Style vs Practicality – Conti GP4000 Ltd. Edition Tires

I agree. Those would be white tires for at least 10 minutes.

Nice. I’ve had these in my Probikekit cart for a few weeks, but haven’t decided whether or not I really needed them (I’m an Ultremo, not a Conti). This helped.

i just set some white tires up on my 09 roubaix and they were white for all of about fifteen feet. most certainly worth it for the first ride, but that is about the extent of it.

I like to think of brakeless riding like telemark skiing, not necessarily practical but an interesting challenge.

Is it not true that we cyclist are consumed with our own vanity at moments? I believe that our bikes are personal reflections and by god I want my shit to look good. Keep it up!

Those tires are cool and would look great on a white steel road bike.

Style is subjective and practicality has limits.

A buddy of mine is a former area rep for a huge cycling distributor. These days we only share common interest in Hot Rods. In a recent chat I mentioned that my 1995 Carnac Road shoes are once again coming apart in several critical places and that they sure don’t make wood glue like they used to. These shoes have spent more than their share of nights in Vicegrips, my bench vice, clamps, as well as a few miles wrapped in boxing tape – clearly I have no shame. I have literally ridden every penny of value out of these shoes.

So my friend says that he has a pair of Northwave “pro quality size 48’s” new in the box for $100. He described them as “serious road shoes and that Mario Cipollini rode in the same shoe and they are chrome” Excuse me? http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/northwave/northwavethreeboth.jpg.

I ride a triple cranked steel bike with a Brooks B17 and a hand me down pair of 700×28 tires (Thanks again,Michael). I am not flashy in any way but I will take the jabbing and deserved snickering as I peddle along in these “look at me” shoes.

…and Michael…I’ll take those white tires off your hands when they lose their shine. I have no shame.

I love to color match tires with my bikes.

I have a set of green tires on my green bike, red Michelin Pro Race 3’s on my light blue bike with red accents and light blue on my Ti bike. I even go one step further and try to match everything to the proper colored Chris King hubs.

Once you go with colored tires the bike never looks the same with plain black tires.

willy in pacifica

I just did a fun cycling event where most of the bikes were fixed gear and brakeless (http://vimeo.com/4225237). I had always misunderstood riding with no brakes but I was blown away at the skill of many of these riders. The good ones can definitely do without brakes! The majority of these riders are an accident waiting to happen though.

If BR’s riding conversations feature the same hilarity as his written comments, then it’d be brilliant to spin a few miles alongside. Genius. It’d have to be an overcast day though ‘cos maaaan those shoes are BLING! Glint of sunlight off those badboys and you’d surely go blind.

Michael, that bike looks sweet from every angle. The white tyres are worth it even if you only get the single Mayfly day of glory before they fade.

Richard,

Yes that Brendan character definitely has his moments when we’re on the road together. I may have to ping Oakley and ask whether they could formulate a special “welder glass” lense for my Radars. I’m concerned sunlight hitting those shoes might create the equivalent of snow blindness. And then there’s the hazard of starting grass fires, now that the California rains have stopped.

You’re right… the Enigma is going to sit their ready to go with those tires until the stars align or Liz Hatch shows up for a ride.

thats why you have to get the all white vittoria’s. the sidewalls stay white, and if you live in a somewhat rainy climate, the treads turn white again after a good wet ride. my white hubbed, white rimmed dt rr1450’s never looked white-ier.
but yes, $125 for some limited edition colored tires is silly….but so is 11-speed super record….

we both have white tires now!

it rained today, which meant that my tires got washed off but at the same time they have brake dust water all over them. so, yeah, that white’s not going to last long. i think i’m aiming for a light gray color when the summer’s over.

still, those continentals look beautiful on your bike. sexier than heidi klum, even.

Bike style is an interesting thing. I have a custom IF Road and Waterford Track, so there definitely is some ego there, but I promised myself only to mess with (clean, fix, admire, primp) my bikes in so much as to ride them. To quote something or other I read “Vanity destroys a man’s natural confidence.”

I wonder where whitewall tyres would come on your graph?

My first serious bike was a Raleigh Palm Beach Ca.1966 with luxurious whitewalls. As a wild kid I pedalled that poor bike over every possible surface… I can even recall riding it in the shallows at the beach. The tyres lasted for years and always seems to look pretty good after a clean.

Of course in the Sixties we were more concerned with style than practicality!

Another very amusing look at the fads and fashions of cycling California style. Mustn’t let America destroy your grammar though Michael. Your email is bouncing my reply to your comment on my blog for some reason.

All the very best
Dougie

The Superclamp + Magic Arm bike stand is something I never thought of.

Don’t forget you can put your tyres in the washing machine and they generally come out pretty well.

i have a pair of the Chrome Northwave Aerator shoes from about 2 years ago. In hindsight, I should have gone for white Sidis. More class,poss.as blingy and just as expensive. Those Northwaves haven’t been out in a while.

Let’s ride early Saturday so nobody sees me…I’ll either be wearing the loosely bound antiques or the Flash Gordon Specials. Both are equally disturbing for different reasons. I’ll never again point and laugh at a geezer cycling with a skateboard helmet, terry cloth wrist bands, and tube socks up to the knee.