Changing tyres - frequency/mileage

[E65Ross]

I know that to a certain extent this is like asking how long a piece of string is....but I'm curious as to how many miles I should get out of a set of vredstein fortezza tricomp tyres. I'm only around 53kgs at the moment so not a heavy rider which should help.

obviously as the miles rack up the puncture resistance declines and, in the past, I've been fed up with getting numerous punctures in quick succession so ideally I'd like to replace the tyres before punctures occur (which are more due to worn tyres rather than the inevitable punctures if you run over glass etc!).

Noq, various tyres will have different durability but roughly what can I expect out of the tricomp tyres? 1500 miles? 2000?

Over winter I'm going to use some Schwalbe Durano Plus Performance Rigid Road Tyres which, I believe, should go on for a fair bit longer before needing to be replaced when compared to the more racy tricomp.

Thanks in advance

[Jimbo.]

From memory of running the Tricomps myself, I think I got about 2000 miles out of one before it got a bit thin. And a few hundred before the sidewall failed on the other!

Edited by Jimbo. on Saturday 27th June 22:07

[E65Ross]

Jimbo. said:

From memory of running the Tricomps myself, I think I got about 2000 miles out of one before it got a bit thin. And a few hundred before the sidewall failed on the other!

Edited by Jimbo. on Saturday 27th June 22:07

Thanks. Interestingly, the sidewalls on the ones I'm running now do appear to be "cracking" a bit. They've done around 850 miles. I have a big Sportive coming up at the end of July and I'll change them just before then.... It's only 72 miles but I'm doing it for charity and would rather avoid punctures if I can!

Are there any other all-round tyres with half decent puncture protection and low rolling resistance I should consider? I'll be running old wheels and the durano tyres from around November so they'll be a summer tyre but do still want some puncture protection as I use the bike for commuting etc and hate sorting punctures out roadside!

What about the Continental Grand Prix 4000S 2?

Thanks

Edited by E65Ross on Saturday 27th June 22:17

[Jimbo.]

E65Ross said:

Thanks. Interestingly, the sidewalls on the ones I'm running now do appear to be "cracking" a bit. They've done around 850 miles. I have a big Sportive coming up at the end of July and I'll change them just before then.... It's only 72 miles but I'm doing it for charity and would rather avoid punctures if I can!

Are there any other all-round tyres with half decent puncture protection and low rolling resistance I should consider? I'll be running old wheels and the durano tyres from around November so they'll be a summer tyre but do still want some puncture protection as I use the bike for commuting etc and hate sorting punctures out roadside!

Thanks

With mine the sidewall just developed a bloody great bulge without the assistance of any potholes. Most annoying.

If they've done 850-odd and they're not falling to bits or cut to ribbons, save yer money. If you do feel the urge to spend, then the current crop of Michelin Pro 4s are the dogs dangly bits. The Endurance model sounds like it'll fit your requirements.

[gazza285]

I have no idea what your roads are like, but I ride a lot in West Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire and punctures are few and far between. I replace tyres when the canvas is showing.

[JEA1K]

Probably did 3500 - 4000 miles on a set of GP4000's last year. Swapped fronts to back a few times as the rear tends to run square and they'll still be fine for a few miles yet. The tyre will be quite a bit thinner around the centre so of course puncture protection will be less than a new tyre.

If you're tyres are showing wear at 850 miles then you need to stop lighting-up the rear tyre under acceleration;)

[E65Ross]

JEA1K said:

Probably did 3500 - 4000 miles on a set of GP4000's last year. Swapped fronts to back a few times as the rear tends to run square and they'll still be fine for a few miles yet. The tyre will be quite a bit thinner around the centre so of course puncture protection will be less than a new tyre.

If you're tyres are showing wear at 850 miles then you need to stop lighting-up the rear tyre under acceleration;)

Cheers.

They aren't really showing wear, I was just wondering whether to change them first. I'm doing around 150-175 miles per week at the moment so come time for my event they'd have done around 1500-1600 miles or so....

[E65Ross]

Jimbo. said:

With mine the sidewall just developed a bloody great bulge without the assistance of any potholes. Most annoying.

If they've done 850-odd and they're not falling to bits or cut to ribbons, save yer money. If you do feel the urge to spend, then the current crop of Michelin Pro 4s are the dogs dangly bits. The Endurance model sounds like it'll fit your requirements.

Having a look at the 4s models it's probably the "service course V2" that I'm after. They aren't cheap, mind. The fortezza sensos (replacements for tricomps) are around 40% off on wiggle at the moment!

I think I'll try the Conti 4000S II's or the Michelin Pro4s SC V2 tyres next, but not sure which!

Edited by E65Ross on Sunday 28th June 11:04

[Jimbo.]

E65Ross said:

Having a look at the 4s models it's probably the "service course V2" that I'm after. They aren't cheap, mind. The fortezza sensos (replacements for tricomps) are around 40% off on wiggle at the moment!

I think I'll try the Conti 4000S II's or the Michelin Pro4s SC V2 tyres next, but not sure which!

Edited by E65Ross on Sunday 28th June 11:04

The V2 as only recently been launched, which means there's still plenty of "V1" Pro 4s available on eBay, even if Wiggle, CRC etc are out. The normal Service Course can be had for about £26ish, the Endurance a touch more. Beyond a bit of marketing, claims of marginally more puncture resistance (don't they all?) and a slightly different shape, there's shag-all difference between the V1 and the V2, and certainly not enough to justify an extra £10+ per tyre whilst I can!

[E65Ross]

Jimbo. said:

The V2 as only recently been launched, which means there's still plenty of "V1" Pro 4s available on eBay, even if Wiggle, CRC etc are out. The normal Service Course can be had for about £26ish, the Endurance a touch more. Beyond a bit of marketing, claims of marginally more puncture resistance (don't they all?) and a slightly different shape, there's shag-all difference between the V1 and the V2, and certainly not enough to justify an extra £10+ per tyre whilst I can!

Many thanks. I have just read this

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-...

and it looks like it offers a good blend of good rolling resistance and puncture protection. It would be great if they did a durability test too but I think these are what I'm after. the 4000S tyres being better on rolling resistance but not quite what I'm after for puncture protection. I don't need something like the duranos for the summer, as I'm after something a bit faster but still want some half decent puncture protection.

Many thanks

[SixPotBelly]

I've been running 4000SIIs since the end of April, or about 1,500km. Apart from when I ran over a huge unsighted rock on a group ride I haven't punctured. I only run them at 80-85PSI too, though they are the gargantuan 28mms that actually measure 30mm. And it helps that I'm only 64kg, but then you're even lighter.

I tend to ride country back roads and lanes, which are often strewn with gravel, flints and pot holes. They feel so soft and grippy though that I expect they'll wear faster than the 4 Seasons I have on my winter wheelset. But so far so good.

[E65Ross]

SixPotBelly said:

I've been running 4000SIIs since the end of April, or about 1,500km. Apart from when I ran over a huge unsighted rock on a group ride I haven't punctured. I only run them at 80-85PSI too, though they are the gargantuan 28mms that actually measure 30mm. And it helps that I'm only 64kg, but then you're even lighter.

I tend to ride country back roads and lanes, which are often strewn with gravel, flints and pot holes. They feel so soft and grippy though that I expect they'll wear faster than the 4 Seasons I have on my winter wheelset. But so far so good.

Ideally I'm after a 25C tyre which seem to be unavailable for the Pro4 SC V1's. Wiggle sell the V2s at almost £38 each but I have a friend there so I can get a trade price....no idea what that will be but I should find out tomorrow. I'd have thought under £30 so I'll probably opt for them.

Regards to the winter tyres.....the Durano range....they have the durano double defence, the durano performance plus and the durano race guard dual compound. It's my understanding the race guard is the least puncture resistant of the 2....but I'm not sure about the others? It seems the durano performance plus is very hard to get hold of, especially in a 25C, so may have to opt for the double defence. I'm not fussed about speed in the winter, it's just about getting the miles in, with decent grip if possible with maximum puncture resistance.

Thanks

edit - found on the Schwalbe website the double defence doesn't offer as much puncture protection as the durano plus performance....so the latter is what I want. trouble is, no-one has a 25C in stock. Should I just get a 23C....or will there be a noticeable benefit to running a 25C (if I can ever find one!)

Edited by E65Ross on Sunday 28th June 16:24

[rdjohn]

Can anyone offer a view about age?

I will probably do about 2000km over the 7 summer months and was planning to visit LBS next Spring and just have new tyres and tubes fitted. The tyres are Felt's own and so I guess at budget end.

Does that make sense, or should I store the bike over winter with lower pressures and run them till I start getting punctures?

[Silver940]

rdjohn said:

Can anyone offer a view about age?

I will probably do about 2000km over the 7 summer months and was planning to visit LBS next Spring and just have new tyres and tubes fitted. The tyres are Felt's own and so I guess at budget end.

Does that make sense, or should I store the bike over winter with lower pressures and run them till I start getting punctures?

The Felt tyres on my Roadie lasted 350 miles on the front as it got a big cut. Rear lasted about 3 k miles when it de laminated. Changed to Gp4000s II tyres, 25mm. Front lasted 7k miles ( Sidewall failed ) and rear 3.5k ( worn through )

However the ride and roll on the GP4000s tyres was much much better than the OEM Felt tyres.

[Schmy]

In my experience OEM tyres typically last 6-7 minutes, the time it takes to remove and bin them.

[Andy JB]

FWIW I have used Durano's and they were useless lots of punctures & eventually pinched double flats over a moderate pothole with correct pressures <100 miles.

I do use GP 4000 which have been excellent without any punctures 23 sections lots of rough lanes etc. Have noticed after a year some sidewall crazing which is disturbing in view of age mileage and cost, otherwsise highly recommended.

As for mileage age - depends on so many factors - I've had tyres last 10 years & some 10 days kept in varying conditions - price not always an indicator either.

[murray]

I use Michelin Pro 4 endurance on all my road bikes, can't fault them. Decathlon have them at £15.99 in a 23 which is an absolute steal.