Tires for the Euro Stones

Howdy Bike Riders...

With less than 3 weeks left until Paris Roubaix week, it is time to start configuring the bike to roll over the Euro stones as much ease and grace as one can when you're riding on paths meant for cattle and farm equipment.

I'll give a broader overview of the entire bike in the next few days... in the meantime, I'll toss you a few bones. Today, we're talking about tire choice. For Paris Roubaix, I've decided to go with the Vittoria Open Pave EVO CG. I usually ride the Open Pave CG in a 23 for the Summer and I've had great luck with them. I can count maybe one flat in the last 4 years and it was due to my own stupidity of riding through some glass and not performing the moving tire brush maneuver.

I will concede that if you use these tires out of the box, they will pick up cuts more easily. The workaround is to be diligent and clean your tread every so often... back filling the cuts with a little black contact rubber. Fortunately, I've learned that next season's tires need to be purchased this season and allowed to cure a little. Even more fortunate, is that I have a set of seasoned Open Pave EVO CGs nicely cured and ready for some cobble riding... and they're 24s.

I am sure that I will flat at least twice during the route... and these tires seem to be easy to change on my DT rims. Loose enough to handle with a single tire lever and supple enough to locate any perpetrating tire flatteners in the casing. They also have one helluva nice tread pattern which makes me feel more secure even though there have been many studies and marketing efforts to convince me that a slick tire has more road contact. I call BS and will always go for treaded tires.

I will not be riding with Tuffy's or Slime or any other crap like that. I know from experience that these "24s"... they actually look wider... will cushion my ride as much as possible with out pinching as long as I don't go below 85lbs of pressure. I also know that while they are "FAT" as racing tires go, they do not feel fat or slow. Of course, I have real perspective on how bad some of the roads will be, the majority will be on paved roads and I wanted a tire to be able to roll along on those as well without making me feel like I'm riding through mud.

So there you have it... Of course, I'll let you know how they worked or didn't work... but then I'm not sure there is any kind of tire that would be perfect for everything.

~Curly