The Best Road Cycling Tyres For This Winter

Winter cycling to many people means two things- cold and wet weather and punctures.

Therefore for road cycling you need a bicycle tyre which combines the features of wet weather grip and excellent puncture resistance for your winter training and cycling enjoyment.

Many companies now make specific tyres designed towards winter (and year round) cycling enjoyment. Whether you are just riding for enjoyment or training throughout the winter with road races, cyclo-sportives, mountain biking or other forms of competitive cycling in mind

The below winter tyre reviews will classify based on criteria of i) grip and ii) puncture resistance- key winter cycling tyre characteristics.

A firm favourite amongst winter cycling enthusiasts and in reviews are Continetal Ultra Gatorskin road tyres (Now known simply as 'Gatorskins'). However these tyres also divide opinion amongst many racing cyclists that have used them for winter training.

Continental Gatorskins feature a full length duraskin layer which gives the tyres resistance from slashing. They also feature an aramid puncture protection strip which provides excellent puncture resistance.

The CyclingFitness review of Continental Gatorskin Tyres

Having used these tyres on my winter and commuter bikes in the past I can safely say that they offer excellent punture resistance. I went for almost a year without a punture and covered close to 5000 kilometers kin that time frame on relatively rough roads.

In terms of grip I found these tyres to offer fantastic grip on dry roads however once roads become damp or wet I found the tyres to be lacking and subsequently they did not inspire confidence during winter weather riding. Most team-mates and cycling friends are of a similar impression and have subsequently only ever purchased one set of Gatorskins- swapping to different brands after wearing them out.

Many road cyclists have tried switching tyres from their summer 'race' bikes across to their winter training and commuting bikes with varying success. A favourite of many road cyclists who have done this is the Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp due in part to their wet weather performance characteristics.

The Fortezza Tricomp tyre offers a patented puncture protection system while also offering a silica energy gel tread featuring three rubber compounds in it's production to contribute to exceptional wear characteristics, cornering confidence and casing protection.

The CyclingFitness review of the Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp tyre for winter cycling.

I stumbled across using Fortezza Tricomp tyre's on my winter training bike due to requiring some new tyres for my winter bike many years ago while trying to be financially frugal. I decided to swap the relatively new tyres from my race bike across to save money at the start of the winter and kept using the tyres for the whole winter despite originally planning to treat myself to some new winter training tyres the following pay-day.

I love these tyres on my race bike as they give exceptional grip on both dry and wet roads. I feel confident road racing on them in wet conditions where you often don't get to choose the line you take through corners and therefore need a confidence inspiring tyre. That level of grip translates across to damp and wet winter roads well which means i'll happily use them over all four seasons of the year.

I've found the puncture resistance of these tyres to be good as well. I've experienced relatively few punctures despite thousands of kilometers of riding. They don't have the puncture resistance and slash proffing of Continental Gatorskins however still offer good puncture resistance in comparison to many other tyres.

This Durano Plus is the road bike equivalent to Schwalbe's excellent trekking tyre- the Marathon Plus. A thick rubberised puncture breaker strip protects against pretty much anything however the trade off is weight and ease of fitting. This tyre is almost rigid and takes a great deal of effort to mount to a rim. The trade off is almost a fit and forget about tyre which you simply cannot puncture!

CyclingFitness review of the Schwalbe Durano Plus tyre for winter cycling.

After fitting these tyres to a set of Mavic Aksium wheels (not recommended wheels i'm afraid!) which took a hell of a lot of work and time I didn't have a single puncture while using these tyres over a whole year of winter training and commuting to work.

The trade off with the puncture resistance however is definitely in their weight. It takes more effort to get an already pretty slow wheelset up to training speeds than other tyres I've used.

These tyres provide a good level of grip on dry roads and provide a relatively grippy ride on damp and wet roads. Not quite the levels of grip of Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps however an adequate level of grip for winter cycling and training.

While the extreme puncture reistance of the Schwalbe Durano and it's fit and almost forget characteristics are great for winter cycling I personally would happily forego the occassional puncture in exchange for the fantastic grip of the Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp.

For winter training and fast riding it is hard to beat the Fortezza Tricomp