Hey all,
Just wondering what your thoughts are for the best race tires on a budget? I ride conti’s for training, haven’t really tried many brands as I inherited the bike, tires, etc. Thanks everybody!
best way to do this is just get some really good tires, like Vittoria EVO CX 320 tpi or Zipp Tangente. narrow up front, 23mm in the rear, with latex tubes.
then only use them when racing. They will last a long time that way, which make them effectively pretty cheap.
Thanks, a good idea.
Any other takers?
+1.
Reading elsewhere suggests that rolling resistance is the biggest issue for tires, and the Evo CX is near best. Its also pretty aero. Facts aside, I did a lot of A/B tests with training tires, and these always felt consistently faster.
I run them all the time because they ride great on bad roads, grip better than anything in the rain, and are available everywhere. That’s expensive.
Personally, I ride either Bontrager R3’s or Michelin Pro3 Race tires on my race wheels and have been very pleased with them (especially the Bontragers). Good rolling resistance, decent puncture resistance, and not a tire that will break the bank either. If you have a set of wheels that you use only for racing, then they become even more economical.
I train on what I race on…there is no training wheels or training tires.
It’s Reynolds wheels with Mich Pro 3 tires (Clinchers) with 80mm deep untralight tubes.
Just keep this thread going until Tom A. responds and go with what he says.
For what it’s worth, I ride Bontrager RaceLite and RaceXLite and like them a lot. On the forum, Jackmott’s recommended tires are the ones I hear the most praise for.
I use Conti Grand Prix Supersonic 20mm on my front tire ($40ish shipped if you shop around), and Mich Pro Race 3s on the rear (super good deal, really, much better RR than 4000GPs, and only give a handful of watts on RR to most other tires, durable enough that I’m confident in my rear. ).
Michelin Pro3 is a solid tire that you can get for around less than $40 a piece online if you find a sale.
Thanks all! And who’s Tom A.?
You’ve got to define “budget.” In a world where people say an entry-level road bike costs $2,000+ (mine is $850 for an all-105), “budget” has many many meanings.
What kind of Continental do your ride for training? If they’re $30/tire ones, then a Michelin Pro3 Race, which can be found for ~$40 (on sale here, or through ProBikeKit in the UK) should be in your budget range? I have the Corsa Evo CX 320 TPI that someone else mentioned and like them alone, but payed $69 locally, and that isn’t budget for me. I believe then and the Pro3 are quite comparable in terms of Crr, and they can also probably had cheaper with the Right Circumstances™.
Edit: a reasonably budget race upgrade is latex tubes, at about $10-$12 each (Challenge brand) versus your typical butyl at ~$5. But you’re only buying two (and pack a spare butyl if using Co2. Search if you don’t understand why.)
wait for bike pro kit website has a sale on 4000 continentals.