I assume the route will be different in 2019. In 2018, we had about a 5 mile section on rock/gravel. It might not have been so bad – except for the torrential rain that occurred all day, causing the rock/gravel road to be very muddy and sandy/soft junk.
I have very mixed feelings about doing HR Asheville this coming spring. But that’s a whole different thread…
I ran GP4000s for years before trying a set of Victoria Rubinos as winter tire, and then graduating to a set of Victoria Corsa, 23mm (cause I could run 25s on my old frame) and they have been amazing for feel, speed and cause gum walls look amazeballs.
they have been great, but a little fragile, had one slashed, by a scrap of metal, (fair game) but riding them in the wet recently, I have had a SPATE of punctures, they seem to be really good a picking up the horizontal Christmas decorations. (broken glass) and allowing the fragments to work there way thought the tire.
Copped 3 punctures in the rear recently, and then 2 in the front on my last ride.
Looks like I might be waiting for the GP5000’s stock to stabilise and give them a go
Road summer: Sworks turbo 24c
Winter: Conti GP 4season 28c rear 25c front
TT: Vittoria corsa 25c
MTB: 2.25 Rocket Ron Addix Speedgrip front, and 2.25 Racing Ralph Addix Speed on the rear. I ran this setup all last season, and was very happy with it. My trails are a mix of hardpack, loose over hard, and some sandy corners. I had previously tried a Thunder Burt in the rear, gave it several races, but really felt the lack of traction was more of a hindrance than the slightly better rolling resistance was worth. My trails have a lot of loose uphills, and it would slip some on those, where I wouldn’t loose grip with the Ralph. I also had the rear slide out one lap on a high speed 180 degree turn mid race, just before heading up the steepest climb in the course. I stayed up, but felt like I lost more momentum in that one moment than I would’ve gained via rolling resistance over the whole rest of the course.
TT/triathlon: Continental Podium TT 25mm
Road: Continental GP4000sII 25mm
MTB (trails) about to try something from Maxxis, either Aspen or Minnion??
Vittoria Corsa G+ 25 mm on my road bike. Just ordered some Schwalbe Pro One tubeless 28mm so we’ll see how that goes.
Same for me! I did a weekly “sporting” TT series this season that included a 1 hour ride to and from the course. Kept waiting for the puncture to happen but it never did.
The following are all tubulars. Used for both commuting* + fast group rides/racing. Commuting wheels are Nemesis 28H F/R. Fast wheels are Boyd 44mm CF. Everything is glued with Vittoria mastik. I feel like tire pressure can make/break a tubular. I’m 155 - 160lb. 700x25s are running at 80/85psi. 700x28s are 70/75psi.
Fast Group/Race Tires:
Vittoria Corsa G+ 700x25. I love these tires so much I’d spread them on toast. Great rolling. Great flat resistance. Round + straight. Current high-end tire of choice.
Kenda Volare 700x24 were my all-time favorite race tires on narrower deep-section rims. These were my go-to tires. They’re not aero optimal for wider rims. A little less supple than the Vittoria Evo Corsa but they had way more grip on wet pavement.
Micheline Pro4 700x25. Group ride/race. Grip well. Latex tube. Supple. Pick up road debris easily. Feel fast. I loved Pro3 + Pro4 clinchers but I think there are better tubulars out there.
Commuter Tires:
Vittoria Corsa G+ 700x28. If you’re gonna be a baller and commute on tubulars . . . go big or go home.
Challenge Paris Roubaix 700x27. Great commuter tire. Latex tube. Supple. Measured 29mm. I run them at 70/75 PSI (155-160lbs). Great flat protection (3k miles in Los Angeles no flats).
Schwalbe One 700x26 and 700x28 have great flat resistance but don’t seem to roll well. QC issues + bad customer support have pushed me away from all things Schwalbe.
The following fall under “Friends don’t let friends ride bad tubulars”.
Continental Sprinter Gatorskin - Why? Seriously, why?!
Continental Giro - Slightly better than a garden hose.
Kenda Domestique - Call an Uber.
Panaracer Practice - The Fischer Price of tubulars.
For CX/Gravel in Los Angeles:
Vittoria Terreno Mix 700x33. I’m not a CX guy but I like these a lot. They’re on Boyd Black+Tan SS wheels. They’re FUN AF.
I bet I can change a tubular faster than most folks can change a clincher.I’ve been running the Pirelli Cinturato Velo tubeless tires in a 28c and I’ve been really happy with them so far. They hold air better than any road tubeless tire I’ve used, and at 60psi they grip and roll well enough for my purposes.
They don’t feel as nice as a race tire like the Sworks Turbo, but I’ll gladly trade a few watts for a bit of comfort and puncture resistance since I don’t race on the road (but I’ll do group rides, fondos, etc). The bonus is that I can take them off road without worry. Plus, I just hate getting flats.
I’ve also been able to find them for relatively cheap ($45-$50 after discounts) so that’s a huge plus too. I’ve got around 400 miles on the current set and they’ve been wearing very slowly!
I used to primarily use the Roubaix Pro 2BR for the cost and durability, so these Pirellis are a significant improvement over those.
GP4ks2’s
Road - 25/25
TT -23/25
I just got the GP5K (non-tubeless version), and am really liking them. They corner really well (my descending has gotten faster) and feel like they roll better than the GP4KsIIs. But I’m running these on a much different bike setup than the GP4KsIIs, so hard to tell how much is the tire vs. the bike setup.
GP5K bike:
GP4KsII bike
Have you ever run Zipp Tangente RT-25 or RT-28s? I read somewhere that the Pirellis and Zipps are made at the same Hutchinson factory in France. I’m currently running the RT-25 and don’t recall seeing rolling resistance data. On the other hand the new Conti 5000 TL has some impressive rolling resistance data: Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL 25 vs Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR 26 vs Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless 25
My tires are often magnets for sidewall cuts, and from the link above the Pirelli have only marginally higher sidewall protection. However I like the price and your experience, and a couple times a year it seems I get bigger cuts on the center tread (all but two sealed, and I carry bacon to seal those).
Not completely happy with the Zipp RT-25 I’m currently running, they went on a little too easy on my wheels. Almost as easy as Hutchinson Sector 28s which ended up with a bead failure on a downhill in the middle of a national forest. So I’m a bit gun shy with Hutchinson. The S-Works are best but hard to spend $95 on them, our local Specialized shop recommended the Roubaix Pro 2BR for same reasons you give and encouraging to see you give the nod to Pirelli.
I haven’t tried the Zipps, but they were the ones I had planned to get until I saw the Pirellis on sale.
Sidewalls feel as thick if not thicker than the Roubaix 2BR
I’ll definitely keep my eye on the Contis. That rolling resistance looks pretty solid.
Has anybody tried this setup? How did it feel and did you use it on softer/forest trail terrain?
Schwalbe does not recommend it for soft…whatever that exacly means?
So I’m thinking about this Racing Ralph setup (a bit better rolling resistance) vs. the Rocket Ron Speed/SpeedGrip combo (seems better suited for soft/forest but more rolling resitance). Any recommendations?
Trail Riding / Enduro Racing
Front - Butcher Grid 2.6 @ 22psi or Butcher Grid 2.3 @ 25psi
Back - Butcher Grid or Purgatory Grid 2.3 @ 25psi with Cushcore or 27psi without.
Roadie to try coffee from cafes not near my house
Front: Maxxis re-fuse 25 95psi
Back: Maxxis re-fuse 25 100psi
For my road bike, I’ve got two GP 5000 TL 25s lying flat, unfolded on a table waiting to be mounted. I’m hoping that having them unfolded will make them easier to mount once I get around doing the work. Last year I used Schwalbe Pro Ones. They still seem to be in good shape, but I thought I’d swap them over to my spare road bike. Meanwhile, I’m not too picky about what I put on my heavy commuting/rain bike, as long as they are tubeless. The commuting bike along with my Tacx Neo save a lot of wear on my road bike tires. 
Road: Continental GP4000II 23mm
Gravel Heavy: Kenda Flintridge Pro 40mm
Gravel Packed: Panaracer Gravel King SK 35mm
Also helps to warm the tires up in the sun.
Pirelli P Zero Velo (Clincher) - Fantastic alternative to the Conti GP4000 IIS. Cheaper and also not a pain in the arse to get onto a rim!!!
Great puncture protection and low rolling resistance
I got a set of Vittoria Terreno Dry in 40mm for the Barry Roubaix gravel race(and potentially dry cross racing in the fall, if I like them), havent mounted them yet. I’ll probably run tubes for now…but I should probably invest in a set of tubeless wheels at some point this year.
