The fastest tyres with 25 mm width - road bike tyres in the 2019 test

The tyre can make the difference between riding fun and crashing, enjoyment or frustration, victory or defeat on rides and races. You can read the complete tyre test in TOUR 07/2019. You can find the conclusion here:

The tyres in the test:

• Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite
• Continental Grand Prix 5000
• Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactic
• IRC Aspite Pro
• Pirelli P Zero
• Swallow One
• Vittoria Rubino Pro
• Wolfpack Race
• Kenda Valkyrie Pro
• Mavic Yksion Pro Griplink/Powerlink
• Maxxis High Road
• Michelin Power Competition

Rolling resistance:

The rolling resistance for 85 kg system weight at 35 km/h and 7 bar tyre pressure - on different surfaces. The Continental Grand Prix 5000 clearly leads the ranking on good roads (light grey) and penetrates into regions where otherwise only tubeless tyres can be found. The lightweight Hutchinson tyre is almost on a par on rough surfaces (dark grey). Mavic and IRC at the slower end of the test field roll sluggishly. Especially on rough roads, Mavic's grip compound on the front wheel slows the bike down enormously.

Rolling resistance with/without inner tube:

Test winner:

Continental Grand Prix 5000
Fast and safe: the new Conti is the test winner with top performance, together with Schwalbe. High price.

Schwalbe One
Not quite as fast as the other test winner (Conti), but somewhat lighter and with top grip values.

Test conclusion:

Newcomers and established brands with new tyre models enrich the test field in the 25-millimetre class. The new Conti is in a class of its own when it comes to rolling resistance, Schwalbe has better grip but is on a par in terms of marks. However, the two test winners are by no means the only good tyres. Above all, there are also significantly cheaper models and those that perform excellently in individual disciplines.

Tyre tread can improve grip
Filippo Galli, development engineer for bicycle tyres, Pirelli on the subject of tyre tread and grip.

Interview Robert Kühnen
TOUR Why do road bike tyres need a tread?

GalliWater displacement is not an issue because a bicycle tyre does not float, but grip and aerodynamics can be optimised with a tread pattern.

How does the tread provide additional grip?

With tread cuts, the tyre deforms more because it is less rigid, which influences how well the tyre clings to the ground when leaning, especially on rough surfaces. We align the tread so that it is perpendicular to the forces acting on the tyre.

Road bike tyre profiles are very different. Diamond tread, longitudinal grooves or grooves across the direction of travel: which works best in terms of grip and why?

Our philosophy is to arrange the tread according to the direction of the forces acting on the tyre. When riding straight ahead, hardly any tread comes into contact with the ground, which is good for maximum speed. The best time trial tyre is therefore a slick. If you lean into a bend, the tyre shoulder is increasingly subjected to radial loads - this is where we orientate our tread at an increasing angle to the direction of travel.

How much does the profile influence the achievable cornering speed?

Not very strong. But fine-tuning the tread pattern can improve the tyre's grip and feedback to the rider, which is why our Four Seasons model has more and deeper cuts. During development, the stiffness of the rubber compound is matched to the substructure of the tyre. However, the same effect can also be achieved via the tread pattern.

If the profile is aligned the same at the front and rear?

We recommend aligning the tread equally at the front and rear to optimise grip.

You can download the complete test with all details and grades below for 1.99 euros.

Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has its price. That's why we guarantee independence and objectivity. The TOUR tests are based on standardised and reproducible test procedures, which we always disclose. TOUR articles can be bought - TOUR test victories cannot!

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