Road Bike Tires

[coldfusionPaul]

i've tried a bunch of different brands (panaracer, victorio, hutchison, etc.) of road bike tires but i can't seem to get more than 1500km out of any of them (going much past 1500km sees the frequency of flats go through the roof). is that normal? anyone suggest a tire brand (available in bangkok or i guess online) that might last longer or is a better value than what i'm currently using panaracer @650 baht a pop.

thanks.

[apetley]

I too use cheapo vittorio tyres which I pick up in BKK when I am there but get alot more than 1500 k's out of them. Minimum of 5000 k without many flats. I replace when the section gets too squared off.

I do swap rear with the front as it wears quicker than the front one.

How much do you weigh? If your a big guy that could increase tyre wear.

Try not to ride too close to the edge of the road as you can pick up way too much road debris there.

[coldfusionPaul]

yeah i'm a "big" guy & probably should roll 700x26 but those are impossible to find so its 700x23. though i can't see a > 3x difference attributed to weight & pretty much never get pinch flats. maybe i just have a lower tolerance for flats. how many exactly is "without many flats"? worst case pushing > 1500km is 6 flats on one 200km ride. if i start getting 1 or 2 flats on every 200km ride then i toss the tire. just changed rear tire & counted 11 slices/cuts in it that resulted in 4 flats (one a week), it ran just shy of 1560km. the only brand that i ever got more than 1500km out of was kenda but i can't find any LBS that supply them (i guess they simply last too long).

i ride the road shoulder when there is one or whatever the smoothest line is if there's not one (though usually left 1/3 of lane). i'm also keenly aware of glass, etc. i'll stop & inspect when i notice i've run through any patches (got a pair of tweezers for that) & i also inspect every water/food stop.

swapping rear with front? i was taught the opposite, newest tire on front for steering but i rarely do any swapping.

i've even tried those plastic & kelvar liners (installed by "experts") but never really worked for me--although i never got any punctures with them, those actually caused pinch flats.

[OriginalPoster]

yeah i'm a "big" guy & probably should roll 700x26 but those are impossible to find so its 700x23. though i can't see a > 3x difference attributed to weight & pretty much never get pinch flats. maybe i just have a lower tolerance for flats. how many exactly is "without many flats"? worst case pushing > 1500km is 6 flats on one 200km ride. if i start getting 1 or 2 flats on every 200km ride then i toss the tire. just changed rear tire & counted 11 slices/cuts in it that resulted in 4 flats (one a week), it ran just shy of 1560km. the only brand that i ever got more than 1500km out of was kenda but i can't find any LBS that supply them (i guess they simply last too long).

i ride the road shoulder when there is one or whatever the smoothest line is if there's not one (though usually left 1/3 of lane). i'm also keenly aware of glass, etc. i'll stop & inspect when i notice i've run through any patches (got a pair of tweezers for that) & i also inspect every water/food stop.

swapping rear with front? i was taught the opposite, newest tire on front for steering but i rarely do any swapping.

i've even tried those plastic & kelvar liners (installed by "experts") but never really worked for me--although i never got any punctures with them, those actually caused pinch flats.

The "big guy" thing might not be helping but even back when I weighed in excess of 100 kg I wasn't getting any flats riding on 700x23 tires. There's a few things that could be causing that problem, but I can't help but wonder if using 650 baht tires might be part it. The tires that I've been using this year have are Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp and Continental GP4000S and I seem to be able to get get in excess of 5000 km on the rear and more in the front out of them. Still though, when they get to end of life it's not flats that start happening - generally I retire them when either damaged by a road hazard or I observe some suspicious looking wear, bulges or delamination. Those tires cost a lot more than 650 baht but they roll well and don't cause you to get stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Edited November 10, 2010 by OriginalPoster

[coldfusionPaul]

uh i ended up at 650 baht panaracer tires. i used to run top of the line hutchison (though by & large these were pretty poor) , continental, etc tires (1k-3k baht) & got about the same mileage on them. these panaracers, besides being easy to find, seem to be a bit better value (though not as good as the impossible to find kenda tires), about 0.4 baht /km vs 0.6 baht/km. though in all honesty i was probably being overcharged for the top-of-the-line "racing" tires (like i needed racing tires ;-)

never seen Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp, where did you get them?

yes my front tires last considerably longer, it's the back ones that avg around 1500km.

where do you ride 5k & not get any flats? my long rides cover their first & last 10km in bangkok & cross several bridges (the pavement over these things is generally pathetic besides the builders not having a concept of ramps) & that's where i get the most flats except 304 into chachoengsao which is littered with metal shards & broken glass where i've shredded brand new tires (not included in my stats).

thanks.

[apetley]

I live out in the wilds just north of kanchanaburi so my riding is on some pretty quiet roads but I still have to be careful of the road debris.

This last month I have done about 1200 km's with just the one flat which I must say is the average for me. Call me lucky!

Out here in Kan there are very few 'good' cycling shops so that's the reason I usually buy my tyres in BKK when I am there. Having said that a friend told me that a shop here is selling a new kevlar tyre for 1300 bht a pop which are supposed to be bullet proof. Not sure what brand they are though.

I weigh 75-76 kg's so light on my feet which hopefully helps.

What pressure do you run your tyres at? A friend of mine had a spate of flats until he upped the pressure to at least 100 psi.

[coldfusionPaul]

i usually find less crap on the roads the further from bangkok i get.

kanchanaburi? yeah you are lucky ;-) i have to go 100km just to see hills.

i've read that all folding clincher tires have some amount of kelvar in them (else they couldn't fold??). where do you normally buy tires at in bangkok? probike? going to try to find those tricomp ones you suggested. hopefully paying double this time round will get me double the mileage.

i pump my tires up to 100-120 depending on the road conditions (less pressure when i think i'm going to be on long stretches of bad roads). though as i said, i don't get pinch flats.

[apetley]

When I go to BKK I normally go to a bike shop in Nonthaburi called 'Saeng Thong' 32/13-15 Pracharaj Road Soi 9. It's close to the UOB bank.

Not a big place but they seem to know their stuff and was recommended by a serious cyclist as being ok.

Kan has some great climbing but I still have to ride 30 km's to get to them being here in the paddy fields!

[coldfusionPaul]

nonthaburi? might as well be on the moon ;-) saenthong is a dealer/sub vendor/something or other to probike. i think there's one closer to me in lat prao somewhere.

in any case, 30km is still better than 100km

thanks.

[mr_hippo]

nonthaburi? might as well be on the moon ;-) saenthong is a dealer/sub vendor/something or other to probike. i think there's one closer to me in lat prao somewhere.

in any case, 30km is still better than 100km

thanks.

There is -Nakornthai Jakkayan between Soi 101-103 Ladprao Rd; I've been using them for years.

Edited November 11, 2010 by mr_hippo

[Atmos]

90km for me for a bike shop - Aranyaprathet on the border, two decent bike shops there; currently using Panaracers, have a pair of Michelin Speediums to fit next time, cost 580

A year on Phuket and had regular punctures for bicycle and motorcycle, they seemed to take turns, so much crap on the side of the road

7mths Sa Kaeo and two on the motorbike, not one puncture for the bike. Should I have said that (get 2 tomorrow!); no hills of note within my range, some mild inclines the best i can hope for.

In my exp, the best-wearing tyres I've ever had (I don't use a speedo so can't give figures, you'll just have to trust me) also for puncture resistance, were Specialized Armadillos even though one of the Aranyaprathet dealers sells new Specialized bikes he says they don't import their tyres.

Edited November 25, 2010 by genghis61

[OriginalPoster]

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Edited November 26, 2010 by OriginalPoster

[coldfusionPaul]

i actually rode up to ban na last saturday & bought "continental GP4000S" at rit's bike shop (give continental one last chance). figured it was easier than getting into lad prao or the city, it was certainly more fun ;-)

[ianf]

i actually rode up to ban na last saturday & bought "continental GP4000S" at rit's bike shop (give continental one last chance). figured it was easier than getting into lad prao or the city, it was certainly more fun ;-)

I'm using Continentals on one set of wheels and Bontrager on another bike, between them I've done: 1100 miles in September and 1550 miles (not kms) in October - no punctures

1220 so far this month - don't speak too soon. Roads around here are fairly mixed, some good, some bad. I think it has a lot to do with running the correct pressures - I try to ride with 100psi at all times.

[flying]

I dont know if you can get them in BK but I use Veloflex for both clinchers & tubulars.

Many years now & I get ridiculous mileage out of them. Of course this will depend also on the roads you ride & debris but they are great riding/rolling & weight wise.

[wenne]

I dont know if you can get them in BK but I use Veloflex for both clinchers & tubulars.

Many years now & I get ridiculous mileage out of them. Of course this will depend also on the roads you ride & debris but they are great riding/rolling & weight wise.

hi

used bontrager roadtyres for my trek madone as it came with them and hd puncture every 2 weeks averaged over the year.

then vittorio pro, same, then vittorio diamante , worse to maybe average 1 per week

since last year on continental 4000 GP S , bought in europe and only 2 puntcures within 6 months and 6000 km!!!

greetings from pattaya

w

[coldfusionPaul]

road bike rider mag has a section on tires this week: http://www.roadbikerider.com/#TECH seems Continental ranks up w/them.

[coldfusionPaul]

guessing that the two indentations in the continental 4000 tires are for wear this is what i got in terms of mileage:

• continental 4000 tire: 2689 km at a cost of 1600 baht which works out to 1.7 km/baht
• panaracer tires: 1500km at 650 baht, 2.3km/baht

oops ;-)

i still have one more continental which i'll roll on my rear wheel to double check but but it appears the cheaper, less long lasting panaracer tires are actually a better value. i rotated the continental to the front wheel, figure i can stretch a few more km of it.

[el jefe]

guessing that the two indentations in the continental 4000 tires are for wear this is what i got in terms of mileage:

• continental 4000 tire: 2689 km at a cost of 1600 baht which works out to 1.7 km/baht
• panaracer tires: 1500km at 650 baht, 2.3km/baht

oops ;-)

i still have one more continental which i'll roll on my rear wheel to double check but but it appears the cheaper, less long lasting panaracer tires are actually a better value. i rotated the continental to the front wheel, figure i can stretch a few more km of it.

Cost per km can't be the only consideration of value, can it?

I've occasionally used Continental GP Supersonics for hilly races. They rarely last more than 500kms after which they are too prone to punctures. If they will save me 15 seconds for the same effort on a hilly course, and I'd have to spend $2,000 for a high end wheelset to get the same savings, then the Supersonics are phenomenal value.

You could try Contl GatorHardShell (or Ultra Gatorskin, not sure of the 2011 terminology) if you want a long lasting tire. Specialized makes a similar one (used to be called the Armadillo). I've gotten 10,000 kms touring on Armadillos but you have to put up with a very harsh ride. I don't know if that's good value or not.

I regularly use both GP4000S and GP 4-Season tires. The 4-Season tires are designed for wet weather and are good for the rainy season here. I ride 700x23's and usually get 4-5000 kms on the rear tire, more on the front. You may weigh more than I do, in which case you should consider 700x25's.

Finally, I understand your rationale for rotating the tires but you're actually doing it backwards. You always want the better tire of the front. The last thing you want is to get a blowout from a worn tire while on a fast descent. The proper way to rotate tires is to throw away the rear tire when it wears out and put the used front tire on the back. Of course, if you never ride hills, this is much less of an issue.

HTH

[coldfusionPaul]

since i don't race & pretty much only ride brevets, yes cost is an important consideration for me--i go through a lot of tubes & tires during the year.

you guys must be feather light or ride on the most beautiful & debris-free roads in thailand to get 5k-10k km on a tire. me? i simply can't get that far.

and as i said before, finding 700x25 or 700x26 is almost impossible here. i know i can find 700x23 pretty much anywhere there's a half-way decent bike shop.

as far as swapping front & rear tires, see my posting above, ie. yes i know, just seeing if i can stretch some more km out of that tire.

[el jefe]

since i don't race & pretty much only ride brevets, yes cost is an important consideration for me--i go through a lot of tubes & tires during the year.

you guys must be feather light or ride on the most beautiful & debris-free roads in thailand to get 5k-10k km on a tire. me? i simply can't get that far.

and as i said before, finding 700x25 or 700x26 is almost impossible here. i know i can find 700x23 pretty much anywhere there's a half-way decent bike shop.

as far as swapping front & rear tires, see my posting above, ie. yes i know, just seeing if i can stretch some more km out of that tire.

My apologies. I obviously didn't re-read 5 months of posts on this thread.

Based on what you wrote previously, there should be no safety problem rotating the worn rear tire to the front but it might be a false economy. If, as you say, you get more punctures after 1500 kms, is it worth the risk of a puncture and the cost of a new tube by putting a worn out tire on the front?

I weigh about 65 kg and always ride 23's. I'm surprised you can't find any 25's in Bangkok. While there is a very limited selection, I always see a few in the shops in Chiang Mai. Quality road tires are expensive in Thailand and I always bring back a new pair from the US every time I visit.

You should come up to CM and ride here. I know I jinx myself every time I say how few punctures I get. I had gone about 18,000 kms without one on my road bikes before i punctured last week.

I'm a PBP veteran. Where are you finding brevets to do anywhere in SE Asia?

[fdimike]

I'm using Schwalbe Extremes on my MTB. The tread allows me good traction on both paved and unpaved roads and flats are now a thing of the past primarily due to a high tech ultra tight weave Kevlar belt with ceramic coated fibers. Schwalbe makes all kinds of bicycle tires some of which are now available here in Thailand. You can read all about them here: www.schwalbe.com

[coldfusionPaul]

@el jefe geez, it's only like a dozen posts ;-)

yeah after 1500km w/the panaracers start to get flats like crazy. don't have enough stats (just some past experiences which i didn't pay much attention to) for the continentals. front tires i get 5k-7k even on panaracers (last one was on so long the tire & tube kind of melded together). so, no idea if its false economy or not. but i'll know soon enough.

so far 25/26 are almost impossible to find in bangkok. bike shops here, even probike, simply don't stock much consumables. choice also appears to be a dumb idea to them. world bike (giant) staff flat out told me it was basically my responsibility to keep my own stock of tires & tubes (we have long since parted company). i suppose i could order online but that needs advance planning ;-) and increases the hassle & lowers the value to me.

i've been fairly lucky w/a couple of small shops in bangkok (pk gallery near my house in suan siam, who has moved btw to ram indra 74), ban na (rit's, who has a surprisingly well stocked bike shop for the "middle of no where") & prachinburi (forget the name but on the way out of the city to khao ito, also very well stocked). but even these have run dry at inconvenient times.

nothing brings me to chiang mai these days. i get up to korat 5-6 times a year for work where i get to bomb around wang nam khieo & khao yai for a week at a time ;-)

sorry no, not official "brevets" (i don't know of any here). i suppose i should have called it brevet "style" or better yet randoneé as its more "rambling" & not at all "organized". mostly 200km round trips aiming at 22.5km/hr avg speed. i haven't pushed to the 300km mark mostly because i don't like riding in the dark (90% of these rides start & end in bangkok).

[coldfusionPaul]

final bit of stats: i got a bit more than 1k more on the front tire (rotated from the rear at 2500km), so lets call that 3500km. unfortunately i only got that much on the new continental GP4000 i put on the rear. my conclusion is that these continentals are a bad value for where i ride (though might be a bit a of a fluke considering we didn't have a very dry, dry season this year). oh well.