touring tyres

smokiecat

I,m looking for some good tyres with good rolling and punture resisdent.

culverwood

What size wheels?

dazza3512

schwalbe marathon plus,everytime, !

MichaelW

Marathon Plus are the toughest but not the most efficient. They are ideal if you prefer to pootle along and hate messing with bikes. I met several retired couples riding around the North Sea cycle path rolling on M+ and they all noted zero problems.
I used plain Marathons because that is what I had at the time. I had 2 punctures and was able to fix them pretty easily.
How are Continental touring tyres, time was when Top Touring was the rubber to use.

culverwood

We use Conti Top Touring on our 26" wheels to good effect. V few punctures but not bomb proof.

alfablue

Schwalbe Marathon Ultras have very good RR, not punctured yet.

random man

I'm considering getting Conti Ultra Gatorskins.

alfablue

Don't be duped by the name, the gators cut and p*ncture for fun! Very flimsy rubber!

andrew@snowrace

Hi we took three bikes from Wales to Spain on gators about 1000 miles not one puncture I had used the tyres for training about 2000 miles not a puncture two of us did the Quebranahuesos sporive and I can say the tyres were great for this also. Andy (having posted this I had best get a new puncture repair kit )

andymiller

alfablue wrote:

Don't be duped by the name, the gators cut and p*ncture for fun! Very flimsy rubber!

Eh? Which gatorskins is that? Mine hâve à layer of aramid to protection against punctures and reinforced sidewalls. I've ridden them for years in central London - they even survived riding fully-loaded over a broken bottle. They are an extremely sensible choice for touring.

MichaelW wrote:

Marathon Plus are the toughest but not the most efficient. They are ideal if you prefer to pootle along and hate messing with bikes. I met several retired couples riding around the North Sea cycle path rolling on M+ and they all noted zero problems.

(I think I'm agreeing with you). I consider myself very unlucky if I get a puncture every 2,000 kilometres. A puncture takes about 10 minutes to fix (OK a bit more to repair the tube. I don't understand the obsession with punctures and 'bomb-proof' tyres. Marathon pluses are significantly heavier than other tyres - OK maybe if you really don't know how to fix a puncture, otherwise the extra weight seems hard to justify.

alfablue

andymiller wrote:

alfablue wrote:

Don't be duped by the name, the gators cut and p*ncture for fun! Very flimsy rubber!

Eh? Which gatorskins is that? Mine hâve à layer of aramid to protection against punctures and reinforced sidewalls. I've ridden them for years in central London - they even survived riding fully-loaded over a broken bottle. They are an extremely sensible choice for touring.

I commuted on gators for about a year, streets and railway path, many cuts, several punctures, gave up. I can only speak as I found, as of course can you. I ran out of trust with them. On the forum you will find polarised opinions about them, not sure why some of us have bad luck. I have had much better luck with Schwalbe and Specialized tyres.

Ouija

Ride both.

Tend to find that skinny Gators, pumped up to high pressures tend not to collect much debris from the road, instead simply pushing/flinging it out to the sides. Largely due to the fact that there is no tread for stones/thorns/glass to nestle into as you roll over them and being so narrow. However, when something does force it's way in, they tend to have less puncture protection than the Marathons. Also tend to collect a lot of cuts on them but they are lighter and much faster than the Marathons.

With Marathons i find it's the other way round. The tread means they collect road debris like a hoover and it seems like every other day i hear the "thump, thump, thump" of something lodged into the tyre. However, and here's the main difference, very little of what does sink into the rubber ever makes it through the puncture protection. But you have to offset that with the fact that your going to get a lot more stuff biting into the tyre in the first place.

The difference between the two is a bit like taking pot shots at a un-armoured man half a mile away with a rifle (Gator) and opening up on an armoured man with an uzi at close range (Marathon). Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

mercia_man

I'd say the Gators are more of a (fairly) robust training or fast commuting tyre than a touring tyre.

I've used Marathons but found them a bit stiff and sluggish. I've used Panaracer Paselas which are a lot more lively but do puncture more easily and have more vulnerable sidewalls. My old Conti Top Tourings were a good middle ground between those two but I've no experience of the latest Conti touring tyres.

I'm currently using Vittoria Randonneur which are well worth considering. They're cheap and fast rolling and I haven't had a single puncture in more than 1,500 miles, including two 16-day holidays in France loaded up with camping gear. The ride is fairly stiff unladen, but fine with four panniers, although that is largely down to the fact I'm running them in 700-28 rather than the 700-32 of my other tyres.

random man

Mercia Man wrote:

I'm currently using Vittoria Randonneur which are well worth considering. They're cheap and fast rolling and I haven't had a single puncture in more than 1,500 miles, including two 16-day holidays in France loaded up with camping gear. The ride is fairly stiff unladen, but fine with four panniers, although that is largely down to the fact I'm running them in 700-28 rather than the 700-32 of my other tyres.

I'll have to look into these. I have Vittoria tyres on my road bike and have been impressed with them. Thanks MM.

Redhog14

Just swapped my Marathon 32's for some Blizzard 23's have transformed my bike in one go!
Will update on results but I am interested in what are the percived benefits to touring on the bigger tyres?
Planning to go touring later this year so wisdom appreciated..

mercia_man

Redhog14 wrote:

Just swapped my Marathon 32's for some Blizzard 23's have transformed my bike in one go!
Will update on results but I am interested in what are the percived benefits to touring on the bigger tyres?
Planning to go touring later this year so wisdom appreciated..

If you're carrying anything more than a saddlebag, race-width tyres such as 23mm are not really up to touring. Narrow tyres tend to have lightweight construction and you are much more likely to suffer sidewall damage and punctures on a tour. To prevent snake-bite punctures, you'll need to pump them up hard. The smaller air pocket makes for a more uncomfortable ride.

Sizes vary between makes - for example, the latest Panaracer Paselas in 32mm are more like 33, my Conti Top Tourings in 32 were more like 29 while my Vittoria Randonneurs in 28 are more like 27. This can be an issue if the clearances around forks, bottom bracket, brakes and mudguards are a bit tight.

I've enjoyed cycle touring with and without camping gear for 25 years and my favourite size for a 700c wheel is 28mm or 32mm. That gives a big enough air pocket for a reasonably comfortable ride yet the bike is still lively enough for ordinary riding. Most experienced cycle tourists I know use that size. I know some people tour on 35, 37 or even wider tyres on 700c wheels but I prefer the lighter, livelier feel of a 28 or 32.

Mind you, having said all that, I have seen people touring in Europe on race bikes with 23mm tyres and no means of carrying luggage other than a rucsac.

alfablue

I would still recommend Marathon Supremes, they are very different tyres to regular or plus marathons, being much lighter, yet supple, nicely rolling, and in my experience on fully loaded tours over the last couple of years, completely trustworthy. They weigh a reasonable 460g with regular marathons 200 more, and plusses 400 more. I use 700x32 on Exal 17 rims, handbuilt at Spa Cycles, a great combination.

Larger volume tyres will allow lower pressures and more comfort for a given load. When touring with 4+ full panniers, narrow tyres will have to be rock hard to prevent pinch flats. Also, narrow tyres do not necessarily run faster in the real world, as they don't deform on rougher road surfaces and thus offer more rolling resistance than a larger volume tyre unless the surface is billiard table smooth. See page 17 of this: Schwalbe Technical Info.