Bontrager R3 Road Tire

Comments:

I have only been riding on R3 700x32s for a little over a month. I feel they're too slow in comparison to 700x23c tires that I have been riding on for 6 years. Considering switching to R3 700x23s.

Comments:

I've been a fan of the R3 since it came out. I typically get one flat every 2-3,000 miles, and never a blowout. Confidence-inspiring on descents. I own a shop; I can ride any tire I want. Many companies would give me tires for free. I actually pay for these. My only complaint is their lifespan; tire wear is greatly accelerated when you ride in the hills, and that's the only riding I do. I'll get about 1500 miles out of a rear tire; a lighter rider in less-challenging terrain will do better.

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My wife and I went tubeless using the R3. Within 2 months we had 3 flats between us and the tires were damaged enough that we had to get 2 new tires to remain tubeless. I use this bike to compete in triathlons, so I have switched to another tire brand, I just don't trust these tires. I have a new set of tires to put on my wife's bike also. Tubeless might be okay, but not these tires.

Comments:

The only tire I have been using, so not a lot of rereference. I do 2500km with the back tire and I am 87kg and the roads I ride are not always the best. I only have flats near the end of the tire's life. I can't really evaluate the traction, I feel very confident riding the bike.

Comments:

These tires came with a new Madone 5.2. They have lasted for 3800mi with the cord just starting to show through. I had no flats even with the high mileage and all of the stuff that I have ran over on the road. The tires have a lot of grip and I always had confidence in high speed cornering with them. Last year I used Bontrager R1 tires and had to replace them every 1500mi due to excessive wear, so these have been a big improvement. I would highly recommend these tires

Comments:

Overall, I was not impressed with the Bontager R3 due to the many flats encountered during cycling. I am an avid cyclist of approximately 1000-1500 km a month during the summer, most of my riding is on the pavement with about 5 percent on dirt/gravel/rough roads. I have had many other tires and encountered flats approximately 1 or 2 times during the typical 3500km lifespan. These R3 tires I was encountering flats especially on the back tire every 250km. I even put stronger/thicker tubes and helped slightly but still created grief. I put these tires in the garbage can after only 1500km. I am about 195 lbs. and a strong cyclist so weight and power perhpas to much for this lightweight tire of approximately 200 grams. The R1 tire came as factory on my Trek Domane bike and had much better success. These R3 tires are lightweight and fast and would only recommend these on paved roads with very little debris. I'm not road racing and value puncture resistance higher than speed. There are better tires out there.