I bought these tires a few years ago to use on my Cruzbike Silvio, a front wheel drive recumbent that, in appearance and thoughtful design, failed to be the bike I was looking for.
When I upgraded my touring bike, the Cannondale, I used the same wheels/tires that I had on the Cruzbike, which had come off the Cannondale originally. Annie at Twin Sisters Bike Shop had recommended these as a solid, well reviewed tire, so I bought them. That was over two years ago. True, I've not got the miles on them that I've put on the Grand Bois Col de la Madeleine tires, which I just replaced with the Grand Bois Cerf tires because the Col de la Madeleines were worn out. More on that...the Col de la Madeleine's wore out in less than one year. Not stellar, in my opinion.
Back to the Vittoria Randonneur tires. To date, they've been excellent tires. I know. I know. Only Schwalbe tires rate that comment, but it's not true. I had one set of Schwalbe tires that, according to their website, were impervious to even thumbtacks. Remind me to show you the picture of my brand new Schwalbes, on the first ride with them, with a thumbtack stuck in the tire and it's, right, FLAT. So much for claims. I have discovered that hype is hype, for the umpteenth time in my life. These Vittoria Randonneur tires have functioned nearly flawlessly, at least for no flats, to date. Cost? About $35 each. Great price for a very durable tire. I also think the Continental Gatorskins are a good competitor to the Schwalbes. Not taking anything from Schwalbe, however, they are not the end all, be all in durable tires. The do have the reputation, but don't think other tires aren't as good. They are.
Enough on these tires. Good price, durable, able to withstand all that Schwalbes can for much lower price, so how can you beat that??? Time to exit this post....how about a bit of Charles Mingus? Don't know him? Well, give a listen..."Reincarnation of a Lovebird". I do like jazz....
