[imetis]

My Vittoria Diamante Pro Light tires have several slices and holes in them with less than 500 miles. Apparantly I should have saved them for race days These are the stock tires on my Le Champion SL, so having such a light bike I don't really want to add bricks to the wheels, but I need something that can hold up to every day training on normal roads. I'm amazed at how thin these tires are, even on the contact patch.

Is there a tire that is both light enough for race days and durable enough for training? I'm wondering if I should be having the same thoughts about wheelset before I destroy the beautiful CR-420s.

If you had to choose one tire to stay on for both training and races, what would it be? (Conti grand prix 4000?)
What's the best race only tire? (probably what I had, light and grippy, but need to replace every other race)
What's the best training tire? (big treaded wire beads, so that the race tires feel better

 

[Noël1]

My Vittoria Diamante Pro Light tires have several slices and holes in them with less than 500 miles. QUOTE]

I worn those tires some where around 500 miles too. Tried other light tires too before i settled for this set up. Specialized All Condition 700x23 (210grams). A lite tube 60-70grams. Mr. Tuffy liner http://www.mrtuffy.com/stopflats.htm the orange one. 60 grams (per tire I think). It's still healthy after 2000 miles and only 1 flat. I have a tendency to flat 2-3 times a week. My one flat was a thorn that barely made through Mr. Tuffy.

 

[Thorn Bait]

Continental GP 4000, and Michelin carbons have been good for me.

 

[bigbill]

I have had good luck with the specialized tires. Specialized has a new tire out this year called the Armadillo Elite. Alot of guys are racing on them this year and have nothing but good things to say about them. I find that Vredenstein TriComps are excellent tires for flat resistance and rideability. The biggest hazards here in Hawaii are glass and thorns. Alot of tires can handle glass in the tread, but a thorn pretty much has your name on it.

 

[rruff]

Is there a tire that is both light enough for race days and durable enough for training? I'm wondering if I should be having the same thoughts about wheelset before I destroy the beautiful CR-420s.

You are on the right track. Get some cheap wheels and tires for training, and keep what you have for racing only. With tires what you really care about is rolling resistance for best performance... for wheels you want aero, so you have a good racing set.

The fastest tires aren't very durable, and the most durable are not fast. Armadillos seem to be tough... and slow; Michelin Carbons are in the middle; the Vittorias like you have are about the fastest.

 

[Clark]

I have had very good results with Conti grand prix 3000. I have tried the 4000 yet. I am not sure where you guys are riding that you get 2-3 flats a week. I put on 2200 miles last year and only had one flat and that wasn't due to any material going through the tire, it was on the tube at the valve stem area. Maybe you should look at how much air pressure you are running in your tires that could be a problem...

 

[imetis]

The vittoria diamante pro light calls for 130-160psi. With the tires that hard it doesn't take much to slice them. At 205# I inflated toward the top of that, with 140 front and 150 rear.

My fixed gear (last year only road bike, was geared) has vittoria zaffiro tires inflated to 100 front 110 rear, and I've had no flats on those putting in about 200 miles a week.

There seems to be an unusually high amount of broken glass around this spring. Not sure why...

 

[Kerry Irons]

Too much pressure

The vittoria diamante pro light calls for 130-160psi. With the tires that hard it doesn't take much to slice them. At 205# I inflated toward the top of that, with 140 front and 150 rear.

My fixed gear (last year only road bike, was geared) has vittoria zaffiro tires inflated to 100 front 110 rear, and I've had no flats on those putting in about 200 miles a week.

There seems to be an unusually high amount of broken glass around this spring. Not sure why...

You are running WAY too much pressure. The standard rule is 100-110 psi, maybe 120. If you get pinch flats at these pressures, then you need wider tires. Running at such high pressures will result in more flats, faster wear, less comfort, and poor handling. Other than that, it's fine

 

[imetis]

That's what I thought too, but most tires have the recommended pressure in that 100-110 range. Since this one was higher, I figured there was a reason. Interestingly, the Diamante Pro (not light) version calls for lower pressures in the normal road range.

At those higher pressures handling and ride quality was the best I've ever felt. I've also never seen tires as paper thin as these. so maybe being so thin and soft they require higher pressure?

 

[Noël1]

I have had very good results with Conti grand prix 3000. I have tried the 4000 yet. I am not sure where you guys are riding that you get 2-3 flats a week. I put on 2200 miles last year and only had one flat and that wasn't due to any material going through the tire, it was on the tube at the valve stem area. Maybe you should look at how much air pressure you are running in your tires that could be a problem...

i ride in the Boulder/Denver area. 99% of the punctures occurs in the Denver canal bike path area where there's lots of broken glasses. I park my bike in my office and I'm looking at my tires right now and just pulled a couple of glasses. My tires are set at 100psi and I weigh 150 lbs. I tell you, Mr. Tuffy is doing the job.

 

[DoubleTap]

If you had to choose one tire to stay on for both training and races, what would it be? (Conti grand prix 4000?)

I have 1400 miles on Conti GP 4000's with only two flats. One flat from a piece of glass that put 1/2" hole through the tire and one from a nail. I don't think any tire would have resisted those two flats.

TT

 

[Kerry Irons]

Marketing

That's what I thought too, but most tires have the recommended pressure in that 100-110 range. Since this one was higher, I figured there was a reason. Interestingly, the Diamante Pro (not light) version calls for lower pressures in the normal road range.

At those higher pressures handling and ride quality was the best I've ever felt. I've also never seen tires as paper thin as these. so maybe being so thin and soft they require higher pressure?

The rated tire pressure is the upper limit, not the recommended pressure. There is nothing about any given tire construction that "requires" higher pressure, and the arguments against high pressures are the same regardless of construction details. The key point is that the marketing department has figured out that many tire buyers are impressed by higher pressure ratings, and somehow equate these "bigger is better" numbers with a better tire. IOW, they think that higher pressure ratings = higher unit sales. Don't fall for it.

 

[Clark]

Listen to kerry he knows what he is talking about. He helped me out last summer when I was trying to figure out what makes the most impact how smooth your bike is. At that time I was running 120psi in my tires he said to back it down to around 100-110 and that made a big difference. Also you could go a wide tire like a 25 or 28C.

I think the main misconception is that everyone thinks that higher tire pressure should make me go faster. Its all marketing...

 

[Americano_a_Roma]

I love my Michelin Carbons, I've been getting 3000+ miles from the rear tire and I'm not small. Also, precisely 2 flats in the last 8000 miles! They feel pretty good too; I find that many of the "tough training" tires feel clunky on the bike, but the Carbons work like a charm. I race em, though I might get something grippier if I did crits. I think Performance has them for like $24 right now. Just my $0.02.

 

[filly]

i weigh 180. 90-95 psi front, 100-105 psi rear. race/train. no flats since oct 2004. most important is to watch where you're riding. don't run over junk, and the junk won't flat your tire.