# Serfas Survivor Seca and/or Michelin Dynamic Sport



## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

Has anyone ridden on Serfas Survivor STKB Seca and/or Michelin Dynamic Sport tires, and can comment on the durability, puncture resistance, and speed of these tires, particularly in 700 x 25 and 700 x 28 sizes?


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Anyone?*

Anyone used these tires?


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

meeshu said:


> Has anyone ridden on Serfas Survivor STKB Seca and/or Michelin Dynamic Sport tires, and can comment on the durability, puncture resistance, and speed of these tires, particularly in 700 x 25 and 700 x 28 sizes?


So, while I have not ridden either tire, I can say this: I have ridden the Serfas Seca RS, in 700 x 23 for the past couple years and have been very happy with them. They roll well, have good grip, and I have not had any issues with flats. I weigh 250-ish, and am running 110 psi front / 120 psi rear. The Seca RS is also available in 700 x 25 and 700 x 28 sizes.

Platypius, who owns the bike shop featured in the "Opening a Bike Shop :: v2" thread up in The Lounge likes these tires (Serfas Seca RS) very much.

Hope this helps.


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## Chris Gonzalez (May 12, 2010)

I ride Serfas Seca. Really like them. Good value, they feel like more expensive tires. Michelin Dynamic were stock on my bike. They suck. Very low ride quality and poor flat resistance.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Thanks, but . .*

Thanks for the comments.

But the tires of interest (Serfas *Survivor* STKB Seca and/or Michelin Dynamic *Sport*) are different models to that discussed.

These (new) tires are supposed to have improved puncture resistance and possibly improved durability as well.

I believe the standard Serfas Seca tires are OK, but the *Survivor* tire is better. Also, the Michelin Dynamic tires are not the best overall, but the *Sport* version is (supposedly) better.


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## Will Be Was (Jun 10, 2010)

I ride on Serfas Seca 700x28c, first set coast me $15.00each tire and I got 800 miles before I got any flat and decided to put on a new pair at $24.00 each now.
About 150 miles in I got flat, and start to inspect the mysterious glass shards in the tires, and I have done so more often now
I commute to NYC about 70% on bike path but still you never know when you are going to get hit with a flat, I guess best is to be prepared with extra tubes and inflation devices, and I'm also exploring with the tire liners to see if they are worth it.


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

I have had very good luck with Dynamics, in both 28mm and 25mm sizes, but I've just put a 23mm Dynamic Sports on my good weather bike's front wheel, and let me tell you, it is _skinny_. It looks to be 3mm or so smaller than the 23mm Orium I have on the rear. If that's true through the whole line of Sports (i.e., being narrower than spec) I may go to a 25mm Dynamic Sport in back. I love the slick tread--I haven't seen a tread surface this nice since I stopped riding Carbons.

I'll let you know my experience, but since it's only on the front so far...it may be a while before I have any problems .


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

OK. So far, in the dry and in the rain, it's a nice tire. Rolls smooth, looks good. I _did_ get word back from Michelin that they tend to run small due to a new approach to construction, whatever that is. So I'll pick up a 25mm for the rear on my bike. But absolutely no complaints, and it's nice to have a smooth-surfaced tire for a change!


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Thanks!*

Thanks for the comments!

Looking forward to further details (particularly durability and puncture resistance) on the these tires when and if available!


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

So far, so good. But beware that since I live in Connecticut, glass resistance is less of an issue than it would be in, say, Wisconsin (I've lived both places, and bottle deposit in CT keeps so much glass off the road it isn't funny).


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

Ok, meeshu --

Stopped by the non-local REI today and put my hands on the Survivor Edition of the Serfas Seca.

Thickest, stiffest sidewalls I have ever seen. And the tread is similarly solid. I can't imagine these being comfortable to ride. I can imagine them being nearly flat proof. They made the Conti Gatorbacks that were next to them seem flimsy, by comparison. The Survivor actually made me think of a car tire, it was so thick and stiff.

I will say this in their favor: the tread compound seemed to have the same grippiness (to my well calibrated thumb) as a normal Seca RS.

So if you want or need a tire with good grip that you could probably ride through anything, and you are willing to accept the compromises necessary to achieve that, the Serfas Seca Survivor seems like a good choice.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Thank you!*

So it seems these Seca Survivor tires are (highly) puncture resistant, but are probably slow rolling (road test to confirm). Durability is also unknown until road tested.

These tires seem to be oriented more towards the commuter/long haul cyclist.

I had some doubts about these tires in terms of speed and price. These tires are a bit expensive compared to some other tires of interest (Michelin Dynamic Sport and Continental Gatorskin).

I'm currently using the very good Gatorskin's, but looking at cheaper options at this time due to limited finances.

The Michelin Dynamic Sport tires are cheaper, and may be (according to manufacturer specs and posts by Andy M-S) faster rolling than the Serfas Survivor Seca tires. But their durability and puncture resistance has yet to be determined.


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

My Dynamic Sport front is still doing well, and I recently put a 25mm DS on the rear, and it's nice as well. These are true slicks, and have a nice feel to them. Again, I don't know how they would do in a place with more glass on the ground than Connecticut. Worth noting as well is that after a few days of riding, they measure significantly closer to actual 23mm and 25mm tires (respectively) than did earlier generations of Michelins, which tended to be generously sized (23mm was closer to actual 25mm, etc).

Cheap and effective--and available in all-black.


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

As a comment on flat resistance...until you have thousands of tires out on the road, you can't get any decent data, because flats are so often due to particular riding conditions. They're idiosyncratic, so to speak. And even once you DO get thousands out on the road, you're likely to get reports only from people with bad experiences, so (in theory) the number of reports of tire failure should also be proportional to the number of people using that particular tire.

I gave up on worrying about flats years ago. If I get two or three a year, what's the big deal? I rode tires with Kevlar belts for a time, but they were so much less comfortable to ride, I decided the tradeoff was worth it. I'm usually early enough to work that I have plenty of time to patch a tire--and I usually just swap tubes and patch the damaged tube later.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Thank you!*

Thanks for the detailed comments!

Many of the roads in my area are chip sealed and most have debris. So tire durability and puncture resistance is important.

It is not unusual for me to get up to _*three*_ punctures during rides, even while using Continental Gatorskin tires (which are usually very good all-purpose tires)! I hate having to fix punctures, and punctures tend to spoil rides anyway! So a tire that is less susceptible to puncturing is highly preferred. But the tire should ideally be not as heavy and slow rolling such as the Specialized All Condition Armadillo's for example.

As I'm on _very limited_ income at the moment, I'm looking for cheaper alternatives such as the Michelin Dynamic Sport tire.

At this stage, it seems the puncture resistance of the Michelin Dynamic Sport tire is still an unknown. I could get a set of these tires on a punt, and try them out on the poor roads around here and see how things go. But I don't want to waste money (actually I can't afford to waste money) in the event the tires do not perform as hoped and then having to scrap them.


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

*Tires*

Well, they're cheap and effective (for me). One nice thing is that if you don't have invert tread (like some older Michelin tires) you don't tend to get bits of glass, etc., trapped in the tread. And they're easy to clean between rides. Have you considered putting some kind of sealant into your tubes? I've never used it, but it's always seemed like it would be a reasonable idea if I got a lot of flats.

Otherwise, Pasela Tourgards are very good tires, and frequently available for cheap from Nashbar, etc. I don't like the surface, but have used them for some things. My big problem with them right now on the bike where I used them is that they're virtually impossible to mount/dismount on the particular rear rim :-(.

But even more than that. When I lived in upstate NY and western Wisconsin, I saw *no* difference in the number of flats between kevlar belted and unbelted tires. Given how much worse the ride was with belted tires, I opted not to use them.


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

Another followup: Several hundred miles later, one flat (which may have been due to a grain of sand or something like caught inside, between tire and tube) and a few small cuts. Mileage includes riding through (and over) a lot of detritus from Irene. Verdict: Pretty danged durable.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

Sorry about delay in replying; been away trying to accumulate funds to repair/maintain bike.

Thanks for the comments!

Thought about using sealant in tubes, but not too keen on the extra weight added (to tubes and therefore to the wheels) due to the injection of sealant within the tubes.

Using Continental Gatorskins, on average I don't get many flats anyway. But, as mentioned in an earlier post, I do sometimes get several punctures during a ride. However, this doesn't happen often (fortunately).

The Michelin Dynamic Sport tires may be worth trying out.

I'm still looking at other possible (cheap) tires such as Vittoria Zaffiro, and Panaracer's etc but tires in 28c size can be difficult to get.

Thanks again!


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## Smirob (Aug 26, 2009)

Don't get the Zaffiros I have never seen a tire get as many punctures as I had on Zaffiros this summer. I switched to Serfas Secas and no more flats. The Serfas Seca is a good tire for most normal riding.
I too have been wodering how good the new Dynamic sport is Michelin tires always have good ride quality. The old Dynamics were just too slow riding.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

I have just recently purchased Vittoria Zaffiro tires in 700 x 25 and 700 x 28 sizes.

A few years ago I rode on Zaffiro tires (for a little while) in 700 x 25 size without any problem. Also, from a variety of reviews/sources, the Zaffiros appear to be a reasonable training and general purpose tire for the price! So I decided to try these tires again.

Actually, I was about to purchase the Michelin Dynamic Sport tires from Chain Reaction Cycles (in the UK), but the shipping charge to New Zealand (where I live) for this tire was quoted at ~ USD43. But other tires listed at CRC similar to the Dynamic Sport tire in terms of size, weight, and base price, have their shipping charge as being USD8.50 (as usual)!?

I queried this 5x increase in shipping charge for the Michelin Dynamic Sport tire, and was advised by CRC that shipping charge was (basically) due to tire size, weight, and courier used.  I didn't purchase the Dynamic Sport tire in the end as the higher shipping charge appeared to be excessive.

Also, at the time, free shipping was being offered by CRC to many countries including Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia etc, but free shipping was NOT being offered to NZ and several other countries. Since free shipping was not available to NZ, this also made for less incentive to make the purchase.

I'll try out the Zaffiros for now, but I will probably give the Michelin Dynamic Sport tires a try later on when I can afford to, and I'll probably purchase these tires from another online store.


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## Svooterz (Jul 29, 2006)

meeshu said:


> Actually, I was about to purchase the Michelin Dynamic Sport tires from Chain Reaction Cycles (in the UK), but the shipping charge to New Zealand (where I live) for this tire was quoted at ~ USD43. But other tires listed at CRC similar to the Dynamic Sport tire in terms of size, weight, and base price, have their shipping charge as being USD8.50 (as usual)!?
> 
> I queried this 5x increase in shipping charge for the Michelin Dynamic Sport tire, and was advised by CRC that shipping charge was (basically) due to tire size, weight, and courier used.  I didn't purchase the Dynamic Sport tire in the end as the higher shipping charge appeared to be excessive.


The Dynamic Sport is a rigid tire because it has a steel bead. I can't fold, so I can see how shipping it is gonna cause headaches! The box would have to be as big as a bike wheel, tire included. That would explain the shipping overcharge.

Look at any folding tire at CRC and the shipping costs should be around 7-10$. Money saved on shipping can go on the tires themselves, so treat yourself


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*My Mistake!*

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I was *aware* that the Michelin Dynamic Sport tires use a *wire* bead. And I referred to other similar sized _*wire*_ beaded tires in comparing shipping costs.

So it is still not clear why the shipping cost from CRC for the Michelin Dynamic Sport tire is considerably higher than the shipping cost for similar tires such as Michelin Dynamic Classic, Continental Ultra Sport and Continental Gatorskin for example!?

The money saved by not purchasing the Michelin Dynamic Sport tire from CRC was used to purchase several Vittoria Zaffiro tires elsewhere.

Currently using Continental Gatorskin 700 x 25 on the front wheel and a Vittoria Zaffiro 700 x 28 on the rear wheel. So far, after about 200 miles of cycling on chip seal roads and through some debris on the roads, the Zaffiro tire is holding up well with some sign of wear on the tread.

However. If I can get some Michelin Dynamic Sport tires at low price (including shipping) from somewhere else, I'll take the opportunity to purchase them and try them out. Until then, I'll stick with the Zaffiro's and, price permitting, the Gatorskins also.


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