Hutchinson Krono Competition Gold

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Came with bike

Favorite Ride:
Any

Summary:
I know this is old, but might as well put it up in case anyone wants other Hutchinson's in the future.

This is a great tire. I'd buy it again easily. It rides as well as one my my old favourites (also discontinued), a Vittoria model.

It lasted probably about 2500-3000km max. It hasn't quite died but I worry .... well, $100 for a new pair is gonna seem like nothing next time I round a curve coming down the mountain at 60km/hr.

It's got a nice feel to the tire (good rounded profile). No particular problem with flats, had a few. Puncture resistance probably not exceptional, not bad.

I don't know why a lot of people here go on about the Conti's. Our "team", to a man, hate those things. High rolling resistance, poor puncture resistance, hard to put on the rim... The Hutchinson's are way better.

There's not much bad I can say about these things, except maybe the don't last as long as I hoped, but if it's a trade off for grip, I'll take it.

Strengths:
- Easy to put on
- low rolling resistance
- Good grip
- Very supple

Weaknesses:
- I seem to recall my other tires lasted quite a bit longer.

Similar Products Used:
Micheline Hi-Lite super comp, various Vittoria, Continental's, Specialized Turbo

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Absolute junk. One tire has a hop in it. I only used them on my rollers and was shocked at all the rubber left on the rollers. Put my Continentals on and the rollers were perfectly clean and remain so after every session.

Strengths:
None.

Weaknesses:
Pure crap. They're French.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
it is a good tire if someone just want to feel the road. it offers a great grip. the best I ever tried. the worst thing is it doesn´t seem to be durable.
seems to me that it should be used only at pro competitions. it is the kind of use and put it out.

Strengths:
the best tire for turning and fast descents.grip, lots of grip. very easy to install- a good thing if you are using aero rims.

Weaknesses:
not durable, but still better than Vittoria Techno Pro. too expensive. for the price it could last a bit longer.

Similar Products Used:
vittoria, tioga, michelin.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
Jav tri bike (race) and Schwinn Le Tour (commute)

Summary:
This is a follow up to my earlier Jan 2001 review. I still commute daily on these (700 x 23 and 700 x 20), in a college town, in addition to triathloning. I have had one flat, that was due to me overinflating to 105. Other than that, these are the stickiest, lightest, most flat resistant, reliable tires I have tried. I find that at 95 psi these tires rock.

Strengths:
light (one of Hutchinson's lighter kevlar models) ~ 200 g
sticky
flat resistant
low price
kevlar bead
the yellow looks cool

Weaknesses:
I have heard about cracking but no problems here. Somewhat hard to get tire on rim first try, but after that a piece of cake.

Overinflating past 100 increases flat probability.

Hard to find

Similar Products Used:
Conti, Mich, Vred, Vittoria, etc

Price Paid:  $40.00 at ?? mail order ??

Bike Setup:
Giant CFR-3 carbon

Summary:
I loved these when they were new - incredible handling and grip, particularly for the price which seemed cheap. But after a month they were already showing wear, and then after a winter in storage I discovered cracks in the tread, down to the casing in places. I continued to ride on them for a while. Despite my fears, the tread never chunked out or caused actual problems. Flatted a few times with them, and the casing seemed thin, especially in comparison to a Continental product -- probably what made them so light. Finally on the last flat I decided it was time to quit while I was ahead, and before a strip of tread peeled out in a corner at speed, and I went back to a Conti for durability. Yes the Conti's shed threads sometimes, but I have never had the sidewall actually fail, on the Conti's the ride is much more dampened and I suspect I can ride a lower pressure than I needed with the light Hutch setup.

Strengths:
light weight, killer sticky grip, trendy colored sidewalls

Weaknesses:
no durability - tread wore out quickly & cracked, trendy colored sidewalls

Similar Products Used:
IRC paperlights, conti supersport ultra folding