The Best Winter Road Bike Tires For Puncture Resistance
Get The Right Cycling Tires For This Winter
A guide to some of the best puncture resistant winter road cycling tires
Winter conditions can be harsh for road cycling. It places challenging demands on both the rider and their bike with the tires being the key contact point between the bike and the road
Therefore a rider needs the best road bike tires for the winter months to address the differing needs of the roads. Winter roads are greatly affected by
In winter a puncture can really be off-putting to your riding. During summer you can easily change a tire by the side of the road. In winter you'll spend 10+ minutes by the side of the road cooling down dramatically increasing your risk of infection and potentially frustrating your riding partners while you struggle with cold fingers to prize the tire away from the rim.
Therefore, a highly puncture resistant winter road cycling tire is a great investment for both your sanity and relationship with team-mates. Below is a guide to some of the best puncture resistant road cycling tires to help you through this winter.
Heavy duty puncture protection- The Schwalbe Durano Plus
The Durano Plus clincher tire is the cousin of Schwalbe's awesome Marathon Plus touring tire. The Marathon Plus is one of the most respected puncture resistant trekking tires and the Durano Plus borrows it's extreme puncture resistance
The Durano Plus features a virtually unpenetratable Smartguard Kevlar bead between the tread and tire casing to repel everything from shingle to goat-head thorns.
Sadly the extreme levels of puncture resistance come at a price interms of weight. A typical weight for a tire is 430g. Significantly higher than many winter road bike tires. This can have a great effect on tire feel. Acceleration is blunted by the additional weight.
The Schwalbe Durano Plus is pretty much a fit and forget tire. Ideal if you have no worries regarding a slight decrease in performance over the winter as the additional weight could actually help you improve your strength come race season.
A great heavy duty winter cycling tire
Continental Gator Hardshell For Puncture Resistance
Mid weight and heavy duty puncture resistance- Continental Gator Hardshell Duraskin
For many road cyclists the Continental Ultra Gatorskin was the ultimate winter training tire. The Gator Hardshell is the Gatorskin's beefed up protective older brother.
With a sensible weight of 310g per tire the Gator Hardshell won't feel so restrictive on your acceleration as a Schwalbe Durano Plus tire. While the Gator Hardshell offers a high degree of puncture resistance with a Poly-X Breaker, Duraskin and Hardshell construction at a reasonable price for a fit and forget tire. (You really just need to make sure you add some air pressure!)
Fit and (almost) forget puncture resistant cycling training tire.
The Gator Hardshell features significantly more material in the tread than previous continental tires to further increase durability of a tire that's usually good for 5000 miles minimum.
Best Puncture Resistant Tire For Tubeless- Hutchinson Intensive Tubeless
If you're running a set of newer style Tubeless wheels you need to pay great attention to your tire choice as many tire manufacturers have not started to produce a compatible model as yet.
Hutchinson have been pioneers in the Tubeless bicycle tire revolution and also offer an exceptionally good range of clincher tires in matching treads. The Hutchinson Intensive is the company's competitively priced training tire and is available in a Tubeless format.
The Intensive has been designed for a combination of long term tread durability and puncture resistance in mind as well as having a thermoplastic reinforced compound which is deemed to be longer lasting whilst offering good wet weather grip.
Puncture Resistant Training Tires For Road Cyclists On A Budget- Vittoria Rubino Tech
If you're looking for a great value puncture resistant training tire you could consider the Vittoria Rubino Tech tire.
Many riders are familiar with Vittoria's great value Rubino tire which can usually be picked up for close-out prices of around $15 USD (£10 gbp). The Rubino is a low price performance tire which offers a great ride in the dry, although requires a little more concentration when cornering in the wet.
The Rubino Pro III Tech Tire is a beefed up, heavier duty version of the popular Rubino Pro III tire with a tried and tested PRB puncture resistance belt and enhanced Mithril sidewall protection.
Weight is on the lighter side for a heavy duty tire at around 250g per tire but for riders looking for a reinforced tire for puncture resistance on a budget the Rubino Pro III Tech offers a viable option.
Puncture resistance for riders on a budget. Particularly useful as a winter road bike training tire
What's your best tire for winter training?
We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below
Liam Hallam (CyclingFitness on Hubpages)