Road Bike Tire Test: Clement Strada LGG 25

According to Clement, the Strada LGG is a road bike tire with excellent grip in wet and dry conditions. Clement claims the Strada LGG provides a supple ride, a durable, lightweight construction, and good puncture protection thanks to the puncture-protection belt under the tread. If you're not familiar with the Clement tire lineup, it's best to think of the Strada LGG as a direct competitor to popular all-round road bike tires like the Continental Grand Prix 4000S II (read review).

Like many other tires, the Strada LGG is available in both a 60 TPI and more expensive 120 TPI version. The 120 TPI version comes with a dual compound tread with a 70a compound in the center and a softer 60a compound on the shoulders. One of the things I like about the Strada LGG (and something more manufacturers should follow) is that it's available as a bigger 32 mm version that should suit fast touring bikes as well. For this test, I've tested the 120 TPI, 25 mm wide version.

Clement doesn't publish the weight of the 25 mm version but only specifies the weight of the 23 mm version (220 grams) and 32 mm version (290 grams). My sample of the 120 TPI, 25-622 Strada LGG comes in at a measured weight of 225 grams which is well within the specified range.

On my 17C rim, at an air pressure of 100 psi / 6.9 bars, the Strada LGG has a width of 26 mm and a height of 24 mm. A width of 26 mm on a 17C rim seems spot on to the rated size.

Tread thickness of the Strada LGG comes in at 3.3 mm which is very good for an all-round tire as most other tires in this category come in closer to 2.5 - 3.0 mm. Unless the tread itself wears very fast, this tire should last a long time. The sidewalls have a thickness of 0.5 mm which is about as thin as sidewalls come and similar to most other all-round road bike tires.

Auch, in the rolling resistance tests, the Strada LGG comes in near the bottom of the chart. At the high air pressure of 120 psi / 8.3 bars, the Strada LGG (16.9 watts) lags the best tires in the all-round category by up to 6 watts (Michelin Power Competition = 10.9 watts). At the lower air pressure of 80 psi / 5.5 bars, the disadvantage of the Strada LGG (20.0 watts) grows to 6.4 watts (Michelin Power Competition = 13.6 watts)

I expected a lower rolling resistance from the Clement Strada LGG as this tire is marketed as a high-performance tire. It's a shame this tire gets outperformed by cheaper tires from other manufacturers although it might excel in other areas as tread thickness is better than the top performing tires. Just be aware when you're looking at these tires that rolling resistance doesn't come close to the best performing tires.

While rolling resistance of the Strada LGG is higher than the best performing all-round tires, puncture resistance of the tread is a bit better as well. With a score of 14 points in the tread puncture test, it scores 2-3 points higher than most all-round tires that mostly come in at 11-12 points. Still, this good tread puncture score doesn't save the Strada LGG as other tires that score 13-14-15 points and provide a better rolling resistance are available.

Unlike the tread puncture test, the Strada LGG performs terribly in the sidewall puncture test. With a score of 3 points, it performs awfully as 3 points is basically the lowest possible score in this test. If you're looking for a strong tire, the Strada LGG isn't the tire you seek.

The Strada LGG is the first tire from Clement that I've had on my test bench. Unfortunately, it doesn't impress as it comes in near the bottom of the rolling resistance chart while the marketing talk would suggest this tire to come in closer to the top. The good part seems to be a relatively thick tread-thickness and good puncture resistance of the tread area. The sidewalls, on the other hand, are thin and easy to puncture which doesn't make this a very durable tire either.

I rate this tire 2/5 Not Recommended because you can find tires with a similar tread puncture resistance, lower rolling resistance, stronger sidewalls and even a lower price. Take a look at the road bike overview page and use the filters to find which tires might suit you better.