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tire recommendations

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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i'm currently on 33mm cx tires (maxxis raze). looking for a road tire to keep the tread going on the cx tires for when i need them, as right now i'm primarily riding paved rail trails.

looking for something durable / high mileage, preferably with puncture resistance (i'm fine the extra weight as a tradeoff to reduce flats). probably 28mm width, i'm like 215lbs these days so a little more width should probably make the ride less harsh. i'd like to go narrower than the 33mm i'm on to improve rolling resistance. no brand preference, tubeless is ok but not a requirement (i do have rim strips to set my wheels up tubeless, just never bothered). open to suggestions, as i can count on one hand the number of times i've ever had to buy road tires (and still have enough fingers free to hold a beer).
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
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May 23, 2002
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i'm currently on 33mm cx tires (maxxis raze). looking for a road tire to keep the tread going on the cx tires for when i need them, as right now i'm primarily riding paved rail trails.

looking for something durable / high mileage, preferably with puncture resistance (i'm fine the extra weight as a tradeoff to reduce flats). probably 28mm width, i'm like 215lbs these days so a little more width should probably make the ride less harsh. i'd like to go narrower than the 33mm i'm on to improve rolling resistance. no brand preference, tubeless is ok but not a requirement (i do have rim strips to set my wheels up tubeless, just never bothered). open to suggestions, as i can count on one hand the number of times i've ever had to buy road tires (and still have enough fingers free to hold a beer).
So my suggestion would be to grab as wide as your frame would reasonably take around 30mm. There isn't much of a tradeoff between 28 and 30c in terms of rolling resistance as much as there is with aero. So my advice would be to grab a 30c tire or even 32 if it's got a good tread compound. I will be shopping soon/eventually for a 28 or 30c (I need like a 29.8 for my frame) as I think the added comfort and reduced rolling of a 30c tire is pretty cool. I am on 25s now.

For brands, the gold standard is the Conti GP5000. They are the best of everything. If you want more puncture resistance, I think you can grab a 4 season or gatorskin for ultimate protection.
https://www.excelsports.com/continental-gatorskin-road-tire-2-pack https://www.excelsports.com/continental-grand-prix-4-season-road-tire-2-pack

For the ultimate in performance, I think it's vittoria's new corsa tires, which is probably what I'll get. The corsas are not flat resistant, so maybe the rubino would be a better choice? https://www.excelsports.com/vittoria-rubino-pro-g2-0-tubeless-road-tire-2-pk Looks like it offers some flat resistance but stills has the compounds that make the corsa good.

Right now I am on Hutchinson Storm. They have admirable cornering and I have 1300mi on them without a flat even with tubes. I'm personally anti-hutchi (read butthurt) because they never sent me free tires after I won a contest on facebook, but this is a really good deal for two 30c tubeless tires: https://www.excelsports.com/hutchinson-fusion-5-performance-tubeless-tire-oe-2-pack They are exactly what I have but bigger, and I don't have many complaints.

Hope that helps. I think the conti gatorskins will prevent you from ever getting a flat, they're just heavy and not the best in terms of rolling.
 

amishmatt

Turbo Monkey
Sep 21, 2005
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Lancaster, PA
I've been running Conti GP5000TL for around 10,000 miles and have been super happy with them. Mine are 28c and set up tubeless on rims with a 25mm internal width, so the actual width of the tire is closer to 31mm. I wouldn't run anything narrower. For your use would agree with Sandwich than staying around your current width makes sense. No real gains by going narrower, and a wider tire lets you be a little less concerned with road conditions and just smash over shit.

If you're going to be swapping tires back and forth on the same rims, it's probably not worth the hassle of tubeless, in which case the Conti GP 4 Season or Panaracer Gravelking slick would be my choice.
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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thanks for all the feedback. was good to know, as road components aren't exactly my forte.

clearance on frame fork is a non-issue. it was an el-cheapo nashbar CX frame. i could honestly probably fit a small 29'er mtb tire in it.

i do use this bike year round (especially winter when the temps aren't cold enough for mtb trails to be frozen - which is often). based on everything you've stated i'm leaning towards the GP4 all season in either the 28mm or 32mm width.

 

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
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Brooklyn
Absolutely yes to the Conti GP 4/S, and get the 32mm. Been running them for the past year on the endless miles of garbage city roads and they make a noticeable difference to the GP5000 28mm the bike came with.
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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Absolutely yes to the Conti GP 4/S, and get the 32mm. Been running them for the past year on the endless miles of garbage city roads and they make a noticeable difference to the GP5000 28mm the bike came with.
difference in what regards?

full disclosure i do not ride on open roads. not only are pennsyltucky generally not conducive to road riding, there are way too many brodozers, and far too many people driving like they just had an outpatient frontal lobotomy.

i ride almost exclusively on rail trails, of which there are number very close by. and are generally in very good condition.
 

Sandwich

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May 23, 2002
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difference in what regards?

full disclosure i do not ride on open roads. not only are pennsyltucky generally not conducive to road riding, there are way too many brodozers, and far too many people driving like they just had an outpatient frontal lobotomy.

i ride almost exclusively on rail trails, of which there are number very close by. and are generally in very good condition.
I got these: https://www.thebikesmiths.com/collections/size-700x35/products/panaracer-t-serv-pt-700c?variant=36930261745824 as my rail trail tires. Panaracer T servs in 35c. They are folding bead, reinforced but not "burly", and the tread is conducive to just about anything including rolling. They roll great and have even been on MTB trails with my then 6yo. They're nowhere near my 25c road tires, but what is while out on the open road.
 

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
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Brooklyn
I ride gutter bike paths, deteriorating paved park loops, frost-heaved bikeways, and terrifying city streets filled with cars who all want to hurt you and want others to hurt you. The 32s, I can run lower pressure (60-80#) and the 4/s' have an insert so I have surprisingly not flatted anywhere on my yet. So guess who's getting a flat tonight.
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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I ride gutter bike paths, deteriorating paved park loops, frost-heaved bikeways, and terrifying city streets filled with cars who all want to hurt you and want others to hurt you. The 32s, I can run lower pressure (60-80#) and the 4/s' have an insert so I have surprisingly not flatted anywhere on my yet. So guess who's getting a flat tonight.
some of the sections i ride are unpaved, but i'd throw the CX tires back on if i was going to do that. the paved sections i ride are overall in very good shape. at worst i'd say there are sports that are just in "good" shape. nothing that's sketch.
 

Sandwich

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May 23, 2002
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nice choice. There was just a reddit thread where people were lamenting how stupid gatorskins were, and how 4s or 5000s were a vastly superior tire, with 4000s being an arguably better one overall when you factor in road feel and rolling resistance. I have no doubt that the 4s will be a great tire for your choice, as you are likely not going to be a spandex clad loser chasing watts at every corner like some of us.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,441
I know the tires are purchased but I bought my dad a bike a year ago and it came with Maxxis Re-Fuse tires on it, I told him they would probably be crap and I'd get him some more Gators when he'd had enough of the Maxxis tires.
So far he hasn't had a puncture and said the tires feel pretty decent, not too squirmy.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
I know the tires are purchased but I bought my dad a bike a year ago and it came with Maxxis Re-Fuse tires on it, I told him they would probably be crap and I'd get him some more Gators when he'd had enough of the Maxxis tires.
So far he hasn't had a puncture and said the tires feel pretty decent, not too squirmy.
re-fuse are decent… pretty durable tire for me. Bought some in 2012 for $22 each!