Here at More Adventure, we are often dubious of cycling gear manufacturer’s claims. We feel that some of them exaggerate the truth with their claims of “hard-wearing”, “durable” and “well-designed”. But if there is one thing you need to get right when upgrading elements of your beloved steed, it is tyres.
Our cycle guides are heavy users of gear. We continually test all sorts of equipment, clothing and other outdoor paraphernalia in amazing, moderate and downright miserable conditions, often to destruction. To give you an idea, between June and September this year, More Adventure guide Danny covered nearly 4000 miles on his 2012 Cube Peloton. That’s around four Lands End to John O’Groats – just for work, with no personal stuff included! As guides, we get no choice of the weather, we can’t take a look outside at the rain and think, “I’ll leave it until tomorrow”. We have to go out, it’s our job.
And what from a guide’s perspective is the most infuriating thing to ruin a ride whilst guiding? Punctures. On a London to Paris Cycle in August 2013, one group of 18 riders suffered a total of 18 punctures! Bad luck? Awful weather? Wrong – the weather was bad but the punctures were had by only five riders, four of them with the same, unsuitable tyres. These were Tom’s hands after that fateful day:
The range of road bike tyres out there is truly overwhelming. It would seem there are individual tyres designed for dry, wet, soggy, snowy, inclement, balmy and even indoor! If you’re not careful, you could end up spending hundreds just on tyres! Now this may not be a problem if you’re particularly well-off, but for the average cyclist there are financial (not to mention space!) limits on every spend you make on your bike. The money spent on getting that latest pair of “UK pot-hole-friendly” tyres to take off where your “dry-with-a-dusting-of-sand” tyres left off, could be spent on other bike-bling!
Enter the Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase 
So, how do they perform? Whilst not strictly a slick tyre, if correctly inflated, the tyres behave a lot like racing tyres. They handle even the steepest corners with gusto and give a great deal of confidence, even in the wet. Whilst slightly heavier than similar performing tyres, this is a small price to pay for their brilliant puncture resistance.
Even so, we have tested them on the best potholes that the Scottish Highlands have to offer, the smooth, hot tarmac of the Pyrenees, the flint-littered backroads of rain-soaked Wales and city streets peppered with broken glass. In one whole season of riding, the Hardcases have outlived more expensive alternatives. On an extremely wet four-day ride through Wales and Ireland with loaded bikes we didn’t have one puncture the whole time! Here, Tom’s Giant (complete with a pair of Bontrager Hardcases) is fully loaded up ready for a two-day mini-tour across the Peak District:
Not one puncture, even with that extra weight and two days of solid rain!
We’ve discovered nicks in the tyres that would have undoubtedly ended the lives of similar models. Here’s a video to show you:
This video was taken after several thousand miles on Danny’s bike. As you can see, there are a few slashes and cuts, but the tyre lasted another 500 miles until we decided to change it! Incredible.
How are they for value? For under £20 on Amazon (Click Here)
For any cycling itinerary, we’ll recommend this tyre – we love them! On our Lands End to John O’Groats Cycle or London to Paris Cycle, you need a tough tyre as punctures can cost you and the group a great deal of time.
© 2024