You probably haven’t had much response to the tyre question because it’s a very subjective topic. Everyone has their favourites for very different reasons/applications - one man’s meat is another man’s poison! "Value for money" is a broad term and everybody's pockets are a different depth! However, there is a general consensus the stock Tourance are rubbish, but even then there are a few folk who sing their praises! Just to give you an idea of what a minefield tyre choice is, I used to find TKC80s were the best tyre for my use/needs, but when I modified/improved my suspension my opinion changed – they became horrible (on the road anyway)! So you can see, even individual bike setup affects tyre selection.

For what it’s worth, you need to be honest with yourself and work out in your own mind what kind of riding you’re going to do and what your priorities are. Think about :

• Bias toward off road/on road riding
• Grip – dry/wet/on/off road
• Braking - dry/wet/on/off road
• Handling characteristics
• Feedback
• Comfort
• Noise
• Looks/appearance
• Ease of DIY tyre changing (bead breaking)
• Puncture resistance
• Wear rate
• Cost to buy
• Running costs per mile

There is no such thing as a do-it-all or "all-rounder" tyre. The perfect tyre for you will be a big compromise of all of the above, so rank them in order of importance. Once you’ve done that I think we’ll be able to guide you a little better through the options. However, it will only be a guide, a point in the right direction. At the end of the day, the only way to know what works for you is to try tyres out yourself, on your bike, riding your roads/trails. If you like them, buy them again. If you don’t, add them to your banned list!

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