Tyres are one of the most important parts of your bike but with so many options available, how are you supposed to know which ones are the right tyre for you?
We took eight of the latest high-end road tubeless tyres to the lab at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub, to find out how much rolling resistance each one produces.
After that they were subjected to real-world testing to find out which was the best road bike tyre in 2023.
What tyres do you run on your bike? Let us know in the comments 👇
#upgrades #tech #roadtyres
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:54 How We Tested
02:41 What We Tested
04:13 Rolling Resistance Results
05:15 Is Rolling Resistance That Important?
06:29 Setup And Installation Issues
07:24 Ride Feel
08:03 What Is The Best Tyre?
08:41 Which Tyre Disappointed?
09:58 Final Thoughts
Expert’s Guide To Tubeless Tyre Setup | No More Mess!
→ https://youtu.be/uE5qynLx-L8
The BEST Road Bike Tyre in 2022! | Continental GP5000S TR Review
→ https://youtu.be/8ObmczhFMs4
What’s The Best Tyre Pressure For Road Cycling?
→ https://youtu.be/z4lnFfb1o1E
Are Wider Tyres Faster? | 26mm Vs. 30mm Tyres TESTED
→ https://youtu.be/3r6LMAk9Mzw
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28 Comments
What tyres are you running on your road bike?
I have been running Conti GP5000 tyres for so long and absolutely love them! Would be hard to give them up!
How's the puncture resistance for Vittoria corsa pro?
Great Test!
I’ve run a lot of Tires and think that the Cotton casing of the Vittoria make them run much smoother. I’ve made the experience that compared e.g. to Conti 5000 they can run 0,5 bar higher pressure and still offer a smoother ride. IMHO they enable to run higher pressures buy this decreasing their rolling resistance. In future rolling tests you might be able to add another test: Making the surface the tires are spinning on rougher. By measuring the vibrations (forces) at the axis, you could quantify the dampening effects of the tires. After all, vibration losses are the next big thing, aren’t they?
I use the Supersonics. The GP5000 was a great letdown for me with the sidewall breaking on almost new tyre. I used my two reserve tubes before I noticed the hole in the side. Had to ride home on the rim. First time that has ever happened to me in 25 years of cycling.
No problems with the Supersonics. I weigh 80kg and have done 200km races with no issues. I just roll past the others with ease 😀 No flats until the cord starts showing.
I used a pair of tubeless Pirelli P Zero Race TLR and they wore out so fast. and on both, rear and front , the rubber that makes contact with pavement started to peel off when they still had 30% life left . I replace the rear one with a GP5000 and left the front one, but even the front one started to peel off 2 months later. I paid more than $100 for each tire and they are just garbage!
is this material sponsored by pirelli????
In independent tests, rolling resistance looks different
who rides at 80psi!?!? why??
Very good Video 👍👍👍
The Vittoria tyre was designed to run tubeless an unfair test
I'd rather have tyres which grip, have good resistance to punctures, that I can get off and on the rim, and last longer. Performance is less important than all of those.
the challenge is also far lighter than all of them
Thickslicks for me!
I appreciate why you didn't set them up tubeless, but all you've proved is which tubeless tyre runs best with a latex tube. Which generally isn't how people run tubeless. I think this also explains the Vittoria's poor figures when literally every other test and review, bicycle rolling resistance website especially, shows them to be one of the best and lowest rolling resistance tyres available.
So..advice please…I am a just got into cycling – 58 year old running a stock aluminium wheelset with gravel king tubed semi-slicks for winter and cruising at 17 or so mph. What 'could' I expect to see by popping on some Pirelli's, going tubeless and investing in some £1k Hunt rims? Am I going to get an extra +2 mph or just fractions of that?
I’d been using the Pirelli ones featured here. I then changed to the GP5000 TLR and wasn’t impressed as they felt like I was going to rim out – the sides didn’t support as much as the Pirelli and I found I used every millimetre of tread and possibly the sidewall when riding. Being a heavy rider using hookless rims, 70psi is all I can use. I’m back on Pirelli tyres simply because of this though have changed rims to these very HUNT ones featured here. I don’t think the GP5000 are for powerful riders weighing 112kg.
I never knew tubeless need time to seal but I enjoy 22mm tubular at 100psi, don't see why go wide and lose aerodynamic
Fwiw, in my experience, I have had good results using the Conti TT's tubeless with Silca Ultimate sealant.
I destroyed one of them in one ride.. puncture after puncture after puncture
Something to be said about Pirelli customer service also. They recalled their 28mm tire and introduced a process for replacing them. Fast, efficient, friendly well done. I’ve been a Conti GP rider for more than a decade, whenever it was that everybody switched from Michelin. I would say with my recent experience with Pirelli vs Conti… I’ll be buying Pirelli as first choice of road tire.
Will you make such comparison for gravel tyres?
I used to use the Victoria but they just kept splitting or losing pressure when tubeless.
A long time favourite is Schwalbe Pro One, I'd still be using them if the Pirelli wasn't such a good tyre, outstanding.
You should test different batches of the same tire to see manufacturing variations.
The slowest tires are flat ones. While I value rolling resistance as a non racer I am not about to have to replace my tires 4 times a year or be sitting on the side of the road fixing a tire to do it.
The best tyres are the ones you already have. Ride those suckers till they drop.
Then buy new ones. Repeat.
235/19 on my ride
How wide were the rims( external and internal)?
That makes a big difference between stated width and actual width on the rim
For example I have some conti 28 that measure out to 24 mm on the rim
GP5000s – Wasn't there a mass recall on the Pirelli tires?