Tarmac sl7 best tires

“I am 80kg, which is really heavy”.

Things only cyclists say.

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I would not agree. I have S works SL6 and ride Gatorskins. If you ride over 15,000 miles a year why do you need nice tire for training.

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Same reason you bought an S-Works SL6 instead of an Allez Sport. What’s the point of spending top dollar on an aero frame to save watts and then give those gains back by running a gatorskin which is 10w (PER TIRE) slower than a GP5k or something similar

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do you use the hardshell or the regular gatorskins?

Huh? Gatorskin Tires test 6 to 10 W slower per tire than fast road tires (GP5000, Turbo Cotton etc.). If 12 to 20W (maybe 8 to 14W at normal speed) don‘t matter to you, why get a SL7 in the first place?
Also, a heavier rider should ride lower pressure? Sounds counter-intuitive…

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I use hardshell, i found it to last much longer and they don’t start peeling off on the sidewall. I also ride 28mm wide tire so i can compensate for comfort by not spending more on GP5000s, don’t take me wrong I do have GP 5000s, but i mostly use them in summer or for racing. I had issues with the initial release batch of GP 5000s, now Conti kinda fixed them a bit. Also 5000s are b***tch to mount, especially tubeless version.

Thanks. Exactly. I have the GP500 right now but really hard to mount on the Rapide’s and am traveling somewhere I don’t want to have to change the tubes. Wish tubeless would work on my rapide’s but it is what it is.

As I said, i don’t use them for racing, you put fast tires on and you will get that rolling resistance advantage back. To me it matters that I can go out and ride 5h without thinking of getting puncture. I don’t have team car following me with 5 tires, and i am sure nor do you. You can argue the other side as well, if you are thinking about rolling resistance then just ride most expensive tubulars and glue new tires every time you get a puncture.

I did many group rides with some strong people, Chloe Dygert, Danny Pate, Ashton Lambie etc, some of these people rode Gatorskins, and still were dropping 85% of people who had most expensive equipment out there. Sometimes equipment is not all there is.

@Newbikerhurt said he will be in the boonies, just enjoying the riding, as everyone should do. He does not need the fastest tire out there.

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Gatorskins are downright sketchy in the wet if you start to push them.

IRC Roadlites are v good (tubeless). IMO, they are 90% as good as the GP5000 (which is still my no.1) but are usually 25-30% cheaper, a bit more puncture resistant and durable, and they make a good all-round training/3.5 season tyre.

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Well, I have ridden bikes for several hundreds of hours in 2020 and had zero flats.
The last flat I had was this year riding 28c Pirelli 4S, so a presumably very resistant tire. It was a long sharp shard that cut deeply into the tire. Anything but a full rubber tire would have run flat here also…

Dropping other people on a group ride really isn’t a piece of magic, especially if you are a continental/ world tour level rider. Romain Bardet would probably drop me up the Alpe d‘Huez on a Buffalo bike with full rubber tires…

But we are all free to ride what we want, so whatever floats your bo… bike.
I just wouldn’t ride an aero bike with super slow tires… never

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Flotation devices is a legit use for Gatorskins IMO. On a Tarmac is not :rofl:

To anyone offended, I’m teasing (sort of :rofl:)

It seems that TR has a preference for Conti tires. I prefer Vittoria and the Rubino Pro is a hard tire to beat for all around training and the usage you described. Relatively good rolling resistance and great puncture resistance. I’ve taken my 28’s on gravel and did the entire flanders and roubaix sportifs on them in previous years, still haven’t flatted. I am also 80kg.

Not sure that personal attacks/mockery are required, and several hundred hours would only equate to 3k miles if he were actually running Gatorskins, realistically he’s probably double that :+1:t4:

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Good point, everyone knows :poop: floats

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Many folk recommending supple race tires but I’ll suggest something in between which would be specialized roubaix tires. I rode the 25/28s (the weird numbering is so they can say it’s a 28c carcass with a 25c contact patch. Whatever) but let’s just say 28s. They have the same great grippy specialized rubber but a bit more puncture protection. Great fun to ride and never got a flat though I am a light rider. My wife is a bit heavier than i and has now ridden them for a season with no flats. A fine compromise tire between a pure race and a training tire. The hell of the north tires are supposed to be even better but only come in a 28. I plan on trying the 23/25s at some point.

Wherever you have that number from :man_shrugging:t2:.
My point isn’t about riding fast but riding efficiently, so riding fast for your individual given ability.
And you can’t claim efficiency doesn’t matter, if the bike in question here is a high-end aero race bike.
I try to ride fast for my ability and someone else for theirs…

Tubeless works on rapides. It has been done hundreds of times…

Of course you can - if you read the OPs posts then you’ll understand why he wants a durable tyre for his specific purpose.

I am jumping on this one…I am after some FAST but durable tyre (if such exist)

I cant decide between 28mm Turbo Cottons or 28mm Vittoria Corsa G+ 2.0, ill be running them around 65 psi. (on the Rapide CLs, on my Tarmac Pro) as im ~ 154lbs (70kg)

www.bicyclerollingresistance.com has the Corsa’s at an RR of 18.6w @ 60 psi and the Cottons at an RR of 15w @ 60 psi - i know it’s only 3.6w but marginal gains and all that.

I know this is going deep, but i have read real mix reviews of the cottons saying they have lasted for a long time and survived winter conditions, but on the other hand people have said they’re not reliable at all.

I have run the Corsa’s G2.0 all year round, and had no issues but i want the fastest tyre. lol

OP the link i included here is good for tyre research if you want to see which tyres you have in mind and compare them.