25mm tires on Cannondale carbon Six?

[Stingray34]

Since I've moved to northern NSW I've rediscovered cycling. There's lots of good, tough rides inland from Byron Bay in places like The Channon, Nimbin, Nulmugi, Federal, etc.

The only problem is the roads are rough, uneven and full of holes. It feels like my bike is getting shaken to pieces. I currently run 23mm Conti GP4000 with latex tubes. I was thinking of 25mm tires. Would they fit on the Cannondale? Which brands have you tried?

I don't race, so weight, rolling resistance isn't an issue.

Thanks!

Also: I normally run 100psi in 23mm tires. As I understand it, 100psi in a 25mm tire would result in a 'harder' tire. Is that right? I've noticed that wider tires have a lower recommended pressure. What pressure would be equivalent to 100psi/23mm in a 25mm tire?

God, I love cycling! Rediscovering it is like falling in love/getting high/meditating (take your pick)

 

[purpletezza]

Hi, I have run either GP4000 or Michelin Pro Race 3 for many years now. I find the Pro Race feel softer and may give you a smoother ride on the coarse roads. Also depending on your weight you do not need to run tyres at their max pressure. Run them 5-10psi lower and you will get a cushier ride, just watch the pot-holes thouigh. The Michelin tyres come with a chart on the packaging with recommeneded inflation pressure for your weight. Another option is to get some hand built wheel with double butted spokes and Mavic Open Pro Rims, they are more compliant that many factory build wheels.

 

[Stingray34]

Hi, I have run either GP4000 or Michelin Pro Race 3 for many years now. I find the Pro Race feel softer and may give you a smoother ride on the coarse roads. Also depending on your weight you do not need to run tyres at their max pressure. Run them 5-10psi lower and you will get a cushier ride, just watch the pot-holes thouigh. The Michelin tyres come with a chart on the packaging with recommeneded inflation pressure for your weight. Another option is to get some hand built wheel with double butted spokes and Mavic Open Pro Rims, they are more compliant that many factory build wheels.

Thanks, some good ideas there. I used to run Mavic open4cd with DT double-butted spokes years ago - they were magic and quite easy to fit tires on compared to Campag. I have Mavic Aksium Race these days. They're quite good, reliable if not very light. I've heard that the Pro Race tires can be a prob with punctures and side wall cuts. What's your experience? I never run max pressure, way too hard.

 

[forty four]

i actually kinda feel that 25's may actually be faster than 23's they certainly feel that way go for it.

 

[forty four]

as for 23's gp4000 and michelin pro race 3 are best though michelins are weaker to cuts but maybe a bit faster than gp4000. gp4000 best all rounder my favorite clincher.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Conti GP 4000 and Michelin Pro Race are fine race tires, not for training on rough roads. So if pinch flats are an issue use latex tubes with actual training tires that have more rubber and less tpi.

Since were talking about Conti and Michelin, these are their offerings:

Conti - GP 4 Season, Gatorskin, Gator Hardshell
Michelin - Krylion Carbon, Lithion 2

P.S. ... and yes, by all means stuff the biggest tire your frame and brakes will allow. I have a Scott R1 and can fit 28's in there!

 

[TheDude]

I'm a fan of Gatorskins for toughness. I have 25s at the moment, next pair will probably be 28s.

 

[Jukebox]

I'm wearing through a pair of freebie 23s right now on my training wheels, when they go I'll be buying some 25s too. The ride is so much better with really an insignificant gain in weight. 25s do roll faster too.

 

[Stingray34]

Thanks for your input - I guess 25s will fit and 28mm tires would be fantastic. Interesting what RDV4Roubaix says about less TPI and more rubber. Maybe tires like Rubino Pro might be OK if they come in 25mm.
High TPI tires are expensive. I've still got some usable Open Corsa CX 23mm tires - they're pretty good but not a patch on the GP4000. I had a lot of punctures on the Open Corsa CXs, although I didn't use them with latex tubes.


Besides GP4000 four season tires and a few others, I was thinking about Vittoria Pave 24mm tires. They're kinda expensive, though and I haven't had a great experience with Vittorias so far.

Could I still use latex tubes with the fatter tires? My ones are rated up to 23mm and I can't seem to find them for anything larger. As these are porous, I'm wondering if they'll leak air on longer rides and generally shorten their lifespan with 25mm tires.

Anyone use Shwalbe Ultremo tires? These come in 25mm but are they too much of a race tire and not really suitable for training on rough roads?

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I might start threads on bar tape and computers next.

 

[Chuffy]

Anyone use Shwalbe Ultremo tires? These come in 25mm but are they too much of a race tire and not really suitable for training on rough roads?

I've used these recently in a 28c flavour. Very, very nice tyre and stood up to 600 miles of rough winter roads and back lanes surprisingly well, especially considering they had 87kg of me on board. They're a proper racing tyre and roll very well (road.cc review here)but in your position I'd be inclined to go for Gatorskins - I use them in both 25c and 28c and find them tough and reasonably fast.

 

[forty four]

Thanks for your input - I guess 25s will fit and 28mm tires would be fantastic. Interesting what RDV4Roubaix says about less TPI and more rubber. Maybe tires like Rubino Pro might be OK if they come in 25mm.
High TPI tires are expensive. I've still got some usable Open Corsa CX 23mm tires - they're pretty good but not a patch on the GP4000. I had a lot of punctures on the Open Corsa CXs, although I didn't use them with latex tubes.


Besides GP4000 four season tires and a few others, I was thinking about Vittoria Pave 24mm tires. They're kinda expensive, though and I haven't had a great experience with Vittorias so far.

Could I still use latex tubes with the fatter tires? My ones are rated up to 23mm and I can't seem to find them for anything larger. As these are porous, I'm wondering if they'll leak air on longer rides and generally shorten their lifespan with 25mm tires.

Anyone use Shwalbe Ultremo tires? These come in 25mm but are they too much of a race tire and not really suitable for training on rough roads?

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I might start threads on bar tape and computers next.

open corsa race only they are great speed/cornering but flat real easy imo

 

[forty four]

training ive had good luck with specialized armadillo elite folding clincher very few punctures if any. not as fast as the race tires though.