Thursday, October 1, 2009

Review: CST Compressor Pro 700x23

Review: CST Compressor Pro 700x23 Tire (Folding)

I bought this tire when my old Bontrager blew out seemingly at random. Having skimped just a little on a tire last time, I decided I'd go with something a bit more heavy duty this time - perhaps a kevlar strip or wrap-around treads. Yet, somehow, I came walking out with the Compressor, a slick tire promised to skid like butter.

First, a bit about my riding habits. I have a 15 mile (round trip) commute five times a week, plus any extra riding I do for fun. Depending on the weather and people's schedule, this can mean anything from once to four or five times a week, for anything from five to forty miles. Given all this, I say I probably ride about 100 miles a week, give or take.

Furthermore, I rarely skid to stop. Yes, I will do it if I feel like I need to, but simply because I don't have the bones to keep replacing tires, I try to regulate my speed naturally rather than skidding a bunch. Don't get me wrong, I love skidding, it's just not extremely economical to do all the time. This is also one reason I run 46x15, giving myself 15 skid patches to mess around with.

So, while I like to think I ride a decent amount, I don't think I'm extremely rough on a tire. So I was pretty surprised to see that, after one month, my skid patches were getting pretty ragged and I was getting random flats. Basically, the road shreds this tire pretty damn quick if you're skidding at all. Might be okay for a front tire, but not so much for a rear one.


Not to say that it's a total loss; as Cort said when I bought it, it does skid like butter. Memphis Downs was coming up and yes, this tire is bomb for distance skidding. Unfortunately for me, I'm too much of a commuter to take proper advantage it.

So while I won't be buying this tire again and can't recommend it for daily riding, it does have its uses. If you wanna have fun skidding around like a maniac and don't mind going through tires like tissues, then the Compressor's for you. If not, just get a nice, thick tire and move on.

1 comment:

  1. So don't buy this tire if you are too stupid to install at least one brake caliper before riding in traffic. Got it.

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