Road Bike Tyres for occasional rides

[johanpre44]

I'm a mountain biker and recently got a second hand road bike for occasional road rides including the odd race (like Ride Joburg or CTCT). On the mountain bike I already have a preferred brand and model of tyres, but looking at the road bike tyres it's kind of a minefield. Asking around a lot of people suggest to just get Conti Gatorskins, but they are expensive and kind of hard to find. I'm also not sure if wider (like 28mm) is better and if there is much of a difference between the wire/rigid or folding beads. Puncture protection will obviously be great (even though they are rolling slower).

I have seen good prices on:

• Pirelli P7 Sport (R350-R500)
• Maxxis Re-Fuse (R400-R420)
• Vittoria Zaffiro V wire bead (R320-R370)

Any suggestions for good tyres that will be fitting my use as described above or any comments on experience with the above three?

[ACE Cycles]

8 minutes ago, johanpre44 said:

I'm a mountain biker and recently got a second hand road bike for occasional road rides including the odd race (like Ride Joburg or CTCT). On the mountain bike I already have a preferred brand and model of tyres, but looking at the road bike tyres it's kind of a minefield. Asking around a lot of people suggest to just get Conti Gatorskins, but they are expensive and kind of hard to find. I'm also not sure if wider (like 28mm) is better and if there is much of a difference between the wire/rigid or folding beads. Puncture protection will obviously be great (even though they are rolling slower).

I have seen good prices on:

• Pirelli P7 Sport (R350-R500)
• Maxxis Re-Fuse (R400-R420)
• Vittoria Zaffiro V wire bead (R320-R370)

Any suggestions for good tyres that will be fitting my use as described above or any comments on experience with the above three?

I'd go with Continental Gatorskins from a durability point of view. They literally last incredibly long before perishing and they have incredible puncture resistance. I only ride Continental. 

[bleedToWin]

2 minutes ago, ACE Cycles said:

I'd go with Continental Gatorskins from a durability point of view.

At 20W rolling resistance per tyre vs 9W for a racing tyre it would also feel like you're still on your MTB, so there's that...

Not saying you should get racing tyres though, just saying gators are slow AF...

Your question on width. Yes, get 28mm, or even wider if your bike has enough clearance.

[ACE Cycles]

12 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

At 20W rolling resistance per tyre vs 9W for a racing tyre it would also feel like you're still on your MTB, so there's that...

Not saying you should get racing tyres though, just saying gators are slow AF...

Your question on width. Yes, get 28mm, or even wider if your bike has enough clearance.

Yip, they are pretty slow, but isn't that fine for the occasional road ride? I ride GP5000s all the time, mostly because I'm too lazy to swap them out with a training tyre. Even then, I'm 7000km into my current set and they still go lekker

[bleedToWin]

27 minutes ago, ACE Cycles said:

Yip, they are pretty slow, but isn't that fine for the occasional road ride? I ride GP5000s all the time, mostly because I'm too lazy to swap them out with a training tyre. Even then, I'm 7000km into my current set and they still go lekker

I do the same, but at my weight I only get just over 5000km out of the back wheel on GP5k. Very expensive. 

[bleedToWin]

Another older tyre, and a bit more expensive than the ones mentioned but also lasts many km is the Michelin Pro 4 Endurance v2. Best compromise I found for puncture protection vs rolling resistance for tubed tyres when balancing those were my goals with tyre selection.

[Spinnekop]

I see Conti will launch (have unofficially launched) a GP5000 All season tyre.
Think that will be a good choice to balance out kilos and punctures and "racing"

Edited February 15, 2023 by Spinnekop

[Ncayi]

1 hour ago, johanpre44 said:

I'm a mountain biker and recently got a second hand road bike for occasional road rides including the odd race (like Ride Joburg or CTCT). On the mountain bike I already have a preferred brand and model of tyres, but looking at the road bike tyres it's kind of a minefield. Asking around a lot of people suggest to just get Conti Gatorskins, but they are expensive and kind of hard to find. I'm also not sure if wider (like 28mm) is better and if there is much of a difference between the wire/rigid or folding beads. Puncture protection will obviously be great (even though they are rolling slower).

I have seen good prices on:

• Pirelli P7 Sport (R350-R500)
• Maxxis Re-Fuse (R400-R420)
• Vittoria Zaffiro V wire bead (R320-R370)

Any suggestions for good tyres that will be fitting my use as described above or any comments on experience with the above three?

Someone once said to me the best road tyre is one you can replace without flinching when you have too.

I would second getting gatorskins as they last for ages but like you said they are quite pricey. I have also used Continental Ultra Sport 3 with no issues. And they are similar in price with the tyres you mentioned.

With regards to puncture protection. I have learned that as long as your tyres have enough tyre pressure relative to your weight you shouldn't have too many issues. For reference, I weigh 100kg and ride 8.5 bar at the back and 7 in the front on 25mm gatorskins. I'm not worried about rolling resistance, contact patches etc as I am not gunning for for any podiums. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Ncayi

[johanpre44]

Couple of good points.

Think I will go for the little wider tyres (according to documentation a 28mm should fit, but n larger).

I will probably do 1000 to 2000km a year, so if the gators will be good for about 4 or 5 years without perishing that will be great and worth the extra money.

[ACE Cycles]

42 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

I do the same, but at my weight I only get just over 5000km out of the back wheel on GP5k. Very expensive. 

That's R0.50 per km just in tyre wear. You should chuck R50 in the kitty for every century ride

[Spinnekop]

30 minutes ago, ACE Cycles said:

That's R0.50 per km just in tyre wear. You should chuck R50 in the kitty for every century ride

But a year long without one puncture?
Priceless.

[HdB]

I've found the Pirelli Cinturato's better than Gatorskins (which I used for many many years) - as puncture resistant, if not more, and grip much better. They are more expensive though.

[Murrob]

I had a bad experience with GP5000’s perishing prematurely and a poor response from the local agents, so have been running Pirelli, with great results. So would recommend the P7 Pirelli’s for sure. Larger tyres, if your frame can cater are great as they provide more comfort at lower pressure for little sacrifice in terms of rolling resistance. But to really enjoy lower pressure you would need to consider tubeless, but given your use case, the P7 standard tyres for the win I would say.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Murrob
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