Best commuter tyre is...?

chrisinleedsuk

So....

I'm sickof my Maxxis Detonators getting punctures - what's a good commuter tyre for puncture resistance? 26" btw

ChrisLS

...Schwalbe Marathon Plus...no contest...

Jamey

Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

They're big and heavy and difficult to fit but by God they resist punctures.

cntl

Marathon Plus:

http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c2-1071-schwa ... -plus.html

don't waste money on anything else.

Bassjunkieuk

I'll forth the SMP's and if you do decide to get a set BikePlus are doing 2 for £38!

Got mine a few weeks back after a run of punctures and think their great. Can't say I've really noticed the extra weight, but they certainly handle the mean, pot holed streets of London OK!

beverick

I run Specialised Armadillo All-condition (700/25) on the road bike and Continental Gatorskins (700/28) on the hack.

The Armadillo's are virtuallty bomb proof but do tend to wear quite quickly, especially the rear one. I've only been running the conti's since April but they seem very good and give a better ride than the armadillos.

Both seem virtually indestructible.

Bob

chuckcork

Using presently Schwalbe Stelvio Plus on the rear, where I get maybe 90% of my punctures (had one today, very small and very sharp piece of glass) They last I think around 1000-1500miles before i have to change them, mine presently has done maybe 1600 miles in 10 weeks.

Front tyres don't have anywhere near the same wear or weight placed on them so are not so much of a problem. For the record I presently have a Conti 4-season on the front.

Tried also Hutchinson tyres, gave up on them when in one week I had 5 flats after only about 500 miles out of the tyre. They just were not robust enough for all they boasted of Kevlar, but most of the flats were actually pinch flats, even though the tyres were at (at least) the minimum pressure.

I would recommend on the practical side of avoiding punctures, checking your tyres pressure and inflating to the max at least once a week using a track pump that has a gauge, and doing a check over the tyres every so often as well, to make sure any glass or flints that might get embedded don't get the chance to work their way in. When the tyres are worn out, or getting too damaged with nicks and cuts, replace them. They aren't going to last forever. If you start getting a run of flats that also is maybe a sign to change tyres, though of course if you have crap tyres in the first place that will be sooner than you think.

But of course if you get a nail/screw/big sharp piece of glass into your tyre, nothing will help.

karl j

never used Marathon Plus so can't comment on them, but have Armadillo's on 3 of 4 bikes and really can't complain. I've often been amazed at the size of some of the embedded stone (glass !) chips they pick up, and even more amazed how they don't P*

Gr.uB

Michelin Krylions. Very hard wearing for anyone wanting to run 700 x 23s. I love mine and have them on both the TCR and the Thorn Brevet.

dondare

I've been using SMPs as long as they've been available and never had one puncture. I've had armadillos puncture and bontrager hardcases puncture and every other damn' tyre I've ever used puncture but my SMPs have never punctured and I'm confident that they never will.
Puncture, that is.
Puncture puncture puncture...

Clever Pun

beverick wrote:

I run Specialised Armadillo All-condition (700/25) on the road bike and Continental Gatorskins (700/28) on the hack.

The Armadillo's are virtuallty bomb proof but do tend to wear quite quickly, especially the rear one. I've only been running the conti's since April but they seem very good and give a better ride than the armadillos.

Both seem virtually indestructible.

Bob

I've always had the armadillos but I was looking at some gator skins yesterday and the weight difference it really noticable... are they just as puncture resistant?

flattythehurdler

I have used everything. Schwalbe marathon pluses are , without doubt, the most puncture proof tyre on the market, far far better than armadillos etc, if puncture resistance is what you are looking for (and for a commuter it is the main consideration by far imo).

Shimnolo

I'm a big fan of Schwalbe tyres, you get your money's worth and they certainly perform. But there's more to tyres than puncture-proofing.

I want my tyres to fly. I tremble at the hiss of a skinny road tyre on smooth tarmac. I want my bike to weigh next-to-nothing. Or less. This is why I cycle.

Sure, you can find a bullet-proof tyre and it will always feel like riding on Velcro. I'd rather have a few flats but relish the other 99.9% of my journeys. And you meet the most interesting people stopped at the side of the road.

Gr.uB

Clever Pun wrote:

beverick wrote:

I run Specialised Armadillo All-condition (700/25) on the road bike and Continental Gatorskins (700/28) on the hack.

The Armadillo's are virtuallty bomb proof but do tend to wear quite quickly, especially the rear one. I've only been running the conti's since April but they seem very good and give a better ride than the armadillos.

Both seem virtually indestructible.

Bob

I've always had the armadillos but I was looking at some gator skins yesterday and the weight difference it really noticable... are they just as puncture resistant?

You either love them or hate them. Personally I hate them as they are prone to Wiltshire flints.

chrisinleedsuk

There's some interesting suggestions for me to go at there. I'll have to check that the SMPs are available over here in Sydney. Of course, if idiots didn't throw glass out of their cars on the M5 I wouldn't need bombproof tyres but there you go...

chrisinleedsuk

Ok, I got them, and after about an hours wrestling I fitted them. Seriously not a good combination with Alex DP20 Disc rims! So....

Who makes the best tyre levers???

cjcp

Another vote for Gatorskins. Tried them after what seemed to be a world-wide shortage of Krylion Carbons earlier this year. The Krylions were great, but I have noticed that they were more prone to pinch-flats and little cuts.

mikeitup

Schwalbe Marathon's or Marathon +.

karl j

chrisinleedsuk wrote:

Who makes the best tyre levers???

see your other thread, mate

mikeitup

karl j wrote:

chrisinleedsuk wrote:

Who makes the best tyre levers???

see your other thread, mate

SOMA make the best tyre levers!!

RufusA

Having lurked on this thread I replaced my Armadillo All Conditions (AAC) with Marathon Plus (SMP).

Immediate thoughts:

1) 700x25C SMP are difficult to find in stock and a PIG to fit - took me well over 1 hour to fit both with some naughty words used.
2) They have directional thread which you should make a note of before spending 30mins getting the f@*%ing tyre on the wrong way round.
3) They need seating and checking rechecking in the rim before inflating fully to pressure - had one tyre pop out slightly (so that's why the brakes were rubbing).
4) Nice reflective side strip though.
5) The tread makes your bike look more like grandma's shopper and less like a mean road bike!

SMP vs AAC:

A 28C AAC seems to be a similar contact area to a 25C SMP.

The SMP only inflates to 110PSI the AAC can take a full 130PSI

The AAC has a much harsher ride, the SMP seems to absorb a lot of minor bumps / vibrations in the road (must be the strips of the marshmallow).

The weight of the SMP doesn't seem as bad as some have suggested - didn't notice that much difference to the AAC, side by side and certainly no worries for a commuter.

No noticeable difference in speed between the two tyres over a short 5 mile ride.

The SMP felt reasonably sure footed and has less inclination to slip sidewhens in the wet compared with the AACs when wheeling with a pannier.

The slight give / flex in the SMP is a little odd when cornering on a heavily loaded pannier but have got used to it.

No ideas about the P*n*tu*e fairy yet, but my AACs were getting too frequent a visit as nearing end of life, and a spate of road re-gritting with pointy flint around me.

Rufus.

UnworthyPapaLazaru

City Jets 26x1.5 are good for me. I had a pair on my bike that was stolen and Ive just put a pair on my current ride.

msw

Tried Continental 3000s and had a few punctures, but haven't had a single one since switching to Bontrager RaceLites. On the other hand:

- I changed my route from a (paved) canal towpath to normal roads (normal for London)
- I learned how to put them on properly without pinching (must have lost 4 inner tubes at the valve before the penny dropped)

Perfectly happy with the Bontragers. Can't claim they're pretty though.

Martin

crosstowncommuter

SMP all the way.

They may be heavy and a complete nightmare to put on the first few times, but so far not a single puncture in 18 months of commuting, 120 miles a week across central London.

Prior to these I used armadillos which were OK, but still had 7 or 8 punctures in a year of commuting the same route.

The only thing to be aware of is tyre cross section comes up quite large for the size of inner tube with the SMPs. When initially moving from 26x1.5 armadillos on my slicked up commuter MTB I mad the mistake of buying the 26x1.75 SMP tyre which are actually quite big.

The 26x1.35 SMP's are actually closer in size to the 26x1.5 armadillos I had before, plus they weigh less and are faster due to smaller tyre contact area.

I second bikeplus as the cheapest UK source of these, especially if buying a pair. Seemingly not as many places stock the 26x1.35 size tyres though so you may need to wait for delivery.

Keep them inflated to max pressure and you won't notice the extra weight so much.

RufusA

Consider it a third for the BikePlus recommendation for tyre ordering.

They also do quite a nice deal on a set of three matching schwalbe inner tubes for £12.

All in I paid less for 2 tyres, 3 inner tubes and a multi-tool than my usual supplier was charging for the tyres alone (which they also seem to have permanently out of stock).

Delivered in less than 48hrs of ordering but the contortions they used to pack the tyres meant they had to air for a day before fitting.

Website IMHO is confusing/poor and you are left with a mild did they get that order feeling. You get the impression it's an LBS shoving some stuff in a bag and posting (complete with slip from credit card machine). But full credit to them for embracing the digital age and shifting tyres at IWBRNT prices.

Rufus.

girv73

Can I get a recommendation for Continental Ultra Gators ? I fancied a set of those for my MTB commuter machine (currently on knobblies).

Slurp

Had Spesh All Conditions and found them extremely puncture proof, but have also read about them being less than brilliant in the wet. Whether that's the reason I took a slide a year in the winter since I started commuting in 2004, or whether it was my own careless handling skills, I can't tell. But I recently ditched them to experiment with something else.

After reading on various forums and threads, I now have a Bontrager Race Light (about 2,000 miles and puncture free) and a newly installed Vredestein Fortezza that's only done a couple of hundred miles.

Can't really tell yet about their performance in the wet -- and in any case may find myself going a little more gingerly round corners having broken my thumb in a skid last November -- but I'm definitely going faster.

I'd say the advice about keeping your tyres properly inflated in key. Spend the £15-£20 on a proper track pump and keep them topped up on a weekly basis.

chrisinleedsuk

As much as I hate to recommend Cell they're flogging SMPs for $50 a piece which is about a third off.

Jay dubbleU

Marathons - had a run of visits from the PF up to Xmas but not one since I fitted these - nearly 4 months now - not noticably slower that the previous Maxxis Detonators and much better off road

gtvlusso

I go with Specialized Armadillo Elite 700c x 23 - slim, reasonably fast, grippy and puncture resistant. Never had an issue yet.....!

Previously, I have used Conti Gatorskins - same as above, but not as good in the wet.

will3

Haven't tried SMP, but tyres I have used (all in 700x 28-32 ish size)

Conti Speed kings. These are crap for commuting. 15-20 flats in 1000 miles

Conti Sport Contacts = 2000 miles no flats, though I did once have to stop and pull a thorned twig from the tyre as it was rubbing on the mudguard as the wheel went round!

Halo Twin rails = 1 flat in 2000 miles from a large thorn. Seem to be very hard wearing as the rear is only just about starting to show some signs of wear (ie I've worn the fine texture from the surface of the rails).