[Closed] So as I return to the road...

conti gp 4 seasons.

light, fast and vecrtan breaker thingy seems to work.

I've used Schwalbe Durano and Michelin Krylion Carbon over the last few years with no problems at all; fast rolling and fairly long lasting. I've recently swapped the Duranos for a pair of Conti Grand Prix 4000S II which are, so far, doing the same for me. A lot of the broken glass on most roads can be avoided by not riding in gutters or cycle lanes.

I'd say in the past I have experienced punctures once every 700-1000km, more so in the winter and when it's wet because you get a lot more debris and run-off on the road.

Since I switched to using tubulars that ratio has gone down considerably and I've yet to, you know what, in about 2000km. It will happen at some point but I do run my tubs with Cafe Latex solution in them so that almost certainly is helping reduce the frequency.

The more worn a tyre is the more susceptible it will be to punctures and my preferred clincher tyre for all round use, the Vittoria Open Pave, doesn't last more than a few thousand kms. The conti's are not as nice in my view and come up quite a bit larger (their 23c is about the same as the Vittoria 25c) but they are more robust and so you get more mileage from one tyre before it becomes more susceptible to punctures.

But when the tyre is new, I've not noticed any difference betwen the Conti 4 Seasons and the Vittoria Open Pave.

You can of course also run latext in your innertubes as well.

less glass etc on country roads, I use lighter tyres for sure.

Go tubeless. I've switched the Schwalbe Ones. All the benefits we see with MTBs and no drawbacks.

What tyre?? I am sure you will get 100 different recommendation`s if this thread goes big enough James ...

To be honest, there is no magic puncture proof tyre. The best you can do is pump tyres up to around 100psi, don`t ride too close to kerb where a lot of glass etc seems to collect and avoid worse of whats there to ride ... and just hope for the best.

I don`t really think busy roads are any better/worse than quiet country lanes to pick up punctures or sliced tyres to be honest. Just a case of good/bad luck.

That said. Cardiff is prob the worse place to ride around here James. Too busy and too many in a rush.

Its well worth the extra effort to head out of the city.

I've used Schwalbe Durano and Michelin Krylion Carbon

I've used these and these were good. I now have some Michelin Lithion 2's which at £11ea are a steal and tend to review well. I had a moment in the whether the other day coming of a hill slowing to a junction, but that may have been more than the tyres themselves...

What the moooooman said.
I've had no problems on conti Gatorskin tubs or gp4s or vittoria rubino or challenge Paris roubaix

@mooman

I would happily follow someone who knows the country roads around here, Ant, but I think the guy I used to go with has w-a-a-y surpassed me and would leave me in the dust! 😉

Now I ride the roads more, I'm better at avoiding potholes, and ride in the gutter less. My incidence of punctures has dropped markedly. Michelin Lithions

Out on normal road rides punctures are rare. We'll get one most weeks on a club run but that is 20-30 people doing 60 miles.

I like the continental tyres. Currently got GP4000s on my race wheels and Grand Prix on the other set. Not much in it in weight or grip but a fair bit in price. I'd recommend both.

Thorn/glass/flint punctures are rare, pinch flats can be avoided by looking where you are going and not hitting pot holes and/or having some pressure in your tyres. Although avoiding potholes can depend on the rider in front as much as you.

I've got marathons on my commuter and I've also used gatorskins and duranos. Duranos were the best out of those three but all felt wooden and dead compared to the GP4000/Grandprix tyres.

I did the Cheshire Cobble Classic on 23mm Conti GP4000s recently and didn't puncture. Surviving that mix of cobbles, broken road, pot holed gravel tracks and even some stoney bridleways gives them 10/10 for durability in my book.

That said. Cardiff is prob the worse place to ride around here James. Too busy and too many in a rush.

Yes, I did not especially enjoy it. Even more since you are in a prime MTB location!

Go tubeless. I've switched the Schwalbe Ones. All the benefits we see with MTBs and no drawbacks.

I’m going down this road. My Schwalbe One tyres arrived late last week and I have them on now with tubes as a precursor to trying to get them inflated ghetto tubeless. Loving the feel of 28c premium rubber slicks, hoping getting the tubes out will result in the moon on a stick solution.

I'm sure so much of it is down to luck. I was doing a rough stuff ride recce and went down here on Veloflex master 23c open tubs with no problems.

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Then my g/f punctured on the main road near usk on the same tyres.

conti gp 4 seasons.

light, fast and vecrtan breaker thingy seems to work.

I've had a few punctures on mine, they don't seem any better than Michelin Pro 4s, at about twice the price.

Vittoria rubino pro. 1000 miles no punctures so far.

Thom - that looks like sneaky early prep for the Welsh League. And agree - luck is most important decider here. Lots and lots of good tyres mentioned (except the Lithium's which are dangerous in wet) and I doubt any of them will withstand a sharp piece of gravel/glass.

James - I would be happy to show you the quieter roads just outside the city. No need to go race pace (just don't try to beat me up a climb lol)

Ant, that would be brilliant. I'll send you my current mobile number via facebook and we can find a time that works for both of us. 8)

As geetee says changing tyres regularly is the best option. Just buy some cheap tyres and replace after 6 months. I have used Gaterskins before and because they cost a fair amount you are tempted to keep using them beyond the point where punctures become a problem. They also lack grip in the wet.

Inspect your tyres regularly too, and flick out debris with a cocktail stick or similar. Little shards of stone can work their way in over long distances, leaving you wondering how you got a puncture on a beautifully smooth clean stretch of tarmac.

Cardiff is a good place to ride road, from a traffic point of view. People are generally not in a rush outside of rush hour, and it's much better than other places I've ridden. Although I don't expect the OP is limiting his road riding to the city!

As for punctures, I wore out a set of Vittoria something, with the red stripe, without a single puncture, on the op's local roads. Actually no, had one last year in America... I use normal road tyres and don't have anything you could call an issue.

I've got 25C Gatorskins on my Road bike and 28C Gatorskins on the loaded commuter fixie, both sets have done over 1000 miles so far, one flat on the rear of the Roadie, from battering into a pothole and pinching the tube, dented the rim too, not technically a tyre failure in my book...

Gatorskins are a bit "middle ground" not up to Marathon's heavy duty construction, not up to GP4/One levels of grip or feel...

I would have sprung for the GP4 on my posher bike but the price gap seems quite big for a [i]not particularly serious road rider[/i] like me, and I was already happy enough with the Gatorskins on the Fixie, maybe next time...

For me it's about the pleasure of riding a quality bike on quality wheels with quality tyres so I use Veloflex Open Corsas with latex tubes and the result is sheer joy. I'm not too bothered about puncture protection because most of my riding is rural and I get punctures probably every 500 miles on average. Nor am I worried about tyre wear because I can afford two Veloflex tyres at £52 from Ribble.