This is the first year we surveyed tires in Kona. What we did not do in this, our inaugural, year was survey clincher versus tubular. What we did survey was the brand used.
Since the mid-1980s there has been a mystique surrounding Continential's tires, first its tubulars and increasingly its clincher tires. This mystique is alive and well, with "Conti" the choice by double here in Kona over the second most popular tire, Michelin.
Not far behind Michelin -- a company that only offers a clincher -- is Vittoria. It is a guess, and by no means a certainty, that though Continental's ratio of clincher-to-sew-up might still somewhat favor sew-ups (sew-up are also known as tubulars, and these are the glue-on type tires) the saturation of tubies over clinchers is even more apparent with Vittoria. This, because Vittoria's tubulars are quite well-regarded.
Tufo has a bit of a cult following among triathletes, bringing this tire in fourth. Then there's quite a big fall-off, and Vredestein comes in fifth with just over 3 percent. Schalbe is just behind that.
Close to 10% of the tires are included in "others" and this is a grab bag containing Hutchinson, Zipp, Bontrager, Panaracer, Gommitalia, Veloflex, Specialized, and some odd brands.
What's interesting to us is the low saturation of Hutchinson tires in the event. This French brand has factored large in triathlon over the years, but less so as an original equipment brand than back in the late 90s. Up here at the Xantusia Ranch (Slowtwitch headquarters) we ride various tires throughout the year. We frankly have had abysmal luck with Continental clinchers. It's not the riding that does them in, but the environment. It's very dry here, and Continental's rubber cracks and rots in less than a season. We have about two dozen bikes on the property, and we'd have to re-rubber these, and our spare wheels, annually with new sets of Continentals, regardless of whether we'd ridden so much as a mile on them. Contintentals appear to prefer more humid climes.
Michelins perform much better up at the Ranch, though they as well are not quite the tire they might be in a more humid climate. We might get two seasons out of Michelin, absent whatever wear occurs through riding.
For the past season and a bit more we've been trying out the Hutchinsons, and they have proven exceptional tires in all respects. No dry rot, virtually no flats, and they roll and feel as the equal of most race tires. This is the case with the 700s and 650s alike.
We have not yet tried the Schwalbes, but intend to give them a go over the Winter. Further, we'll be doing a set of roll-down tests. We're blessed with the archetypal Soapbox Derby hill in our proximity, it's straight as an arrow and 4% for 4 uninterrupted miles. We'll test the Hutchinsons, Michelins, Continentals, as well as Vredesteins and others, and we'll report here on Slowtwitch.
Also on our agenda for next year is a more robust tire survey. We hope to count clinchers versus sew-up, and attach the results to bib numbers. In this way we can see who, among the top bike splitters, rides which tires and which styles.
