Running different tyres front and back

[flashsa]

I have done 700KM on my new Raleigh RC6000 which came with Continental Ultra Sport tyres on Mavic Aksium rims. My back tyre has goven me 3 punches so far and I have decided to replace with a much more puncture resistant tyre, namely the Conti Gatorskin.

 

My question is: can I put the gatorskin on the back rim (all 3 puntures occured on the rear) and keep running the Ultra Sport up front as it still looks brand new and hasn't given me any trouble.

 

Am I correct in saying the Ultra Sports are terrible at puncture resistance?

[CAAD4]

Yes and Yes

[flashsa]

Any negatives attached to running 2 different tyres front and back? They WILL be same sizing though.

[AndreZA]

Any negatives attached to running 2 different tyres front and back? They WILL be same sizing though.

 

Unless the sidewalls are different colours you will not even be able to tell the difference.

[flashsa]

They are slightly (ultra's are black while the protective brown weave of the gators show through on the sidewall) but that is not a concern for me.

 

I had a puncture on my old bike in last years Argus and I will do ANYTHING to avoid going through that again.......

 

Gatorskin thumbs up?

[Roulier]

@CAAD4 is correct. You can do what you want, but it just looks kark. So when the front tyre is up for replacement, buy another Gatorskin and replace the front tyre with your current back tyre and put the new Gatorskin at the back.

 

You might just want to make sure that your tyre pressures are also correct. We all go through bad puncture periods, maybe your cycle of puncture free cycling has just started.

[David Marshall]

I run like that for exactly the same reason.

[DaLoCo]

Your front wheel is going to outrun your backwheel now, the Ultra rolls better

[LeTurbo]

Take a closer look at Serfas. You might will be pleasantly surprised. I've tossed out the Conti's on all my bikes.

[flashsa]

I weigh 110KG's - and the rims have 700x23 tyres on....

 

I am pumping to 9 BAR before every ride.

 

Could my weight be disadvantaging me with punctures - do I need to go for a wider tyre or can I just chalk up the punctures to my "bad cycle" ?

 

Thanks to you all for the feedback in this thread!

[HowellingWulf]

Go Conti Mountain King up front and Race King at the rear. Awesome combo

[Oltremo]

Your front wheel is going to outrun your backwheel now, the Ultra rolls better

This will be balanced in medium to strong headwind conditions, so perfect setup for the Cape.

[flashsa]

Thanks all!

 

Putting the Gatorskin on the rear tonight...... just might change the front to a Gator too for Argus.... Will then just keep my good Ultra Sport as a training\spare tyre.

 

I could kick myself because the dealer where I bought my bike from had Gator's on special for R275 in January! ARGH!!

[AndreZA]

I could kick myself because the dealer where I bought my bike from had Gator's on special for R275 in January! ARGH!!

 

Those were probably the wire bead ones which can be a mission to mount on some rims. You don't want to sit with the problem on the side of the road.

[Crash Gordon]

Go Conti Mountain King up front and Race King at the rear. Awesome combo

That combo tends to bulge a little on road rims.....

[Bram_on_Madone]

Gatorskins will do fine and they'll be on special at the Argus expo again (they always are). If you start taking things a little more seriously though, you may want to use a lighter tyre for racing, as the Gator's bulk make them "give" quite a lot in corners and they generally have fairly high rolling resistance.

 

Re pressure, I would say 9 bar is pushing it with your weight and is probably contributing to your punctures - max on most clinchers is 8 bar and you should probably shave off a whisker for your weight.