[Orvan]

I work closely with Hutchinson on their mtb tire development but have never really heard much about their road tires in the US which is strange considering in Europe, they are big on road tires.

Just in a general sense, how are Hutchinson road tire selection viewed as by the mainstream and avid roadies? I know back when I was doing a bit of road riding, Vrendestein and Continental are looked at pretty good and Michilen was just picking up popularity too.

 

[Silver]

I had a pair that came stock on my bike (Carbon Comps) and didn't care for them. Not horrible tires, just sort of average at everything.

 

[sanjuro]

Funny one because there is no objective features like "tread patterns" or "casing designs". Road tires at the highest end are typically rated on subjective criteria. Mid and low might be durability or flat resistance, but I used Grand Prix 3000 and Pro Races and I couldn't tell much of a difference.

 

[Orvan]

Same here. I tried the Axials and thought they were something else. I guess other factors would have been taken into consideration if I had ridden road tires longer like wear patterns and stuff...or which ones last the longest to stretch the dollar.

Coo..

 

[JRB]

I have never seen them last long. I have only had one set. The excels look to be a good training tire, but I never tried them.

 

[Serial Midget]

I have raced on 21mm Fusion Comps and thought they were OK but I blew the sidewalls out on small rocks other tires wouldn't have flinched at. I have about 1000 miles on a set of Carbon Comps and find them to be below average in general but really sub-par when one considers the cost. My training tires Are Excell Comps and they are great so far for flat resistance plus they are cheap.

I think it is very difficult to get a fast rolling, high pressure tire that grips well, lasts for 2000 miles and costs less than $40.00. I can get 3 or 4000 miles out of a crappy $20.00 tires but can't get a pair decent skins to last 500. :mumble: :mumble: :mumble:

 

[indieboy]

hutchinson's road stuff is pretty nice. i've ridden the fusions and liked them. their big dollar game is in their tubulars though. the carbon comp tubies are pretty damn nice. ask gully the next time you talk to him to hook you up with some road tires so you can see for yourself.

 

[splat]

I have ridden them a few times, while They gave a Nice ride , I found teh Side walls cut very easily , and then didn't last long because of that

 

[damnit jim]

Orvan, I cannot believe that you didn't ask me. you cut me deep orvizes... you cut me deep...

 

[Serial Midget]

OK - today my rear Excell tire bulged out obout 17 mile into what was supposed to be a 50 mile ride. The tires have right around 1000 miles on them and none of it has been rough. The rubber in the center of the bulge is very soft, obviously breaking down. Beforeyou ask - no the tube is not kinked and yes the beads are properly seated. To get home I lowered the pressure to 80 PSI. Its not likely that I will ever own another Huthinson product.

 

[Serial Midget]

I was about to order some new tires but I think I will run through my singles first. I have one each Open Corsa CX, Fusion Comp, Carbon Comp and Excell - its gonna be rough not having matching tires. All the other roadies will make fun of me.

 

[Reactor]

I have raced on 21mm Fusion Comps and thought they were OK but I blew the sidewalls out on small rocks other tires wouldn't have flinched at. I have about 1000 miles on a set of Carbon Comps and find them to be below average in general but really sub-par when one considers the cost. My training tires Are Excell Comps and they are great so far for flat resistance plus they are cheap.

I think it is very difficult to get a fast rolling, high pressure tire that grips well, lasts for 2000 miles and costs less than $40.00. I can get 3 or 4000 miles out of a crappy $20.00 tires but can't get a pair decent skins to last 500. :mumble: :mumble: :mumble:

You might want to look at the Specialized all Condition Pro or All Condition Sport. I've used them for about a year and had good results. I've had one flat and that was from a thorn shaped piece of glass that must have been embeded in the tire for weeks from the look of it. My last pair had 3000 miles on them when I got ran over.

 

[indieboy]

I was about to order some new tires but I think I will run through my singles first. I have one each Open Corsa CX, Fusion Comp, Carbon Comp and Excell - its gonna be rough not having matching tires. All the other roadies will make fun of me.

hey smidge. to be completely honest........i've seen every major tire company have tires bubble up like that. hutchinson, maxxis, specialized, conti, michelin, and yes even victoria. it's a production problem, not necessarily a design flaw, or even a design flaw within their production system. it's a batch of bad rubber from time to time. what you should do is contact hutchionson and let them know the problem. that way they are arrive of it.

 

[Pau11y]

...I used Grand Prix 3000 and Pro Races and I couldn't tell much of a difference.

I've tried Conti (grand prix 4 season) and Michelin (pro race) as well. I've found on equal air preasure, the Conti seems to have lower rolling resistance. I don't know if the reason is a stiffer casing or sidewall, but where the Michelin felt very neutral, the Conti felt faster (same air preasure). That said, the Contis were punctured and tore a small hole in the casing, but I suspect it was due to age/milage of the tire.
I just got my grubby little hands on 3 IRC Red Storms for $30 and will be throwing those on a set of wheels I just built (DA and Open Pro). I'll post some reports on these when I have some miles on them.
As for Hutchinson, never tried them. My next set will be to check out the Tufo clincher tubulars, going on my Ksyriums for the De Rosa rebuild.

 

[Serial Midget]

I just got my grubby little hands on 3 IRC Red Storms for $30 and will be throwing those on a set of wheels I just built (DA and Open Pro).

I once had a set of 19mm Redstorms and rode them for a few hundred miles... Indieboy should remember them from when I rebuilt the Serotta, I ran out of $$$ and thought that 2 RED tires for about $25.00 was a good idea.

I don't remember much about them except 19mm is not for comfort.

 

[Serial Midget]

hey smidge. to be completely honest........i've seen every major tire company have tires bubble up like that. hutchinson, maxxis, specialized, conti, michelin, and yes even victoria. it's a production problem, not necessarily a design flaw, or even a design flaw within their production system. it's a batch of bad rubber from time to time. what you should do is contact hutchionson and let them know the problem. that way they are arrive of it.

I looked in the inside of the tire and noted that the casing had begun to fray from the inside as though I were running stupidly high PSI, since they have never been run over 110 I will assume that something went wrong in the casing that caused the bulge, that led to the soft spot as I had to ride 17 miles to get back into town.

I'm seriously thinking about Tufy Tubeless Clinchers... no really, I am. neaky:

 

[indieboy]

i've talked to one of my friends at maxxis about this type of situation. he explained to me what happens and for the life of me i can't remember the reason :/ oh well.

tufo's are good ****.