[blue]

I think it might be good to pool some reviews on rubber here, since I find that most of the reviews on sites like RBR are from people who really don't ride a whole lot (and I know a number of us do).

Anyway, a quickie review on the set of clinchers coming off my bike today:

Maxxis Hors Categorie 700x20

Pros:
-Light. I think these clock in at 175g or so.
-Cornering traction is good when they're reasonably fresh. Not sticky crit tire great, but good.
-Decent rolling resistance.
-Wear was acceptable for a race tire. I got about two months of riding out of them. Not sure what that is in miles, but I put between 15-20 hours of riding a week on them. I'm not a fan of training on heavy long-wear tires.
-Flat protection was also good. I only got one flat with these, a very sharp glass puncture.

Cons:
-The 20c profile is definitely that. They're skinny. I got a little sketched out in corners leaning the bike way over for fear of running out of tire (is that even possible?). Their small contact patch is definitely not confidence inspiring on descents and makes for squirrelly attacks.
-After about a month cornering performance started to rapidly diminish as the stickier compound wore off.

All in all a solid tire, I'd definitely have no qualms running the 23c version again. I think I'd avoid the 20c, just because I tend to have a more aggressive descending/cornering style and they weren't very confidence inspiring in either of those situations. They WERE dirt cheap, though - ICYCLES has them on sale for $20 each right now.

Just got a pair of Challenge Elite 23c clinchers ("open tubulars") that I'll be on for about a week before attempting to switch to an everyday tubular setup. I'll post up some initial impressions in a day or two.

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

Race clincher for me is Michie Pro Race 3's. Very sticky predictable handling tire. Needs to be a race only tire though. Wears fast, can be counter acted some if you rotate them. Flats seem to be sparatic with them.

For everyday use I like the Conti GP4000's. Just a good all around tire IMHO.

 

[ire]

I wrote up some tire reviews for cross last season. I need to track down the photos and upload em to flickr.
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224253&highlight=tire

 

[HAB]

The Hors Categorie are pretty nearly the same thing as the old Michelin Pro 2, FWIW. Maxxis made them for Michelin.



The Pro 3s are good, really grippy but only OK wear wise. Pretty decent on flats for a while, will get sketchy once they've worn down a bit, but what doesn't? Pretty light.


Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX are a favorite of mine. Not quite as grippy as the Pro 3s, but they wear better and ride smoother. Their casings are fantastic. Light, and I've not had flat trouble with them.

 

[RUFUS]

For everyday use I like the Conti GP4000's. Just a good all around tire IMHO.

Quoted for truth!!! Great tire in my opinion.

 

[blue]

Challenge Elite "Open Tubular" clinchers - 700x23c

These are weird tires. I will go on in a moment.

Pros:
-Low rolling resistance when inflated over 100psi.
-Very solid cornering feel - haven't been able to get them to let go yet.
-Very high quality build. You can tell this tire didn't come out of a mold (handmade by Thai midgets).

Cons:
-Meh weight. 230g.
-They feel like total ass under 100psi. It's like I'm slogging through sand when they're underinflated.
-At 120-140psi, they bounce you around like a ragdoll, but actually roll. LAME.
-Bigger than their label states - probably closer to a 25c tire.
-Initial mounting was a bitch, but after that easy as cake.

Can't speak to their puncture resistance, haven't dealt with it yet in a week of riding, nor the durability. The set I got is blue and now looks like complete ass. Why do tire companies keep making brightly colored treads? Ugh. Anyway, I'll be taking them off on Tuesday and replacing with some tubbies. I'll give them to my dad and report back on how long it takes him to wear them out. Don't think I'd buy these, even if they last forever.

edit: See below. Conclusion is that Challenge makes sh!t rubber not worthy of thrift-store ten speeds.

 

[Rip]

Getting wheels as well when you go to tubulars?

When you get a set of tubulars, do yourself a favor and get a good set and avoid any tubular that generally sells for below $50.

My roadbike uses tubulars, in which I am pretty much sold on them. I got the sprinter gatorskins, though the next set will be the grand prix 4000 tubulars(yes they are an option).
What I did do was use the Tufos cx tubular tape when putting the tires on because once in awhile I do get caught out in the rain.

 

[blue]

Getting wheels as well when you go to tubulars?

When you get a set of tubulars, do yourself a favor and get a good set and avoid any tubular that generally sells for below $50.

My roadbike uses tubulars, in which I am pretty much sold on them. I got the sprinter gatorskins, though the next set will be the grand prix 4000 tubulars(yes they are an option).
What I did do was use the Tufos cx tubular tape when putting the tires on because once in awhile I do get caught out in the rain.

Yeah, got some Zipp 303s laced to ACs. I've got a Conti Sprinter and a Tufo S3 Lite. Just glued up the Sprinter...damn. That was a lot harder to do in a clean manner than I anticipated. Also underestimated the amount of glue I'd need (going according to the Park Tool recommendations of three coats). I think I might just tape the Tufo on. Seems a lot cleaner and more secure than novice gluing.

My fingers are covered in blisters from picking glue off rims. Sigh.

I did spin the front wheel I glued around the neighborhood...g'damn. These are even more fun than the set of aluminum Ambrosio whatevers I tried out last week that sold me on tubbies.

 

[loco-gringo]

Want new gen 303s with Pave tubs for daily riders.

 

[blue]

Challenge Elite "Open Tubular" clinchers - 700x23c

These are weird tires. I will go on in a moment.

Pros:
-Low rolling resistance when inflated over 100psi.
-Very solid cornering feel - haven't been able to get them to let go yet.
-Very high quality build. You can tell this tire didn't come out of a mold (handmade by Thai midgets).

Cons:
-Meh weight. 230g.
-They feel like total ass under 100psi. It's like I'm slogging through sand when they're underinflated.
-At 120-140psi, they bounce you around like a ragdoll, but actually roll. LAME.
-Bigger than their label states - probably closer to a 25c tire.
-Initial mounting was a bitch, but after that easy as cake.

Can't speak to their puncture resistance, haven't dealt with it yet in a week of riding, nor the durability. The set I got is blue and now looks like complete ass. Why do tire companies keep making brightly colored treads? Ugh. Anyway, I'll be taking them off on Tuesday and replacing with some tubbies. I'll give them to my dad and report back on how long it takes him to wear them out. Don't think I'd buy these, even if they last forever.

I've come to the conclusion that "handmade" is a cycling industry euphemism for "garbage" (see re: Bont). I ended up using these for a bit longer than expected after having to order a new axle for the hubs on my tubulars. Anywho, they're apparently Challenge's "training" tire. Wouldn't really know it. Tread wore out and separated from the casing (!!!) in less than 1000 miles. I also had another horror story with Challenge on their Criterium clincher a few months back when a sidewall on the front tire blew out at 100psi, and was hoping it was just a fluke. Not.

Do not buy Challenge tires. They're absolute sh!t and will leave you stranded.

 

[Rip]

Ok, good thing I read this, was going to order a set of them guess I'll get a set of Open Corsa Evo's then.

 

[HAB]

Yeah, got some Zipp 303s laced to ACs. I've got a Conti Sprinter and a Tufo S3 Lite. Just glued up the Sprinter...damn. That was a lot harder to do in a clean manner than I anticipated. Also underestimated the amount of glue I'd need (going according to the Park Tool recommendations of three coats). I think I might just tape the Tufo on. Seems a lot cleaner and more secure than novice gluing.

My fingers are covered in blisters from picking glue off rims. Sigh.

I did spin the front wheel I glued around the neighborhood...g'damn. These are even more fun than the set of aluminum Ambrosio whatevers I tried out last week that sold me on tubbies.

Conti tubies suck to mount. They're always REALLY tight out of the box. If you have some extra tubie rims kicking around it helps a lot to stretch them over a rim and leave them for a while before mounting. This is true for any tire, but Contis are particularly bad in that regard.

 

[Mike Stone]

I've ridden 3000 miles since March, in NY, PA, MA, VT, and ME. I started off the year on a new set of Nashbar Prima 2 Plus. The rear had perhaps 1/3rd tread left after 1300 miles. Not the fastest, lightest tire, but you can count on its construction so it is a good training/recreational tire. They are on sale right now for $9.99 in 23 or 25mm widths.

I put on a set of Michelin Krylions, which seem to be Michelin's best all-rounder. Just a tad heavier than the Michelin ProRace 3 with a thicker tread and as I recall an extra belt. The rear had perhaps 40% tread left after 1730 miles. Some people report getting 3000+ miles out of a rear on this tire. I just put on a new set. They are typically selling for about $39 each.

My girlfriend Rachel has 2000 miles on her Michelin ProRace 3s this year and the rear still has about 50% tread left. I have heard people complain of reliability problems using this tire as an all-rounder, but I guess being a 115? pounder helps. The only flat she has gotten was riding the 112 mile Bike the Valley Century in NY.

My first two sets of tires this year were 25mm, because the roads have been in real bad shape - no maintenance in several years. As Danbury-based riders like James may appreciate, some of the best roads north of Danbury, Rt 37 & 39, just got repaved, so I have just switched back to 23mm tires on this latest set.

 

[proglife]

I've only ridden 3 road tires, but I'll add to the data

Vittoria Rubino Pro - bike came stock with them. Wear/life was fine. Neutral feeling...nothing positive or negative to say abou them. I felt like I pinch flatted a lot.

Vittoria Open Corsa CX 320tpi - feel awwwwwesome. flatted just about every ride. tears in both tires within a couple of months. won't buy again.

Conti Gatorskins - feel bad compared to the Open Corsa's, but perfectly fine for every day riding. Haven't flatted once. I will definitely try another Continental tire next go round.

 

[SuspectDevice]

I've been using the new Mavic yksium pro clinchers since early May.

Visually they don't look much unlike a Vittoria in terms of construction. Cotton thread layed up in a few traditonal layers with different weaves. High TPI. I can't recall but I know they are somewhere around 300tpi. They are dual compound and have a thin kevlar belt under the center compound.

likes:
-black- vain of me but the tires look great. Minimal branding consistent with their overall brand aesthetic.

-durable- The center compound is pretty hard. I can't recall a flat. The front shows very little tread wear and the rear is minimally worn.

-ride feel. They feel good. I've used michelin road tires near exclusively since the mid 90's with tires from all the other brands thrown in. These things have a very familiar ride to them. They feel like a chunkier CorsaCX(although I have a suspicion that pre-proo the tires i used may just be re-labled vittorias). You can feel the hard compound and the belt especially.
The high threadcount casing is offset by the added stiffness and altered flex patters of the overall tire from the . They feel stable and predictable, but they don't really "sing" like you expect an open tuburlar to. To me they feel a lot like Schwalbes. They grip, they wear well and they feel fast enough. Yeoman.

They only bad experience I had was blowing a tire off of an Open Pro while inflating it, but I'm pretty darn sure it was my fault.

Compared to my beloved PR3's they have a better tread life and are less prone to slicing and flats. They don't make me want to go faster like my Michelins do and their high-quality traditional construction can't hold a candle to the highly engineered ultra-modern design of the Michelins.

For someone who likes the ride of open tubulars and wants what seems to me to be the best option in the race/training category I can highly recommend the new Mavic tires.

 

[-dustin]

Conti GP Triathlons:

Supposedly the same as GP4000s, w/o the tread. I got about 1000 - 15000mi out of Vittoria Open Corsa and Zipp Tangentes w/ no flats. A day before RAGBRAI I put the GP Triathlons on. Flatted.

Day 4 of RAGBRAI I hit up some dirt roads.

Got through RAGBRAI w/o anymore flats. Started hitting up some crits...tires corner well. Full confidence hitting corners at 30mph. Notice a couple weeks after RAGBRAI that I had damn near destroyed the side wall on those dirt roads. No flats from that, though. E-tape the inside.

2 weeks ago at Tour of Austin I flat during days 2 and 3. Punctures. Pissed. 3 days of DNFs from mechanics.

At this point I've got 1300mi on them and am looking at about half of their usable life.

I run them at 115psi and I weigh in anywhere from 175 to 180lbs.

Not the smoothest, most comfortable tire, but given that I will get almost twice the life, it's a decent compromise.

Ride Quality:
Zipp Tangente
Vittoria Open Corsa
GP Triathlon
Vredestein Fortezza Tri-Comp

Durability:
GP Triathlon
Vittoria Open Corsa
Zipp Tangente
Vredestein Fortezza Tri-Comp