres.
So, fine on short rides?
Comfort wise, I honestly think this is over egged. Yes there’s a difference but I’m equally comfortable doing a long ride on my Aeroad with 23mm tyres as I am doing it on my Domane with front and rear isospeed and 32mm tyres.
I feel the same but what that probably tells us is that we are not particularly fussed about minor changes in comfort whereas what a lot of other people are telling us is that they are.
I am comfortable enough riding off road on 25c tyres, a carbon saddle (with no padding or covering) and Champ kierin grips (think golf club grips) whereas most people would probably not want to ride my bike for more than a mile or two.