Commuting Tyres

dancook

I currently have Race King Continental 2.2 tyres which came with my focus bike.

I'd like to change for tyres more suited for commuting, 5 miles each way along the road.

I asked the local bike shop what they suggested, they came back with

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 6x15-10089

Nimbus Armadillo, though I am a little put off by the reviews.

What might anyone else suggest?

bike spec

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus ... 360037560/

Focus Black Forest Expert 2009
Specifications
Frame Aluminium 6061 Double Butted Frame
Fork Manitou R7 Super 100mm of travel
Rims Alex EN24, Disc, Aluminium
Front Hub Shimano M525, Disc, QR
Rear Hub Shimano M525, Disc, QR
Tyres Continental Race King
Cassette Shimano Deore CS-HG50 9 speed, 11-32
Crankset Shimano SLX FC-M660 44/32/22
Shift Levers Shimano Deore SLX
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore XT
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore XT
Chain Shimano CN-HG53
Brakes Avid Elixir R, hydraulic disc brake
Stem Concept Extreme 100mm, 31.8/28.6mm
Handlebars Concept SL Riser 31.8/22.2mm
Saddle Concept Xtreme
Seat Post Concept SL

N0bodyOfTheGoat

They have a reputation of being a fiddle to fit, but once on, you will probably forget about rapid deflations...

Marathon Plus

dancook

How would this compare?

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... e-09-34465

CycloRos

I've been using a pair of these for the last 6 months. They're quick rolling and pretty fat to boot!

blister pus

Schwalbe Marathon or Marathon Plus for roads.

Conti traffic 09s for crappy roads and more.

dancook

blister pus wrote:

Schwalbe Marathon or Marathon Plus for roads.

Conti traffic 09s for crappy roads and more.

Thanks, how about..

Schwalbe Marathon Extreme

for roads which sometimes have some loose rubble in the gutter..

I'm wondering from what i've read whether the Extreme is the best 'all rounder'?

blister pus

Never tried the extreme but for strictly commuting road use then you want a really good low rolling resistance tyre that borders on slick, a regular Marathon would do you on decent roads. But the choices are varied to say the least.

dancook

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires

a pretty good guide for me I guess, with graphs.

dancook

How do I know which size to purchase?

Looking at this site

http://www.dotbike.com/ProductsP7818.as ... mpaign=FGL

There's four different options

weight 525g 28x1.6
weight 490g 28x1.4
weight 660g 26x2.25
weight 570g 26x2.0

Daz555

Personally I'm a big fan of the Spesh Nimbus.

gs3

Any of the "Armadillo" Specialized series would be suitable and relatively cheap for your purpose. If you want to reduce the tyre width then the Nimbus is your choice - if you still want large volume tyres then look at the Hemisphere - for something in between then the Crossroads or Crossroads Elite is where you should be looking.

Point to note is that if you are going to be changing back and forward between road and off-road tyres then the larger volume Hemispheres would be the logical choice as these can be fitted and removed from rims without using tyre levers.

The Schwalbe Marathons are the most recommended throughout the Commuting forum and were my first choice for commuting in the long term (where I would not be switching between on and off-road regularly).

The choice is yours.

.

blister pus

dancook wrote:

How do I know which size to purchase?

Looking at this site

http://www.dotbike.com/ProductsP7818.as ... mpaign=FGL

There's four different options

weight 525g 28x1.6
weight 490g 28x1.4
weight 660g 26x2.25
weight 570g 26x2.0

Depends how narrow and "roadie" you want to go. I use Conti Traffic 09s 1.9 for "country road +" riding and Schwalbe Marathon 1.75 or 2.0 for roads sometimes.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=24547

dancook

Well I went with the Marathon Extreme 2.0 in the end... there isn't narrower from what I can tell.

Though they seem to have good off road capability, it restores my confident they are a 'road tyre' and that is the primary purpose.

So with the combined capability of this tyre, I plan not to worry to much about where I take the bike! and what condition the road is in.

rob_mafia

I have just swapped from Panaracer XC Fire doobry whatsits to continental Double fighter 2's, slickish but with nobbly bits on the sides for that little extra grip, very nice smoth tyres to be honest would recommend them



Walk this way....

blu3cat

I also used to commute on the slick middle knobbly side bits, but the Conti travel contacts.

http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20travel%20contact.shtml

Didn't have a puncture in a year and about 3000 miles, althgough I could have just been lucky.

Skippy2309

continental town and country are the way forward, I blew a knobbly tire in under a week (literally shredded it) but the town and country tires are still going strong still, they are so grippy even when its raining and such a smooth fast ride, I am using 2.1's on mine to keep it nice off road as well as on road

Tim.s

Im currently commuting on Conti SportContact's. Loads of fun, super quick and you can really rail corners!!