C2C Tyre Buying Advice - Newbie Pls Help

Platinum Kitty

Sorry if i ask what appears to be some silly questions as this is my first post and im fairly new to all of this

Basically i am looking to do the C2C from Penrith to Sunderland later in the year, i used to ride MTB a lot when i was younger but have just got back into it. i'm looking to swap out my XC tyres on a FS MTB(with lock outs) for some Road/Touring/Cross tyres for the next few months and for the Ride itself.

Ive narrowed it down to 5... i know - im rubbish at narrowing things down... I wanted to get opinions on them and see if anyone had any information or insight into any of them or any preferences...or any other suggestions?

Schwalbe - Marathon Cross MTB
Schwalbe - Marathon Plus SmartGuard City Tyre
Schwalbe - Land Cruiser MTB
Michelin - Country Rock
Specialized - Hemisphere Armadillo

85% of my riding at the moment leading upto this will be road based but i need to be able to ride some semi loose gravel sections and some compact gravel sections as most of the trails around where i live are a combination of the 2.

Does anyone have any thoughts on these tyres?
And should i be concerned with the weights? Some of these tyres seem pretty heavy?

Any input would be a massive help, and more than willing to post feedback on the tyres, training and route (when completed).

Cheers

tarbot18

Hi i did the c2c last year and used continental travel contact on my mtb hard tail as there are some off road sections on the route but it is smooth in the middle. Its a light tyre and has good puncture protection and has been used by a few round the world guys. Its pricey but well worth it.

chemicalali

Used Maxxis Wormdrive on our c2c trip last year and they worked fine.

matt@theforce

I've just bought the Schwalbe Land Cruiser to replace my Schwalbe Black Jacks. I went for the 1.90-2.00 option and they are heavy (900gm per tyre) against the Black Jacks (600gm per tyre).

The Black Jacks were used mainly for road with light trail use on weekends with the kids and have lasted over 1000miles before the grooves in the block tread have worn away. I bought the Land Cruisers to replace these as I was hoping they would be a little faster rolling & offer a little better traction off road.
So far I've only done around 20miles on them but they do seem to be faster rolling on the roads and give better stability at speed when cornering & riding a couple of miles down a muddy/gritty/wet trail they were suprisingly good.

If only Schwalbe made a lighter weight version but for a little over £22 for x2 tyres I can't complain.



Matthew

broona

matt@theforce wrote:

...

Just had a pair delivered from Germany for approx. £18, will be fitting them to my GT Avalanche tomorrow for some tow path riding with the mrs, should do the trick.

Platinum Kitty

Great Guys thanks for all the input and advice.

The Land Cruiser was looking like the tyre or choice, but having spoken to a number of people about it the Schwalbe Marathon is looking probably more likely, although im slightly concerned it might not be upto the gravel / towpath ground that most of my rides include - on the flip side, its seems almost puncture proof, so if i do end up coming off into the hedgerow at least the tyres wont go flat....

I'll keep you posted on what i go for but if anyone else has any thoughts then always glad to hear them.

Long_Time_Lurker

I have done the last 2 C2Cs on full slicks. Previous to that I had the Land Cruisers.
As long as it is reasonably dry, there is nothing too technical to warrant semis.

I am using my Conti Sports Contacts again this year - I prefer to lose a bit of grip and have more rolling speed/less weight.

t0pc4t

I wouldn't want to do too much off road with a marathon plus.

I use them on my commter and for road stuff they're great but they are pretty slick

mastermosher

"Hi i did the c2c last year and used continental travel contact on my mtb hard tail as there are some off road sections on the route but it is smooth in the middle. Its a light tyre and has good puncture protection and has been used by a few round the world guys. Its pricey but well worth it."

+1
Great tyres. Have done many long rides for charity on these and have performed superbly. Have had 3 punctures in 7 years although all in the back on the same day 3 years ago. Last well as well.
Have done 8000 road miles on mine. Only having to replace this year.

Platinum Kitty

Having had another look around the Schwalbe Tyre scene i noticed these, anyone got any input in to these?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marath ... -mtb-tyre/

They look like a really good compromise between the standard Marathon and a trail tyre, and also have the kevlar puncture protection...

Anyone tried them out...?