Time to renew

[LordHaveMurci]

I'm assuming this needs replacing? they are prone to punctures anyway.

Currently 23's, thinking of replacing with 25, rear only for now, would that be Ok? And what's the current general use tyre of choice, still the Conti GP4S?

[itsnotarace]

Yes that's had it

25 will be fine, 28 will offer more comfort if your frame has clearance. No problem running different size front to rear but you may find cornering a bit sketchy if the rear has more grip than the front and you lean hard into a corner in the wet

And yes Conti still make good tyres

[jimmy156]

Bit of a thread heist...How long are tyres expected to last on road bikes?

When i was a kid the rear tyre would last a summer max, because I was doing awesome skids every time i needed to stop.

After that I only really rode dirt jumps and the odd skate part, so never really replaced the tyres on my old DMR sidekick!

[itsnotarace]

Generally I would expect between 3000 to 6000 miles for road tyres pumped to correct pressure, rear tyre will wear faster

Doing skids will massively increase wear rate

[Hard-Drive]

I've just gone from 23's running 110psi on my old bike to 28's running 80psi on my new bike. Granted the new geometry is slightly less focused, but the difference in comfort is enormous. Much better on less than perfect tarmac, way less scary if I hit a bit of gravel, and it just feel like there is more grip in the corners too. Not ridden in the wet yet but that's bound to be nicer, and somewhat counter intuitively they just seem to roll faster...probably because they are not getting stopped by every crack and imperfection in the road and just roll over it. No way would I go back to thin tyres now.

[LordHaveMurci]

Thanks all, no idea if I have clearance for a 28 so have played safe & gone with 25 - hopefully still an improvement over the Vittoria 23 it came with & can only be better puncture resistance!

[David_M]

After riding 23mm tyres for years I swapped to 25mm (both ends) and the difference in comfort etc was much bigger than I would have thought 2mm could be.

That said, I don't think that there is any appreciable difference in grip, handling etc on the road and therefore no issue at all with 25mm on the back only won't be an issue and you can always swap the front to 25mm when it wears out.

[LordHaveMurci]

Fitted the new tyre today & had a short ride to check it out, may be placebo affect but it seems to roll a little faster & be slightly more comfortable, set pressure at 85-90psi on rear.

Will probably replace the front at some point to match.