BlackCircles tyres... fitted service

facade

Alan Millyard has converted a couple of H2 750 triples into 1000 4s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HULT3Y2rujY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPGTS-TJDGc

He is a good engineer, he shows how he makes some of his 'bikes, and he seems to do it by just looking at them and getting the hacksaw out (which is a bit hard to believe) but however he does it, he turns out some great stuff.

My brother had a Kawasaki KH250 triple, in proper green, with the raygun exhausts. Wish we still had that, there was a holder on the frame for spare plugs, as the centre one used to burn out every few miles.

I had an RD350 torque induction (=reed valves) the early one with the round tank. Again, I wish that was still in the shed. 70s two strokes go for comedy money, as the pensioners who cut their teeth on them want to pretend they are 17 again. I was watching some old codger explaining this, and he said that we can recognise the 'bike by the exhaust note, and he was right- you don't forget an RD, or the KH triples.

Suzuki had that insipid TS250 ram air (bit of folded tin that most people took off) 2 stroke, that sold by the shipload, because they had Barry Sheene riding for them.

JustAnotherSaver

facade said:

stuff

I thought you'd replied to one of my threads so was going to respond to you there but turns out you hadn't.

Same guy by any chance? I was just looking up an issue with my car and came across that.

facade

JustAnotherSaver said:

facade said:

stuff

I thought you'd replied to one of my threads so was going to respond to you there but turns out you hadn't.

Same guy by any chance? I was just looking up an issue with my car and came across that.

Yes that was me. I got a new gearlinkage by complaining about the gearchange, but it didn't fix it. When the warranty ran out I got the Vauxhall CD off ebay, and there in the bulletins I found that the problem was  they hadn't  crowned the gears properly when they made the gearbox and in case of repeated customer complaint they had to fit a gearbox that had actually been made properly in the first place.

I kid you not, there were several bulletins that said "in case of repeated customer complaint", like the one for fitting a timing chain tensioner that moved further to hide the rattle.

Takmon

Biggus_Dickus said:

Takmon said:

AdrianC said:

Takmon said:
They aren't some generic Chinese brand.

Yes, they are. They are precisely that.

http://www.tanvic.co.uk/tyre-brands/landsail-tyres.php
http://www.senturytire.com/about.php
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=landsail

They're almost certainly no more than a few quid cheaper than decent tyres off companies like Uniroyal, Avon or Vredestein.

Well from what I have seen they are better and from what I have experienced they are decent tyres that handle well (I have really pushed the limits of grip on several occasions) and last a long time.

The tyre brands you have mentioned would be atleast £55 more per tyre (which is almost double) for what i pay for Landsail fitted. Considering this is a money saving site why would I want to pay more when Landsail are decent enough?.

Tyres are always an emotive subject.

Personally I’ve always avoided budget tyres and stuck with long-established and well known brands, albeit more expensive.

Years ago the budget brands tended to be Eastern European and many were absolutely appalling. Perhaps my deep-seated  aversion to ‘budget’ tyres stems from those days.

Good tyres are obviously fundamental to a cars ‘safe’ handling etc and I just can’t bring  myself to fitting anything other than branded quality tyres;...maybe I’m just too ‘old school’.

 

But then how can you say that Landsail are bad but other cheap branded tyres are good?. Using your logic you should only be fitting the best of the best because of how important tyres are. But i am fitting tyres that i know are good enough and handle well, i have really pushed these tyres to the limit and that involved driving at far higher speeds around corners that anyone would normally on such a tight bend and they handled well. 

Takmon

AdrianC said:

Takmon said:

AdrianC said:

Takmon said:
They aren't some generic Chinese brand.

Yes, they are. They are precisely that.

http://www.tanvic.co.uk/tyre-brands/landsail-tyres.php
http://www.senturytire.com/about.php
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=landsail

They're almost certainly no more than a few quid cheaper than decent tyres off companies like Uniroyal, Avon or Vredestein.

...The tyre brands you have mentioned would be atleast £55 more per tyre (which is almost double) for what i pay for Landsail fitted.

That I very much doubt. Show your working!

Let's take a fairly typical size, which is in Landsail's seemingly limited range.
205/55 16, LS388

Halfords charge £42 fitted.
https://www.halfords.com/tyres/landsail/ls388-ls388.html
...or £46 for Avons.
https://www.halfords.com/tyres/avon/zt5-zt5.html

Camskill charge £41 plus delivery plus fitting.
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m62b0s291p182135/

A random local tyre place want £84 each...
https://www.hartlepooltyres.co.uk/TyreSearch/Details/32033/Landsail+LS388+20555R16
...while another want £45 each...
https://www.hlrtyres.co.uk/tyres/176962/tyre-landsail-ls388-20555r16-91-w

Oponeo are out of stock, but suggest £38 "Imperial" as a similar alternative.
https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre/landsail-ls388-205-55-r16-91-v
...or £46 for Avons.
https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre/avon-zv7-205-55-r16-91-v#311961522

https://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search?width=205&profile=55&rim=16
Blackcircles don't sell Landsail.
But Avons are £54 each.
The cheapest, nastiest, no-names are £43. Rotalla are £50. Taurus are £52.
Even Michelin are only £73...

eTyres have Royal at £39, Autogrip at £41, Comforser at £42, Kormoran at £49, Duroturn at £50... and Avon at £57. 
https://www.etyres.co.uk/205-55-16

That's a size where Vrede and Uniroyal are actually fairly expensive - they're normally down there at the Avon price point, not much above the off-brand teflon-concrete-cheese mixes - including Landsail.

Well like i said i compared the ones mentioned by you (Uniroyal, Avon or Vredestein) to Landsail LS588 tyres at the size my car takes which is 235 / 35 / 19.

On Halfords Tyres the Landsail price is £83.99 fitted and Avon is £135.99 fitted so £52 which is close to the £55 i mentioned. 

On Oponeo a Uniroyal Tyre is £101 so that's about £40 more than the cheapest Landsail LS588 tyre i can find online. On etyres i have seen a GT Radial tyre for £83.40 so that only about £20 more than i pay per tyre now. These are not made in China but that's all i know and i have no reason to change to them from Landsail but would consider them possibly after further research.

Having a look online for Landsail Tyres Tests here are two sites:
The first one the guy seems pretty happy with them:
http://www.frontseatdriver.co.uk/2016/10/tyre-test-can-landsail-tyres-banish-the-budget-brand-baggage/

The second one says they don't score well for handling and aquaplaning but seem to score well overall compared to other tyre brands:
https://www.hometyre.co.uk/mobile-tyre-fitting/mobile-tyre-fitting-sussex/blog/summer-tyres-tested-in-finland/

AdrianC

Takmon said:

AdrianC said:

Takmon said:

...The tyre brands you have mentioned would be atleast £55 more per tyre (which is almost double) for what i pay for Landsail fitted.

That I very much doubt. Show your working!

Well like i said i compared the ones mentioned by you (Uniroyal, Avon or Vredestein) to Landsail LS588 tyres at the size my car takes which is 235 / 35 / 19.

On Halfords Tyres the Landsail price is £83.99 fitted and Avon is £135.99 fitted so £52 which is close to the £55 i mentioned. 

A surprisingly large difference - but nowhere near your "nearly double".

BlackCircles have Avon and Toyo for £111, Uniroyal for £122,
https://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search?width=235&profile=35&rim=19

So we're down to £30, or 35% difference.

On etyres i have seen a GT Radial tyre for £83.40 so that only about £20 more than i pay per tyre now. These are not made in China but that's all i know and i have no reason to change to them from Landsail but would consider them possibly after further research.

GT are a brand of Giti, which is a Singaporean budget manufacturer, manufacturing in China and Indonesia. Their other brands include Primewell and Runway, which should tell you all you need to know.

Biggus_Dickus

Takmon said:

Biggus_Dickus said:

Takmon said:

AdrianC said:

Takmon said:
They aren't some generic Chinese brand.

Yes, they are. They are precisely that.

http://www.tanvic.co.uk/tyre-brands/landsail-tyres.php
http://www.senturytire.com/about.php
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=landsail

They're almost certainly no more than a few quid cheaper than decent tyres off companies like Uniroyal, Avon or Vredestein.

Well from what I have seen they are better and from what I have experienced they are decent tyres that handle well (I have really pushed the limits of grip on several occasions) and last a long time.

The tyre brands you have mentioned would be atleast £55 more per tyre (which is almost double) for what i pay for Landsail fitted. Considering this is a money saving site why would I want to pay more when Landsail are decent enough?.

Tyres are always an emotive subject.

Personally I’ve always avoided budget tyres and stuck with long-established and well known brands, albeit more expensive.

Years ago the budget brands tended to be Eastern European and many were absolutely appalling. Perhaps my deep-seated  aversion to ‘budget’ tyres stems from those days.

Good tyres are obviously fundamental to a cars ‘safe’ handling etc and I just can’t bring  myself to fitting anything other than branded quality tyres;...maybe I’m just too ‘old school’.

 

But then how can you say that Landsail are bad but other cheap branded tyres are good?. Using your logic you should only be fitting the best of the best because of how important tyres are. But i am fitting tyres that i know are good enough and handle well, i have really pushed these tyres to the limit and that involved driving at far higher speeds around corners that anyone would normally on such a tight bend and they handled well. 

Perhaps my waffly posts haven’t been very clear but I didn’t say that Landsail were bad;...I said I refused the  dealers kind offer of Landsail tyres.

Neither have I said that (any) other cheap branded tyres are good.

As I stated up-thread I have a deep-seated aversion to budget tyres;...I just wouldn’t feel comfortable having them fitted.

However, I do feel comfortable, or as comfortable as I can be, fitting ‘upmarket-tyres’ (for want of a better phrase.)

What price peace of mind?...it varies from person to person.

 

Takmon

AdrianC said:

Takmon said:

AdrianC said:

Takmon said:

...The tyre brands you have mentioned would be atleast £55 more per tyre (which is almost double) for what i pay for Landsail fitted.

That I very much doubt. Show your working!

Well like i said i compared the ones mentioned by you (Uniroyal, Avon or Vredestein) to Landsail LS588 tyres at the size my car takes which is 235 / 35 / 19.

On Halfords Tyres the Landsail price is £83.99 fitted and Avon is £135.99 fitted so £52 which is close to the £55 i mentioned. 

A surprisingly large difference - but nowhere near your "nearly double".

BlackCircles have Avon and Toyo for £111, Uniroyal for £122,
https://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search?width=235&profile=35&rim=19

So we're down to £30, or 35% difference.

On etyres i have seen a GT Radial tyre for £83.40 so that only about £20 more than i pay per tyre now. These are not made in China but that's all i know and i have no reason to change to them from Landsail but would consider them possibly after further research.

GT are a brand of Giti, which is a Singaporean budget manufacturer, manufacturing in China and Indonesia. Their other brands include Primewell and Runway, which should tell you all you need to know.

Yes my "nearly double" was a bit of an unfair comparison of a quick look online and what i paid last year for the tyres so not as much difference when i look online in more depth. 

Considering i have managed to get tyres fitted for over £10 each less than what is quoted by blackcircles through a local tyre fitter then a Toyo tyre for £100 fitted does sound tempting and is something i might go for when i next need new tyres but that won't be for quite a while at the current wear rate. 

Biggus_Dickus

I’m all done with the budget tyre thingy but here’s an  offshoot subject that’s pertinent to the thread starter.

 My daughter had two new rear tyres fitted to her Volvo recently. Only 11k miles but unfortunately there was a large  screw through the nearside tyre side-wall.

The mobile tyre-fitter reckoned he uses a Smart App that tells him what pressure to put in the new tyres.

As with many  modern cars the Volvo tyre pressure chart shows several options for the rear tyres; i.e. light load 33psi... full load 38psi...speed variations...ECO....etc.

The fitter didn’t ask about the anticipated loading of the car and proceeded to fill the tyres to 36psi without further ado,...presumably??? guided by his App.

However, the pressure chart also shows an ECO ‘light load’ setting of 38psi....a full 5psi more than the standard  ‘light load’ setting.

ECO...economy/ecology or whatever the hell it means;...does it come at a cost to the car’s performance/handling/safety etc.?

Any thoughts?

 

AdrianC

Higher tyre pressures usually mean lower rolling resistance - but at the expense of ride quality and grip.

Why didn't he just look at the sticker that would have been on the car...?