Vredestein Ricorso Road

Price Paid:  $0.00

Favorite Ride:
I like em' all

Bike Setup:
Pinarello Stelvio (Deda Uno)
Casati Gold Line (SPX)
Eddy Merckx Premium (Scandium)
Pegoretti Marcelo (Colombus Spirit)
Olmo Gara Pista

Summary:
Thick, Heavy, Slow, Puncture Resistant. That said, they are cheap tires that are best suited for a beater/city/bad weather rides. I've had mine for years, but only have a few hundred miles on them as they are mounted on my special occassion 'sludge' wheels. I would never place these puppies on anything where performance is a priority of any sort. but on those days when I just have got to get a ride in when it's raining, or post snow rides in the winter, I reach for my Ricorso's with confidence. I like them for the way I use them. On the other hand, I have tried them on good wheels during the season on dry days over normal roads, and they felt absolutely terrible. They felt like they had adhesive on them and they were sticking to the pavement. I nought them to serve as a winter training tire, but even for that use they were less than optimal when it is dry and the slippery factor on the road is low. There are much better choices. However, they do excell in mucky conditions. I've also tried them on the rollers and trainer, but the groves that make them so sure handling in wet conditions did not translate well to indoor training.

Strengths:
Puncture resistant to the highest degree. Great in wet conditions...about as sure handling as you can get unless you go to cyclocross tires. Inexpensive!

Weaknesses:
Heavy, soft, inefficient, energy-wasters. That said, I use them on an old steel frame. They may be just the ticket to ease the harsh ride of a jarring carbon frame. In fact, I have a scandium ride that beats me to death after 2 hours. These may be just the ticket for that ride.

Similar Products Used:
Hutchison Fusion Long Distance (good, stiff sidewalls, pleasently hard, thick tread, low rolling resistance, ugly colors strip); Conti Gatorskin (good in wet conditions, puncture resistant, smooth rolling, excellent all season training tire, but there are better choices for in-season fast rides, ugly sidewalls; Conti GP 4000s ( In my opinion these are the ultimate in-season tire. They are relatively puncture resistant, have low rolling resistance, they're light, and handle wet conditions admirably.)

Price Paid:  $15.00 at REI

Favorite Ride:
Everywhere

Bike Setup:
2000 Can. R300
2001 Trek 7500

Summary:
If someone invented a tire that could suck $15 out of your wallet into oblivion and formed it from the intestinal buildup from a lifetime of eating red meat, they would certainly call it "Ricorso".

Strengths:
You put it on your rim and fill up the tube and hey, you have a tire on your bike.

Weaknesses:
Firstly, this tire gobbled up microscopic pieces of mica like your fat little cousin inhaling the last chunk of stuffing at Thanksgiving dinner. This caused innumerable inconvenient flat tires. Secondly, after storing the bike away for winter, the rubber began deteriorating rapidly. Spaghetti-like strands of rotten rubber decorate the tire walls now and kind of look like a circular version of Nancy Sinatra's fringed boots.

Similar Products Used:
My Conti Ultra2000s are 4 years old now, have about 1500 miles on them and still outlasted these tires. The Ricorsos had maybe 200 miles tops before they became the finest landfill decoration you've ever seen.

Price Paid:  $13.00 at nashbar.com

Favorite Ride:
Must have severe climbing

Bike Setup:
Road bike 1: Bianchi Campione d'Italia; handmade in Italy, steel w/low-end Campy components & wheelset
Roadbike 2: Motobecane Le Champione SL (15.2 lbs!) w/Ritchey WCS handlbar, stem, seatpost, FSA carbon crankset, American Classic wheelset and Shim. Ultegra 10-speed drivetrain.

Summary:
very confidence inspiring. great training tire. heavy for racing, but so confidence inspiring and flat resistant that I train so many miles on this tire, it's hard to take it off and put another on, only to hope it performs as well. Interesting, after 2 years of training rides on these tires, the cornering slits on the front wore out (I corner fast and hard) and the "stickability" factor of the tires great decreased. I immediately ordered another pair.

Strengths:
great cornering, even when scree is on pavement. Very punture resistant. Can put many, many miles on this tire before having to replace.

Weaknesses:
colors not what advertised as (nothing to do with performance). after the cornering slits are worn out (smooth), the cornering performance is noticeable changed for the worse.

Similar Products Used:
Vittoria Diamante Pro-lite (puncture flat w/67 miles on tire); Hutchinson Carbon Pro-lite (3" slide wore brand-new tire down to wires/threads); Michelin Axial Pro, Hi-lite (good training tire)

Price Paid:  $24.00 at Sports Center Bicycl

Favorite Ride:
Any ride in the Houston/Pasadena/Kemah area

Bike Setup:
Road bike. Old Wolber 32-spoke rims.

Summary:
Bought these steel-beaded tires to replace old Specialized sport tires with Kevlar beads (tires must have had 1500+ miles on them, cracking and lost their lively feel). Bike shop only sold this brand, with which I was not familiar, but bought them anyway. WOW! Tires ride very nicely. Supple... NOT what I expected out of a tire sold at a price level comparable to the $14 Specialized tires I started riding with nearly 20 years ago. Haven't tested cornering, but the tires seem to grip well on dry pavement and roll easier than the tires they replaced. Very impressed so far, would like to see this tire on a set of nice wheels rather than my 15 year old beaters. I actually went "low buck" on the tires because I'm planning on having a new set of wheels made and didn't want to put "nice" tires on old wheels.

Giving a 3 for value ($24 seems a bit expensive for a steel-beaded clincher) and a 4 for overall (due to good performance).

Strengths:
Performance much better than expected for price.
Supple feel, even at higher pressures.

Weaknesses:
None noted yet--only had them a day so far.

Similar Products Used:
Never have used anything but Specialized road tires till now. Very impressed with these.

Price Paid:  $12.00 at nashbar

Favorite Ride:
Sequatchie Valley Metric

Bike Setup:
Orbea Volata, compact FSA crank, light stuff

Summary:
Great deal on a very responsive tire. I run my tires a little softer than many folks...and these are a great feeling training tire..stiff enough to roll well with good cornering characteristics. Very nice in the wet as well.

Strengths:
Rolling qualities, cornering, easy to install

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Michelin Dynami, Hi-lite, Panaracer, Specialized