My Corsa Evo CX are in a bad shape (thread nearly gone, casing of sidewall busted after a side hit and taped in for now…). My cross commuter bike is being turned back into a cross bike and I’ll commute on the road bike this fall. I’m looking for tires for that since (unless I can fit my commuter’s 28c on the roadie, but that doesn’t seem to be the case), before I put nice rubber back in spring.
I have a pair of unused Continental Ultra Sport 23c that came with the bike. That’s probably the easy option. But I can also make those into trainer tires, and get something slightly better. Recommendations (beside the “Gatorskin FTW!” predictable fall/winter advice)?
I ride PR3’s all year. Some gnarly road conditions here in NY in the winter too. At $40 on “our” other thread I don’t see any other options that are more appealing to me. ymmv
Alot of people overlook the Vittoria Zaffiro. Available in 23 and 25, you can find the wire version for $15. I’ve probably gone through 8-10 zaffiros with hardly a flat. I train in crap weather often, and when it rains there is usually glass/shards/rocks washed onto the roads here. I can run them at 105psi on rough roads/off road with no probs.
I’d be fine with some PR3s Great way to compare them with the Evo CX before my next summer buy, too (of course the PR4s will be out by then). Good idea.
GP4000S are my go-to spring/summer/fall training tire around here. Personally I wouldn’t do the PR3’s, but to each their own.
Last couple of winters I’ve used Conti GP 4Season’s, never had any problems with flats although they are painfully slow rolling. If you’ve got some cash to spend, I also like the Vittoria Open Pave (i.e. the famous green Roubaix tires), but I haven’t put one through a winter yet. They are comfy, roll ok, wear very well, but seem to pick up some cuts (without flats).
Good price for sure Any idea how they’d compare w/ the (free since I have them) Ultra Sports?
If I were you I’d at least wear out the Ultra Sports first. I think the Conti’s I used for training were Ultra 3000? Either way a VERY slow rolling tire that also seemed to wear long. I don’t keep track of mileage on my non-race tires though.
I may have flatted on them but it’s been a couple years, decent tire. Zaffiro probably a little grippier/more robust, marginally.
I love the Durano as well… I will be pulling in a big shipment of them soon at Mr. Crampys… They are the tire I would recommend and will also be training on.
I agree, but at the same time… it’s worth it to me to not have a flat when its rainy and cold out and you’re 20 miles from home. If you join a racing team (which you’ve noted you’re thinking of doing in another thread)… ESPECIALLY if you join a racing team, take extra care to have a very bombproof tire setup on team rides. There’s nothing more embarrassing than being ‘that guy’ that has a flat in the middle of a team ride. Yes, stuff happens, and everybody gets flats, but it’s common courtesy to do everything you can to prevent it
I won’t be “that guy.” Actually, I got a flat Sunday on a team ride (as did someone else), but since I didn’t have time to check it out I kept going and only realized ten miles later when I was down to ~40 psi. Oops. Does that count as good teammate behavior, at least?
Great way to compare them with the Evo CX before my next summer buy, too (of course the PR4s will be out by then). Good idea.