wider tyre options/recommendations

rich164h

Hi,
After riding both my BMC road bike and my full suspension MTB and very quickly realising that there's just no way that I can really use them for the more general day-to-day things due to knowing that if I were to ever leave them anywhere they would be nicked by the time I got back to them, I've just bought myself an old steel Dawes Horizon (early 90's I think). It'll mostly get used for trips to the shops etc but also some longer rides if I get around to fitting a rack and some panniers. It's pretty much perfect for what I need, and surprisingly light as well.

I do need to change the tyres pretty much immediately though as I'm pretty sure they are the original ones that came with the bike! the problem is that I have absolutely no idea what to go for. I know about 23mm choices but not wider tyres. It's got 28mm on at the moment and I'm pretty sure that I don't want or need to go any wider than that, in fact I'm wondering if I could actually go a bit narrower (a good idea?). the problem I've found is that none of the websites I've looked allow you to select tyres by size so it's a case of trying all of the road tyres in stock and seeing which of them exists in a wider size. So can anyone recommend a website that allows be to select a size and be shown what exists? or alternatively can anyone recommend some tyres around the 28mm size?

Thanks

Rich

meanredspider

I think NextDayTyres do

http://www.nextdaytyres.com/700-Products.aspx for instance

Is that the sort of thing you were hoping for?

rich164h

Sort of, except that they've only got one 28mm tyre so there's not much of a choice being given.

Erudin

I use 700 x 28 gatorskins on my winter/light tourer, tough enough to cope with canal paths with the bike loaded with panniers, Pasela's also come in a range of sizes.

Link: Continental Gator Skin Tyre

Link: Panaracer Pasela TG Tyre

Monty Dog

If you want something bomb-proof, try the various flavours of Schwalbe Marathons - from the lighter weight 'racer' to the fairly hefty expedition.

If you're mainly using the bike on road, the Conti GP4 Seasons are a good combo of durability with a bit more speed - and certainly more robust than Gatorskins IME.

There are other touring tyres such as the aforementioned Paselas or Vittoria Randonneurs which are designed for durability.

A lot comes down to how much you want to spend and what you're using them for.

vorsprung

My favourite 28mm tyres

Schwalbe Marathon Plus--these aren't the comfyest and are slow but never puncture. Well, 1 puncture in 10,000 miles is almost never. Available from Spa Cycles
Conti 4 Seasons-- fast, light, grippy. Pity they puncture like crazy after 2500km. Pricey but good. This is a "narrow" 28mm, 26.5mm. Widely available
Vitoria Rubino Pro Tech-- not as fast as the 4 Seasons but still good. Cheap too. Also a narrow tyre. Parker International and Ribble Cycles carry these usually
Panaracer Pasella-- same as the Rubinos. Available from Spa Cycles

simon_e

For excellent puncture resistance yet rolls surprisingly well in 28mm I'd recommend Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase. Under £15 from All Terrain Cycles last time I looked.

Vittoria Rubino, £10.45
http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... -Tyre.html
or Rubino Pro. Folding so lighter, more supple but also more expensive at £19.50
http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... -Tyre.html

I wouldn't go narrower than 28mm unless your preferred tyre isn't available in that size. Wider tyres are more comfortable and apparently roll better.
http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/ ... resistance
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/b ... ths-29245/

richh

Excellent guys, thanks a lot. I like the sound of the Conti 4 Seasons.

Planning on doing a JOGLE with trips to the extreme eastern and western points as well in September so I hope these will be fine for that.