Hmmm. Big debate.

I view tires as firstly needing to be durable enough to get through the race without a flat tire. For two reasons:

1. I don't want my race interrupted by a flat. I'm there to enjoy the race, not work on my bike while I lose time.

2. The fastest tire is the one that holds air.

Those two things being my top priorities I've never been a big "gram counter" when it comes to tires. Also, as tires have gotten wider (25 is the new 23) they have gotten heavier, so we kinda have gotten a little distance from weighing a bunch of 19mm wide tubulars to see which one is 6 grams lighter.

I like Conti's. They hold tire pressure well overnight and during the race, seem to be pretty durable even in the race versions like the Attack/Force and the GP4000.

If I'm not mistaken Continental may use a tire casing construction that is less permeable- loses air slower- than some brands with a lighter casing construction. That makes a difference to me too. Inflate a Conti to 115 psi on Monday, on Tuesday it still has about 110 probably. Do that on some other brands with the light colored, more flexible cotton-based casing, and they seem to lose 30 psi overnight.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tom - you are back!

Huge! :)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I haven't ridden them yet but the Specialized Sworks Turbo Cottons are supposed to be very fast. However they are definitely race day tires, I don't think I would get a 1000 miles out of them.

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

2) If so, which tires are the best? Just a new pair of the attack/force, or supersonics or something like that?

Attack/Force are great if you expect sharp things and broken glass on the course. Supersonics if not.

Thanks for the helpful responses so far!

I did some more research and found some other things to consider:

- The attack/force I have on there have about 1150km old (according to the odometer function on my garmin)
- I've probably stretched and pulled them around a bit trying to get them on a few times (see this article from slowtwitch)
- Attack/Force are recommended by HED as the most aero combo to use for my particular wheelset.
- I've used the rear tire on the trainer, but never really for much more than an hour at a time, and only a handful of times (I hate the trainer).

Is it better to have slightly older or newer tires for a race?

At the moment, I'm leaning towards a fresh set of attack/force for racing, keeping the oldies for training.

But happy to be persuaded by compelling wisdom...

No kidding, I had to double check the date of this post.

That video link you posted was instructive.

I spent over an hour changing tubes on two 650c Attacks this week, something that would have taken 5 minutes on my 700 GP 4000s. If I raced with the Attacks and flatted, I'd consider a DNF. I'll be playing with my tyre selection until I can get something that I can consistently change in a reasonable time.

Similar tradeoffs exist with valve length. I think it's worth losing a very small marginal gain for the ability to inflate consistently and easily.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

Tom...you're talking about tubulars there in the last paragraph, right? If so, it's not the casing, it's the tube. Conti tubulars use butyl tubes and those "other" tires you mention mostly use latex tubes, and thus are not only significantly faster (for the same relative durability), but also less likely to pinch flat or puncture than tires with butyl tubes in them. Fact.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Yes, you are right that they are fast, but you're wrong about the expected mileage/durability. I got >3k miles on my first pair of them with zero flats before needing to retire the rear tire. I've found them to be a fairly durable tire. I'd easily put them in the same durability class as a GP4000S.

I ride them every day. Life is too short to ride crappy tires :-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Did a dbl take too.................be interesting how this will go

1.) Maybe. Good from a knowing what is in your tires and such stand point, less glass shrapnel and daily wear. Brand new tires may not be as fast as slightly worn tires though, and aerodynamic properties of tires change as they wear as well. Generally... I would say, just ride them a little bit in training before racing.
2.) Attack/Force is good, so are 4000s, turbo cottons, zipp speed and course aren't bad either. Not quite as fast, but cheaper and more of an 'all around' use tire, Rubino Pro Slicks are nice too.
3.) Probably very little given you already have nice tires, most of your loss would simply be flat possibility from increased usage, and potential for decreased aero properties (im not really sure how much of a difference that would make, at it certainly would depend on the tire)
4.) This is true. Running a supersonic tire would be adding a little bit of risk in terms of flat protection. Easy to make a tire faster by not every having a ton of rubbber on it, and leaving out the protective layer (they resist flexing!)
5.) Probably, no idea what it is.

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Jordan Oroshiba --- Roadie invading Triathlete space for knowledge access

Not gonna lie, I'll be running Turbo Cottons with latex tubes for the first time in Tahoe, and I'm terrified of getting a flat. They *seem* quite a bit less puncture resistant than my GP4000s's. Any idea how many minutes I'll give up over the course of an ironman if I chicken out and run gp4000s's at the last minute?

650 wheels are generally harder to change than 700, but it shouldn't take anywhere near an hour. Not sure which wheels you're using, if they're the older Zipps with aluminum rims those are really a bear in 650! With 650 wheels you want to use very thin rim tape, something like the classic Velox is a bad idea as it's very thick and will really make changing harder. Many modern rims have a deep wheel well and pushing the bead to the center all the way around the rim can help a lot, but unfortunately not all rims have this (such as the aforementioned old Zipps). Also, pop the tires in the dryer for a few minutes to get them good and warm, then stretch them out by standing on them and pulling as hard as you can, then install. Talcum powder on the inside of the tire also helps with a tough install. Usually once the tire has been inflated and on the wheel changing gets less hard, but definitely make sure you carry a good set of tire irons with 650 wheels. I don't bother using tire irons on my 700c wheels for either removing or installing but always have needed tire irons with a 650 wheel.