$20 vs $80 Tires... What's the Actual Difference?
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- čas přidán 7. 01. 2024
- Thanks performancebike.com for providing tires for this test.
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$60 is the difference
life's too short to run crap tires
Next time test tires without knowing which one you are riding 😉
I used to run full wire bead Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires for their insane puncture resistance out in the desert but they are one of the slowest tires made and I always had my LBS mount them... The first time I rode on Continental GPs it felt like I had switched to an e-bike! 😂 Without sounding like a GCN puppet, it really is impressive how far bicycle tire technology has come in the last two decades and the difference tire choice makes!
After 57 years of serious cycling, professional racing, full time cyclist, I was ready to quit cycling because of the horrid tires they have made for over the last half a century. Have used hundreds of brands of tires over the last 57 years. Using strong tires like, a Specialized Armadillo, Continental Gator skins, 700c x 25mm for 5 years, I was tired of flats, and after descending a mountain (road/paved) and hit a tiny stone in the road (28mm) and having my front tire blow out (125psi) I was ready to quit. I stopped riding road bikes and converted mountain bikes over to the road. Today I ride a converted 29er and 650b mountain bikes using 26inch wheels, flat bars with bar ends and aero-bars, disc brakes obviously, and.......!!!!!.......Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26x2 inch tires. I am in love with cycling again, have not had a flat in 30,000 miles, three years of road riding!!! Rolling resistance is low, cornering excellent, and they are quiet, very quiet. I run 60psi for my body weight but can lower the pressure for rougher roads with zero problems like pinch flats. I ride the extremes of terrain in Northern California wilderness, mountains and steep long climbs/descents and level/rolling terrain of the valley. Without Schwalbe I don't think I would be riding today. Many people use the wrong tire pressures in these Schwalbe Marathon Plus's, they complain about ride quality but have them pumped to maximum. These cyclists usually are unaware of and lack the skill in riding narrow stiff racing bikes. Technique and skill are 80% of a comfortable ride, Fork 10% and tire/wheel 5% and frame 5%. What happened to curved rake steel fork??? Don't forget the PLUS, the Marathon without the PLUS is not as good at defending flats.
There are many good tyres under 30 $. Not these.
Okay so paying 80 instead of 20 gets you 1% more speed.
This graph at 3.20 is manipulative. You should extend "Y" axis to zero. Now it looks at first glance, that high performance tire is 50 or more % faster, but in reality they are only 6% faster. You really should know better.
120 dollars is only a “no brainer” to those who can afford the best. I’d prefer to drive a Porsche.. it’s a no brainer. So, in summary, the $80 tire performs marginally better than the $20 tire. It also has a better “feel” and affords better cornering and that elusive “placebo effect” that comes from knowing that you bought the best / most expensive product. Like you said: “It’s real!” Marginal gains for substantial expense. [although admittedly, expensive tires are faster than your carbon fiber bottle cages and saddle rails..]
The vittorias are 45 in europe... what the hell are these US prices
This had the opposite effect on me. Now I'm more keen to save money as $20 tire seems to perform really good for its value!
I’m always all about middle of the road components when it comes to not buying the higher tier groupset, or the highest tier frame. However tires are one place I always look to get the best that I can, the cost difference is minimal in the grand scheme of the entire bike but the differences are huge. Even if someone can’t feel or doesn’t care about the single digit watt savings in RR, there is a lot to be said about higher end tire’s ride quality, cornering confidence they inspire, and generally easier mounting across various wheels.
Thank you for taking the time to do this comparison. I don't have a huge budget, and I don't race, but tires are the one place where I feel much better spending the money to get a quality product.
Yea man.. I've been waiting for your videos for about everyday.. Good job for uploading this one.. Keep it up & stay safe always..
The fact that neither of you brought tire levers, or a bead seating tool is hilarious to me for some reason. Good tests!
Hey Jeff, could you do this with the Continental GP5000? Curious about how those compare! Love this test!
Love this sort of thing - keep it coming!
I wanna see more of this Jeff
I love all these comparisson videos. Always super thorough and exactly the information I'm looking for 👏👏👏👏
Nice! I used to have those roadsport 35mm on my gravel bike and they did feel particularly slow