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It is done...
After much soul-searching, (and forum-searching, and web-searching) I've made a decision and purchased tires for the GL. I ponied up for a set of the Elite III's. Why? I) Availablility. None of the shops around here could order me a set of the Shinkos. They also said all the Shinkos were crap, which, frankly, I do not believe. I'm more inclined to believe the people who've actually used them; not the people who have more to gain by selling me more expensive products. If I could've purchased a set locally, I likely would have, despite the shops' assertions of being an inferior product. II) Value. I like the thought of good performance and high mileage. If in fact the tread gets a bit wonky and noisy in the corners, then I'll just have to think louder inside my helmet to drown out the noise. And III) Cost. The cheapest I found a set of the Shinko TourMaster was on fleaBay, from the US, for about $115 CDN. That's great, but they quoted shipping at almost $100 to Canada, plus whatever import/duty/brokerage fees apply (I don't buy much stuff off the 'net, so I don't really know if tires are subject to those fees). The E III's I ordered are from a shop in Toronto (about 500 km from my place) where I bought a riding jacket last October. Great people, good prices - $244 before tax; so not much more than the Shinkos anyway. Coincidentally I'm heading to Toronto for a wedding this weekend, so I'll pick up the tires Friday afternoon.
Now all I have to do is buy some tire levers, figure out what other little fiddly bits I'll need to change them myself, and have at it.
So, many thanks for everybody's input; it's great knowing there's people a thousand miles away who'll help an indecisive stranger make up his mind. Glad I finally came on board.
Cheers
-chris
After much soul-searching, (and forum-searching, and web-searching) I've made a decision and purchased tires for the GL. I ponied up for a set of the Elite III's. Why? I) Availablility. None of the shops around here could order me a set of the Shinkos. They also said all the Shinkos were crap, which, frankly, I do not believe. I'm more inclined to believe the people who've actually used them; not the people who have more to gain by selling me more expensive products. If I could've purchased a set locally, I likely would have, despite the shops' assertions of being an inferior product. II) Value. I like the thought of good performance and high mileage. If in fact the tread gets a bit wonky and noisy in the corners, then I'll just have to think louder inside my helmet to drown out the noise. And III) Cost. The cheapest I found a set of the Shinko TourMaster was on fleaBay, from the US, for about $115 CDN. That's great, but they quoted shipping at almost $100 to Canada, plus whatever import/duty/brokerage fees apply (I don't buy much stuff off the 'net, so I don't really know if tires are subject to those fees). The E III's I ordered are from a shop in Toronto (about 500 km from my place) where I bought a riding jacket last October. Great people, good prices - $244 before tax; so not much more than the Shinkos anyway. Coincidentally I'm heading to Toronto for a wedding this weekend, so I'll pick up the tires Friday afternoon.
Now all I have to do is buy some tire levers, figure out what other little fiddly bits I'll need to change them myself, and have at it.
So, many thanks for everybody's input; it's great knowing there's people a thousand miles away who'll help an indecisive stranger make up his mind. Glad I finally came on board.
Cheers
-chris
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