Puncture Proof Road Tyres - Do they exist?

Caligari_uk

I was running Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on my old hybrid, and I think I ended up with one puncture in about a year and a half of riding with them (including quite a few dodgy 'off-road' routes).

Is there a similar tyre for road bikes, as I just know that I'm going to get a puncture sooner or later (I actually had a strange dream last night that I had two flat tyres - perhaps that's some kind of spooky premonition)?

giant_man

No they don't. You may find tyres such as the Krylion carbon from Micheline or the Gatorskins from Conti good a very good job but a tyre which is 100% puncture proof doesn't exist.

owenlars

Yup Schwalbe Marathon Plus, you can get 25mm tyres which should do a road bike nicely

Caligari_uk

Thanks for the tips, guys.

It's completely pointless, but I wish they had those tyres in red, or with a little red stripes. :roll:

Buckled_Rims

http://www.greentyre.co.uk/

I'm off home now, so will check it out later

blorg

Completely puncture proof doesn't exist.

Armadillos are close; I got over 20,000km over a period of years without a puncture.

However ride quality is awful compared to a race tyre.

Marathons maybe roll a BIT better but not great and are very heavy, I would only use them if you needed an off road component. I have also punctured (albeit only once!) on them.

To an extent it is a compromise and I prefer to have tyres that are nice to ride and have to change a puncture every so often. You can get pretty quick at this with a Crank Bros Speedlever and CO2.

I have been particularly lucky this summer with over four months between punctures using a combination of Schwalbe Ultremo / Continental GP4000 on the road bikes and mostly Gatorskins on the tourer/commuter etc.

I bought CO2 at the end of May and first use on my own bike was the very end of September. Used three catridges on other people in the interim period. So if you don't currently have it, buy CO2 and stick it in your saddlebag to ward off punctures.

Richard1972

I live in the badlands of Acton, West London. I have ultra gatorskins and they are yet to puncture, which is incredible considering I am shot at daily.

Stellite

+1 for gatorskins.

Done 1000 miles around Scotlands worst roads on em.

STEFANOS4784

Buckled_Rims wrote:

http://www.greentyre.co.uk/

I'm off home now, so will check it out later

Has anyone tried theses? Or am i missing something :?

Smokin Joe

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Buckled_Rims wrote:

http://www.greentyre.co.uk/

I'm off home now, so will check it out later

Has anyone tried theses? Or am i missing something :?

Halfords used to sell them. General opinion was that they are crap.

dennisn

Buckled_Rims wrote:

http://www.greentyre.co.uk/

I'm off home now, so will check it out later

Many, many years Ago I seem to recall that someone sold a plastic tire with ribs inside
so it didn't need air. Therefore, puncture proof. Saw it in a bike mag advertisement and never saw it again. I can't imagine why.

billy whippet

i've had 2 punctures on gatorskins in the last 1000 miles, but still quite like them

STEFANOS4784

Just been perusing here: http://sheldonbrown.com/tyres.html#pressure

It would suggest that they are indeed rubbish................

Edit; posted at same time, meant the airless tyres.

ride_whenever

blorg wrote:

I bought CO2 at the end of May and first use on my own bike was the very end of September. Used three catridges on other people in the interim period. So if you don't currently have it, buy CO2 and stick it in your saddlebag to ward off punctures.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, I bought one a while back, haven't punctured since. However on sunday I used my last cartridge for an experiment with something else and this evening on the way home i punctured my rear tyre :roll:

will have to buy some more

gkerr4

blorg wrote:

To an extent it is a compromise and I prefer to have tyres that are nice to ride and have to change a puncture every so often. You can get pretty quick at this with a Crank Bros Speedlever and CO2.

In many ways I agree with you and I too would rather take the risk in order to have nice tyres.

but...

I would say that in winter there is nothing worse than a roadside puncture in heavy rain / gales / freezing conditions / hail / all of the above.

so for me, winter trainer means heavy tyres which are as puncture proof as possible..

currently that means gatorskins - but open to armadillos ( i am aware that gators get a mixed reaction around here) and ideally i would want some vittoria open pave - not cheap though.

TheStone

I've never had a puncture with the Schwalbe Stelvio Plus and more recently the
Enduro Plus.

I guess some luck, but the tyre is thick and has a guard that pushes out any debris.

stevie63

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Buckled_Rims wrote:

http://www.greentyre.co.uk/

I'm off home now, so will check it out later

Has anyone tried theses? Or am i missing something :?

Yeah we fit these to wheelchair wheels and they are heavy and have little to no give in them. They are also incredibly difficult to fit ( a two man job involving cable ties). They are ideal for entry level wheelchairs that are going to be pushed at 4 MPH but I Wouldn't fancy going 25-30 MPH on them.

Robi45

Having had 3 quick punctures in a row this summer on the (not great ) Ultrasports, I swapped for 25mm Ultra gatorskins and they are (so far) proving much better. No flats and better grip too and pretty light given the claimed level of puncture protection.

sampras38

Caligari_uk wrote:

Thanks for the tips, guys.

It's completely pointless, but I wish they had those tyres in red, or with a little red stripes. :roll:

I've got a black/red set of Krilion Carbon's on my Trek winter bike and they seem pretty reliable, and grip well.

Caligari_uk

sampras38 wrote:

Caligari_uk wrote:

Thanks for the tips, guys.

It's completely pointless, but I wish they had those tyres in red, or with a little red stripes. :roll:

I've got a black/red set of Krilion Carbon's on my Trek winter bike and they seem pretty reliable, and grip well.

Thanks Sampras - I'll take look.

sicknewt

Are there any road tyres with the reflective strip? I commute on my road bike so would like the extra visibility!

alfablue

Schwalbe Marathon, Marathon Plus, Marathon Racer etc, have reflective rings. Marathons in 700x25 are hard to find but I got some in Spa Cycles.

sicknewt

Cheers for that alfablue.

Just been searching a bit more and found the Continental Grand Prix 4000 Road Tyre, anyone used it?

sampras38

Caligari_uk wrote:

sampras38 wrote:

Caligari_uk wrote:

Thanks for the tips, guys.

It's completely pointless, but I wish they had those tyres in red, or with a little red stripes. :roll:

I've got a black/red set of Krilion Carbon's on my Trek winter bike and they seem pretty reliable, and grip well.

Thanks Sampras - I'll take look.

And yellow Vittoria's on my Scott.