What are you using for your everyday tyres? (Assuming you’re not riding race wheels)
Continental GP5000 with latex tubes.
Continental GP5000 with latex tubes.
Depends on where you are.
Definitely not those tires in El Paso TX
What are you using for your everyday tyres? (Assuming you’re not riding race wheels)
Honestly, race tires. And it isn’t on the “race wheels”. I have an older HED disc and 9+ that I train on with the same race tires the race wheelset has installed.
I do TT, not tri, but still do it. I want to know that durability wise they can survive minor incidents. In training I may roll over a bit of gravel in a turn, forget about a pot hole, etc… Then the setup gets put to the test before it would cause anger or tears on a race day and I can understand what to expect and make changes if necessary.
Other thing is, race tires are not fastest out of the box. They’re fastest probably in the middle to last 1/3 of tire wear. So for “A” races I put some miles in on the race setup tires beforehand. We have a twice a month club TT run on a week night and I’ll use the race wheel and tire setup for that once in a while to put miles on them. Then after the A race, they get swapped over to the training wheelset until they wear out.
If someone is on a budget, no idea. As I run gp5000 on my road bike and that’s not a budget tire. Either way, even on a budget, I’d wear in the race tires 100 miles or so before the “A” race.
If I had to suggest an everyday tire with a touch more durability due to local roads or something, the gp5000 in either tubed or tubeless.
I go back and forth on this between Conti Ultra Sports and Gatorskins. Currently I’m of the opinion to train on the cheapest tires I can find.
Gatorskins:
Almost no flats
Incredibly durable
$50/tire
Ultra Sports:
Average for flats
Last a few thousand miles
$15/tire
Michelin Krylion 2 Endurance. I ride a lot of rough & debris strewn shoulders and they’re a decent compromise between the rolling resistance of GP5000 and the puncture resistance of a Gatorskin:
In winter and spring gatorskins are a decent option, tubulars with gatorskins or Conti sprinter once the roads are ok. Conti all season is a good clincher option