Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps are quite "loose"...

They roll really nicely, seem to hold up to some pretty high mileage, and corner well. Really I haven't been able to find a fault with them. For road/tri bike clinchers, they're my go-to tyre.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comps are great but you can't get them in 650c. In fact, you don't have too much selection anymore in 650c. I am currently using Vittoria Corsa EVO CX and they are great. You can pick them up at any of the online vendors.

Other 650 clinchers: Michelin and Continental make some. I haven't used either. They're probably fine too, and maybe less expensive than the Vittoria.

BrokenSpoke

I'd try and work a two for one deal on this one.

Have a look at this chart:
http://www.biketechreview.com/...ire_testing_rev9.pdf

Pick a tire that's near the top. Make sure it's a folding tire (not a steel bead). That'll get you some free speed.

In my experience the Vittoria tires are pretty loose and should work well.

Also, it would be worth having your technique looked at by a pro. Working in a shop I've taught plenty of people how to change a tire. And, even having worked in a shop off and on most of my life I figured out a small change that allows me to change almost any tire w/o a tire lever. I consider it an insult when someone hands me one now :)

So, get some new tires, make sure they're fast and have someone make sure you're doing it right. Even the best tire is hard to mount if you're doing it wrong.

Good luck!

That's funny - I could have sworn I had tricomps on my tri bike, but I just looked and they're the "regular" Fortezza's. I must have had the tricomps on my roadie. Still, the "regular" Fortezza is a great tyre - easy to mount, rolls nicely, corners well, and even though it's marketed as a "dry weather tyre" I've run them in lots of rain, cornering harder than most triathletes ever do, and they've held well. They seem pretty long wearing, as well...

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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I'm in the same boat as you, except that I have zipp 808s, 700cc clinchers. I can tell you that Michelin Pro3s are a huge PITA, and my vittoria rubino's were also really difficult. It took both me and my fiance working together to get the tire back on- I can't even imagine having to do that on the road or in a race!

a couple notes -

1. difficulty changing tires also has to do with the rim. some rim beds are simply more difficult to get tires on. it's super easy to get tires on xero wheels, whereas it's hell getting anything onto a shimano tiagra wheelset!

2. perhaps instead of working towards changing a flat, you should bring vittoria pitstop along with you during your race(s)? some people have had great experiences with it, others not so great, but ultimately you might as well bring one along with you + your regular tools for changing a flat. if it works great! if not, you've only wasted 1 minute or so :)

that having been said, my favourite tire for triathlons is vittoria's open corsa evo cx ... but it doesn't look like i can find any in 650c X 23mm in any online shops.

my second favourite tyre manufacturer is continental. i use conti gatorskins for training purposes half the time (the other half, i use vittoria rubino pros). note that i haven't used continental's triathlon tire, but it might be worth giving it a try if others in this thread agree.

probikekit is currently selling it for $43. that's likely a lot less than you'll pay anywhere else (msrp is $65 US!!). additionally, probikekit has a 10% off coupon - USA10 if you live in the US, or CAN10 if you live in canada - so a pair of tires will be less than $80. pbk does not charge shipping. it will take about 3 weeks for an order to reach you in north america.

hopefully this post helps a bit! good luck in your races this summer :)

I actually have Vittoria Rubinos (I'm not sure if they are the Pros or not) on the stock wheels on my Cervelo which I ride on 3-4 times per week and I love them. I already went through one pair in a season and I'm on my 2nd pair. Maybe I will just go with those for my Zipps rather than something like Continentals. They are ridiculously expensive though! But if I can change them, I don't care!

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IM Coeur D'Alene 2011
IM Wisconsin 2011
http://alexaharding.blogspot.com

Contis are often a tight fit although I'm happy with my 4000s tires.

Go up a few models though and get the EVOs or something if you're going to get Vittorias. There's a lot of free speed to be had there.

vittoria rubino pros are on sale for $22 on ribblecycles.co.uk.

shipping = ~$7.

expect it to take about ~4 weeks to arrive by mail (i just got mine yesterday - ordered them on march 23rd).

i would suggest getting something race-specific for your racing, though! the rubino pros really are training-specific tires (and possibly the best training tires in terms of bang-for-the-buck @ $22).

Yes perhaps I will upgrade to a racing model for my racing wheels.. makes sense!

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IM Coeur D'Alene 2011
IM Wisconsin 2011
http://alexaharding.blogspot.com