Generic Muck

Generally speaking, the generic tyres that come with any bike/set of wheels are, by default, a touch pants.

Always been the case. Whatever bike, whichever set of wheels, the tyres are always set to a price point. I assume they provide them knowing they'll instantly get replaced with the riders preferred rubber of choice. A bit like pedals, no decent bike comes with pedals nowadays as there is so much choice and each rider has a different preference.

I've bought a few set's of Mavic rims in my time, the generic tyres are good for about a 1000 miles, as an unwritten rule. When they start to cut and or puncture, get rid.

When I bought the Allez, the bike came with these. The Specialized Espoir Elite.

Specialized's detail here. Specialized class them as an 'Extremely reliable road tyre'. I have the 700x25's on my bike.

Now I changed the wheels on my bike as soon as I bought it, changing out the standard wheels for Shimano Ultegra 6800 road wheels, personal choice but I moved the Specialized tyres on to the new rims. Generally a good tyre with decent puncture protection has stiff sidewalls and fights to get on the rim. Not these, safe to say this was the easiest tyre change I've ever done.

I held out little hope of these tyres lasting any distance. I thought 'well, if i get 500 miles it's a start'.

Now I know this is tempting fate and its Friday and I will bloody curse this blog if I puncture BUT 1976 miles so far without a p******e (if I don't say it, its ok right) is bloody good going.

I keep a safety pin in my saddle bag and I do check my tyres before EVERY ride for any debris that is waiting to take me down. I have pulled shards of flint and glass from the tyres on at least 3 occasions, all credit to Specialized's 'BlackBelt Flat Protection' belt for keeping me rolling.

Honestly, these are a cracking summer tyre. I'm not a delicate rider by any means, British roads don't allow me to be. I will be buying these again.

I do intend to put the standard wheels back on the bike with a set of Gatorskins to see me through the winter but these tyres will adorn my summer wheels for years to come as I've become a real fan. A very dependable tyre, with a great level of grip, low rolling resistance and good puncture protection. Who Knew!