Freedom ThickSlick Sport Tyre

Smoother than a porn star's bits, Freedom ThickSlick Sport looks almost identical to the ThickSlick Elites reviewed recently but saves 80g and £20 (pr) over their urban siblings. Admittedly, you lose the Kevlar belt and sidewalls but put through the same paces, ours seemed friskier, just as impenetrable with more refinement to boot.

465g could never be described as light, especially by road standards but then it's pretty reasonable given the density of their casings. Wire beads add to the bulk but keep the costs favourable for winter hacks/daily drivers and getting them aboard the rims couldn't be simpler since there's no directional arrow to follow and the beads don't creep away from the rim like some folding types when you're seating the final sections. Sensible 25 and 28mm widths extend their horizons to Audax and weekend touring, although devotees of the tyre drive dynamo should opt for the urban versions.

The most challenging part of the Sport's installation was locating the recommended pressures-they are stamped on the sidewalls but in the smallest print imaginable. I am a wallop up to maximum and bowl along gracefully sort of chap but they'll entertain 25psi variations should you like to experiment or want a little more contact with terra firma when things turn picturesque. Manners are impeccable, combining speed and traction by the bucket-load. Bowling along the lanes and tackling the climbs, their improved zest and comfort wasn't the stuff of 10 mile TTs but perfect for long, steady miles and sufficiently brisk for winter training.

Greater comfort was only discernable after 20 miles or so but directly attributable in my view to the omission of the otherwise welcome Kevlar. Merciless, I thundered through the towns, collecting as much grit, glass and similar debris as the casings could handle without so much as a nick, let alone hiss and this was equally true of rural lanes littered with cuttings from freshly pruned hedgerows. Passage across manhole covers and similar ironworks, if not leach-like proved more predictable too, although I remained vigilant for the obvious reasons.

Verdict

Bargain tyres for winter training and general road duties.