My Morning Commute

[dkel]

@GB 119579 wrote:

Gator skins FTW. I’m not sure what you consider premature, but have 3k miles on my gator skins and I’m very happy with their overall performance.

And I probably have 4000 on my Continental Contact tires. I’ve almost worn the tread completely off those, and they’re still going great.

[jabberwocky]

@GB 119579 wrote:

Gator skins FTW. I’m not sure what you consider premature, but have 3k miles on my gator skins and I’m very happy with their overall performance.

I’d be happy to get over 2k miles on them. Thus far no contis have made it that far. I used to run Pro3s and get a consistent 2k out of them (the tread would wear out). The contis seem to have a better tread (the 3 that died had plenty of tread left) so its frustrating to have to toss them because the sidewall couldn’t hack life anymore. :p

This is on a carbon road bike, so I’m generally looking for 23mm roadie tires which do tend to not be super long lived. Gator skins are, I’m sure, very durable. They are also heavy and slow.

@hozn 119582 wrote:

Yeah, I’ve heard people complain about Conti sidewalls. I did have one GP 4 Seasons sidewall blow out just a few hundred miles in, but since then have never had a Conti sidewall issue (probably 8-10 tires or so). I’ve perhaps just been lucky. I’ve ridden a fair bit of gravel on my GP4000S tires and my sidewalls on the road bike are pretty sliced up (e.g. casing threads showing), but no blowouts.

I already put in an order for a pair of Michelin Pro4s. The remaining conti (the current front) will go up on the wall as a backup tire. I always liked the pro3s; the only reason I switched off was I was seeing if I could get longer life out of a different tire. To be fair, the contis do seem to be a lot more durable in the tread wear category, but that doesn’t help when the sidewalls are going at 1000 miles. I didn’t think they gripped as well or rode as nice as the pro3s I used to run did either. Oh well.

[hozn]

@jabberwocky 119591 wrote:

Gator skins are, I’m sure, very durable. They are also heavy and slow.

Yeah, they really are pretty wooden tires. Tires make more difference in ride quality than most other aspects of a [road] bike; I know I could ride much cheaper (sub-$50) tires, but life is really too short for that. And Gatorskins really don’t grip well. In general, I have found GP4000S to grip nicely, though they don’t feel sticky like the Duranos (or these Ones). I did slide out going down Sugarloaf a couple weeks ago on the Contis, though, couldn’t attribute it to anything specific so I think they may have a little less grip than I thought.

I already put in an order for a pair of Michelin Pro4s. The remaining conti (the current front) will go up on the wall as a backup tire. I always liked the pro3s; the only reason I switched off was I was seeing if I could get longer life out of a different tire. To be fair, the contis do seem to be a lot more durable in the tread wear category, but that doesn’t help when the sidewalls are going at 1000 miles. I didn’t think they gripped as well or rode as nice as the pro3s I used to run did either. Oh well.

Good to know about the Michelin Pro* tires being faster/grippier. I have also heard they wear fast. I get around 2k miles on my Contis (rear tire, front probably more like 3500-4000) so not exactly a very long-lasting tire. Maybe running slightly lower pressures (used to run 100/110 psi on my 25mm tires, lately running 90/100 sometimes lower) has helped me avoid sidewall issues? Maybe just lucky. No idea.

[jabberwocky]

@hozn 119594 wrote:

Yeah, they really are pretty wooden tires. Tires make more difference in ride quality than most other aspects of a [road] bike; I know I could ride much cheaper (sub-$50) tires, but life is really too short for that. And Gatorskins really don’t grip well. In general, I have found GP4000S to grip nicely, though they don’t feel sticky like the Duranos (or these Ones). I did slide out going down Sugarloaf a couple weeks ago on the Contis, though, couldn’t attribute it to anything specific so I think they may have a little less grip than I thought.

I did notice the reduced traction when I switched to the contis. I never went down but there were a few times in those initial weeks where the bike would get squirrelly in corners I knew the Pro3s would have held fine.

I totally agree about life being too short for cheap tires. That said, while I’d love to give Schwalbes offerings a shot, those things are rather pricy…

@hozn 119594 wrote:

Good to know about the Michelin Pro* tires being faster/grippier. I have also heard they wear fast. I get around 2k miles on my Contis (rear tire, front probably more like 3500-4000) so not exactly a very long-lasting tire. Maybe running slightly lower pressures (used to run 100/110 psi on my 25mm tires, lately running 90/100 sometimes lower) has helped me avoid sidewall issues? Maybe just lucky. No idea.

When I lost the first conti to a sidewall going, I chalked it up to luck (was on the shoulder and something small did kick up and hit it). The second was annoying and the third was the last straw. It could just be bad luck, but its not like good alternatives don’t exist in that pricepoint, and I wasn’t that enamored with them anyway.

I went through two sets of the Pro3s on the roadie when I built it. I got almost exactly 2k miles out of both sets. No sidewall/flat issues, they would just go until the tread was basically gone and Id start seeing casing.

[Terpfan]

@GovernorSilver 119568 wrote:

Wow, that sucks.

I’ll stop complaining about how my bell broke after just two months of owning this bike, bought new.

I find your issue more interesting though as I’ve definitely never heard of a bell breaking. Good thing though maybe because you’re using it a lot?

The downside to my bolt breaking was the wedge fell out and apparently size 31 wedges are like four-leafed clovers. Alas, I just did a whole new seatpost to avoid the issue of putting a wedge that’s not meant to be in that spot (only like $30 total, so not too bad).

[Terpfan]

@GB 119579 wrote:

Gator skins FTW. I’m not sure what you consider premature, but have 3k miles on my gator skins and I’m very happy with their overall performance.

Ditto on experiences with gators. Heavier, but they work well.

[americancyclo]

@hozn 119582 wrote:

I’ve ridden a fair bit of gravel on my GP4000S tires and my sidewalls on the road bike are pretty sliced up (e.g. casing threads showing), but no blowouts.

I would not recommend … Clement Strada; that blew up riding over a piece of gravel on the trail and then flatted for another reason a few hundred yards later.

According to Strava, I got about 5600 miles out of my last Conti GP 4000S tire. The Clement Strada were about half the price of the GP4000 when I bought them and now are at 2700 and look like this:
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9057&stc=1[/IMG]

[GovernorSilver]

This morning was pretty good. I took the more scenic option of the MVT through Old Town Alexandria and just enjoyed the view at a relaxed pace. My bell was busted on Sunday’s ride, so I replaced it with an Incredibell, which at just under $10 is quite an upgrade. Unlike the bell that came stock on my bike, it doesn’t “self-ring” when the bike bounces a bit.

I learned why nobody rides near the Capitol Reflecting Pool – it’s not sidewalk, it’s sand/gravel. My bike could deal with it, but I won’t ride there again.

A motorist waiting behind me at a traffic light on N. Capitol St. honked at me, then may or may not have shot a glare at me through his sunglasses as he changed to the left lane, passed me, and changed back to my lane, in front of me. Just part of the sights and sounds of the city.

Overall, a good fun ride to warm up mind and body for work.

[vvill]

I use Gatorskins as training/commuting tires only nowadays (i.e. often don’t use them on longer weekend rides), but even then I’m not planning to ever buy another. Wear is okay, but feel isn’t great and more importantly – wet weather performance sucks.

I like the Durano – it’s my main front tire (throughout the year). I use cheaper tires on the rear since they wear faster and grip isn’t quite as important.

I had the same experience with Hutchinson tires. I actually really liked the Fusion 3s I had (clinchers) in terms of feel but they did wear fast. If I raced maybe they’d be a race day tire.

So far so good with my Clement Strada (28mm) – I’ve been pretty happy with the durability so far actually. I also have a pair of the 28mm LIT tires by Velo Portland ready to try once we go back into dark/winter riding.

[GB]

@vvill 11961 wrote:

I use cheaper tires on the rear since they wear faster

Fast wearing seems like an odd requirement, but to each their own.

This blowout talk has made me wonder if I should rotate my front tire to the back, retire the back as a spare and put on a fresh front tire. Does anyone do this?

[trailrunner]

@GB 119613 wrote:

This blowout talk has made me wonder if I should rotate my front tire to the back, retire the back as a spare and put on a fresh front tire. Does anyone do this?

If I’m only replacing one tire, this is what I do.

[Crickey7]

I’ll do it sometimes, though more often I’ll just replace the back twice as often, roughly. And always Continentals.

[hozn]

@jabberwocky 119600 wrote:

I totally agree about life being too short for cheap tires. That said, while I’d love to give Schwalbes offerings a shot, those things are rather pricy…

Oh, not too bad. $55/tire for the tubeless from AEBike. My Duranos were $35/tire.

[Vicegrip]

I get about 1000 out of the rear before it goes square and starts to be prone to flats. Front to back and new front or swap them both when I score a good sale. Have found the Pro 4 service course for $32 free ship from the UK sellers now and then and stock up.

[Emm]

This morning a wasp flew into my sports bra. In case you were wondering…HOLY F*$K that hurts. And of course it had to happen in a crowded part of Del Ray with people ahead and behind me on the sidewalks and in cars, so pulling my shirt up to free the wasp wasn’t a good option. By the time I pulled over and got the wasp out it stung me 3-4 times. The next mile on my bike was miserable.

Luckily, outside of a brief period of intense pain and some swelling and redness which is already mostly gone, I don’t react too strongly to bee or wasp stings. Which is good, since I seem to get stung weekly…

[Author]

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