With all the deep-sectioned carbon fiber wheels and super light components there are to geek out on, it's easy to forget about one of the most important parts of your bike, your tires.
We've all ridden on rubber that doesn't ensure confidence when diving into a corner, or those training tires that aren't as flat proof as promised on the label. Tires like those don't make riding fun. But, when you find the perfect pair that make you feel as if you are floating on air, or riding on rails, you've struck gold.
Now, I know some people would swear their life on certain brands of tires, while conversely, the person next to them would completely disagree for the exact opposite reasons. Tire preference is extremely subjective, and mostly correlates to the positive or negative experience a rider has had with those tires, even if it ignores obvious fact.
Personally, I hate Michelin's, I think Vittoria's are just "alright," and I love Ritchey's 290tpi WCS Race Slick. Ritchey does make other models by the same name, but they don't have the high thread count, aren't hand made, and don't have the 160psi rating. Unfortunately, the shop I go to can't get these tires any more, so I am left feeling like I lost a best friend.
My quest for the next best tires on the planet has begun, and my first stop is DedaTRE's RS-Corsa. Yes, Deda does make tires. The specs on these handmade treads promise a no compromise race only tire, with a 300tpi casing, 7-9bar rating, and aggressive-looking tread pattern. The black cotton casing with an applied tread has an appearance very similar to the Ritchey's I rave about.
I had a very hard time when mounting the tires. The bead was probably the tightest fit I've ever encountered. I had to use talcum powder and tire levers to get the tire on the rim. I am a little disappointed with this because I hate having to wrestle tires, but on the up side, I'm extremely confident they won't be rolling off on their own.
After getting air into them, I was eager to take them for a test spin. I was slightly worried that I would be able to feel the tread pattern on the road, but I couldn't. The short ten minutes I cruised around the neighborhood, didn't yield any problems, and the real test came during the criterium I had the next day.
Going into corners the tires stuck amazingly well. Even on unfavorable road surfaces they did their job and I was able to focus on the race, not my tires. I remember one corner where I ran over a bump in the road that had been spray painted as a hazard. My back wheel jumped, but I almost didn't notice it because the tire stuck to the pavement so well. I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the tread pattern.
Overall, I'm really happy with the RS-Corsa. The only problem was the tight fit, but what really matters is how they performed on the road and did they that that flawlessly.
Open Tubular - HAND MADE
Cotton Casing 300 TPI
Dotted-twilled tread
Puncture resistant belting
23 mm width
8 - 10 bar pressure*
Weight 200 grams
Available full black and black tread with cream sidewalls
*listed 7-9bar on the sidewall
3 Comments:
I will have to try these out. They look pretty sweet. I usually get my bike parts from bikewagon but they don't carry them. Thanks for the informative post.
I've used these for a while and think they're terrific. They're really supple, and feel more like a quality sewup. Interestingly, I had a flat with one this morning and found that it came right off with very little wrestling and no tire irons--the bead had stretched quite a bit over its life.
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