Tyre Recommendation Required

Michelin Pros

I would go for conti gp4000s used them for 3 years now and only 1 flat highly recommended. Have covered over over 12000 miles as well on good and bad rds

When I started road cycling I also had a lot of flats. I figured out after a while that I was running my tyre pressures way too low. Make sure you buy a good track pump with a pressure gauge and keep them topped up around 100psi depending on your weight and manufacturers recommendations. I think when a lot of folk start road cycling it's from a mountain bike or town bike and they're just used to that softer feeling of running 40psi. I generally top up my tyre pressure every couple of days as the higher pressures tend to seep out quite quickly too.

I'm on about 4000km with mine and still no puncture, definitely recommend them!

well personally i just bought some gatorskins for my commuter bike and on day 5 of them being on i got a puncture on the way home ...

Gatorskins, just had my first puncture in just over 2400miles and that was a pinch puncture (my fault) the rear is starting to square off but still feels like there's plenty of life left in it.

Five punctures in 60KM? That is definitely not normal, even for tyres with no puncture protection.

Leaving aside the pinch flat you may have not removed the original thorn (or whatever), or have you checked your rim tape to make sure a spoke isn't puncturing your inner tube.

Anyway, onto your question. I always recommend Vrederstein Fortezz Tricomps. About £20 each from Ribble, and a nice balance of low rolling resistance and decent durability and affordability. My current rear tyre has done somewhat over 2000 miles, it looks a bit worn but it has no cuts and have never punctured in that time.

plus 0ne for the Bontrager Racelites - over 2k miles and not one puncture (touch wood!!!)

There are almost as many opinions as models of tyre.

Rolling resistance or speed (and light weight) are at the opposite end of the scale to puncture resistance, so choose where you want to rest on that spectrum. Personally I'd suggest you don't get hung up on weight, a few grammes here or there is nothing. For a little more comfort (but no disadvantages) choose wider section - 25c or more. Some examples below.

Fast, light tyres (not much P-word protection): Michelin Pro 3, Conti GP4000S, Schwalbe Ultremo.

Great compromise: Vittoria Rubino Pro*, Mich Krylion, Schwalbe Durano/Durano S.

Tougher, more protection: Conti GP 4 Seasons, Specialized All Condition Pro, Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase*.

* after 2,500+ miles on each I would recommend both of these tyres.

Have been running Conti Ultra Race for 500 miles in all weathers on mixed suraces without a single problem.

I have Conti Attack/Force - they were great to start with but the moment I found myself on a flinty road I had 2 punctures within a mile of each other, so the jury's still out.

Would be interested to know if anyone else has experience with these and how they've found them

Gator Skins and Grand Prixs, in fact probably all reasonably lightweight Continental tyres, have a reputation for weak sidewalls. Suddenly, there is a loud band, and the tyre is ruined. This is far worse than a puncture, because it requires you to improvise or carry a tyre boot, to stop the repaired inner tube from bulging out of the massive hole in the side of the tyre as soon as you pump it up again. The sidewall failures seem to happen regardless of the pressure you put into them, or whether you are riding them at the time. I can attest to this, as it is has happened to me three times, twice in my shed in the middle of the night, once out on the road. Indeed I have never worn out the tread that is in contact with the road surface on a Continental tyre, because the sidewall always went first. In contrast, I have worn Schwalbes and Vredesteins almost down to the canvas. At least that way I can see the need to replace a tyre coming, and I'm not paying for, and transporting around the place, rubber that I'll never get to use.

If you're riding on flinty roads then IMHO nothing get's close to Schwalbe Stelvio Plus's, unless maye you're using the later model Durano Plus's from the same manufacturer.
2 full winters of riding on them on small flint and gravel strewn back-roads (let's say approx 3000 miles) in Surrey, Sussex and Hants and not a puncture to be had. What you spend on the tyre you save 3x over in inner tubes.
Just be a bit circumspect when you first put them on, they take a couple of hundred k to "rough up"; until then they can be a tad "interesting" around wet corners.

My road bikes are all shod with Conti rubber - all on GP4000s tyres.

They stick like the proverbial to a blanket in all but monsoon conditions and the Vectran makes punctures a distant memory.

Worth the money and great for the confidence.

Go for the 25mm and enjoy the ride!!

I have Schwalbe Blizzards on my steel bike, they were on it when I was given it. Haven't had a puncture in the 2 months and probably 900km, it's done club rides, training rides, and a sportive in the Dales. Okay in the wet, run them at 110psi and they're pretty quick.

Your right to go for the continentals for sure, I got some Grand Prix and they haven’t had a puncture for 3 months now (After my Lugano Schwalbes would get a puncture almost every week).

Don’t know about the Gator Skins, friend said the Armadillos were really slow too.

There’s a good graph of the Continental range here:
http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/road.shtml

Gators rolled ok for me (25c wire on, at the 95psi recommended pressure) but I loathed them in the wet - slippier than a slippy thing.

I use 25c Pro Race 2 on that bike now.

FWIW, my tyre experiences in a nutshell are here;
http://monkeyphotomcr.blogspot.com/2010/08/rain-and-tyres.html