I've read here several topics on Chinese road tires and still don't grasp the idea of buying them. I don't want to sound like an old bag but it's clearly one of the most performance-efficient components of the bike and it takes years of development and decades of experience to produce high-quality compound and subsequent tire which is more often than not costs NOT a lot. Why save on something so (relatively) cheap and efficient? If you don't race and 5 watts of rolling resistance means nothing to you, get top n-1 tier tire from reputable brand with heritage.
I agree somewhat and can see where you’re coming from, but to be honest, it actually kind of mildly frustrates me to read “often than not costs not a lot. Why save something on so (relatively) cheap and efficient?”
Everybody’s financial situation is different. My friends and I are current students and we’re looking at the Grand Prix (non-GP5000) tires, because it’s the n-1 to the GP5000 and would cost me $32 CAD/pair (on Taobao), compared to $134 CAD/pair. And if I can save that much, while satisfying just what I need (training tires in my use-case), that’s good enough.
I also partially opened this discussion, because I wanted to read any insightful info on mid-range road tires. Many discussions online usually pivot towards recommending a pair of GP5000s, and while yes, that makes sense - since they’re great tires, that kind of info is NOT exactly what I’m looking for. When I’m out of university, then perhaps I can afford higher end things regularly. But not now.
Furthermore, everyone’s reasons for learning a hobby is different. But my friends and I learned how to maintain and work on our bikes to save on repairs and learning new skills.
