Road Bicycle Tires Page 2

Training & Recreational Tires

Tires classified for training and recreation tend to be more durable than race tires. Of course, this comes with an increase in weight and rolling resistance. Nobody wants to be the guy on the group ride that has everyone standing around waiting to fix a flat, the tougher rubber compounds and various flat protection methods create a tire designed to keep you rolling.

Michelin

The Michelin Krylion Carbon Tire is a favorite training tire of competitive cyclists. It employs a relatively supple rubber compound while employing a carbon fiber web around the casing of the tire to prevent flats. Heavy for a race tire, the Krylion is ideal for "Roubaix" style races featuring cobbled or gravel roads, or for those looking for an extra shot of durability in their tires on any ride.

The Michelin Lithion is a good, old fashioned, all-purpose tire. No fancy carbon layers or space-age strips, the Lithion just provides a durable rubber casing with a tread suitable for all conditions. The excellent price point makes the Lithion a great choice for everyday riding.

Continental

Continental Grand Prix 4-Season is the Continental entry into the training tire market. Like the Krylion, the 4-Season offers excellent durability, supple tread and can fill in on race day if conditions call for it.

The Continental Gatorskin (700c) is an extremely popular Continental tire that is built with no cause in mind other than to not get flats. It is extremely durable and employs every effort Continental can make to keep your tire full of air. The Gatorskin serves it's purpose well, but may not be the best choice for wet conditions. It's extremely stiff casing doesn't provide optimum grip. But man, will this one get you home through everything.

Vredestein

The Vredestein Fortezza is Vredestein's entry in the training/recreation field. It features the same casing technology as the lighter Fortezza Tricomp, but utilizes a heavier rubber compound, increasing weight and durability.

Hopefully, we've provided a starting point to helping you select the best tire for your road bike. Like any cycling product, there is no "best tire" we can suggest. Tire preference is determined by riding style and individual preferences. There's no better way to zero in on your perfect tire than to try a new one every couple months and see which tire best suits your needs.

Older Road Bike Tires

Most road bikes manufactured today use size 700c tires, basically a measurement of the circumference of the tire, and tire widths of 19-25mm. This is what we refer to as a road size. Road-style bicycles have been manufactured with different wheel sizes. Smaller bikes geared towards women or children often have what is known as a 650c wheel size. The 650c size was also very popular with triathletes and are often referred to as triathlon tires. 650c tires seem to be falling out of favor with triathletes and time trialists, but is still often found bikes sized for women or kids.

Older road bikes may utilize the 27" tire size. When Schwinn was the dominant bicycle manufacturer in America, they established 27" wheels as their standard wheel size. While bicycles with 27" wheels are not manufactured today, unless it is the most elaborate vintage bike reproduction, the size remains in use. If you bought an old Schwinn Varsity at a garage sale and have a hard time fitting it with tires, it may have 27" wheels.

Finally, there are Continental tires. In what we imagine is an effort to differentiate their product from competitors, Continental uses their own variation to mark standard tire sizes. In the most simple terms, a size 28 Conti tire is a 700c, a 26 is a 650c. Widths run from from 3/4" - 1 1/4" but are equivalent to 20-25mm width tires. Continental seems to be adopting the standardized sizes on their newest clincher tires. Their tubulars and tubes are often still labeled with the "Conti sizes".