Tyre Question

seanorawe

I know there are a lot of threads regarding tyres, I have been looking.

But can I ask if anyone has upgarded their tyre to a more robust puncture avoiding son of a gun for around £20 per tyre. Its for a road bike. The tyres I have are Specialized espoire Double blackbelt something or other. Are these puncture avoiding son of a guns?????

I have been told schwable marathon are good, but people are saying they are heavy. I dont race, so will that really go against me? How much more effort are we talking to spin them?

And finally......

My wheels are currently 700x23. How big of a tube and tyre can i fit to the rims? (alexrims, specialized allez 2012) I was told 25mm are more robust than 23mm?

lucasf09

I use gatorskins, and current set has been bomb proof for a year or more. When I got my new bike had schawlbe ZXs on them, and cut those to shreds in a month, mainly due to C**P roads on my commute, so switched back to old faithful gatorskins (which I have used for the past few years)
Have heard good things of the marathons, but I believe they only come in 25mm+, and heard even better things of the marathon plus. Apparently the ZXs, and the ZX HD are very good, so I might just have had a bad pair coupled with rainiest April on record, and enough glass to redo the fascade of the shard on my commute.
As for 25 v 23, the 25s should be more comfortable, and the larger volume of air should theoretically make them more puncture proof, and some pros are starting to move to 25mm, so rolling resistance mustn't be too much of a worry. Puncture resistant tyres will be heavier, but if your not racing, probably not too much of an issue.
The allez should take 25mm, though would be surprised if they take 28, so if I were you I would stick to 25mm.
I find that another way to reduce punctures is to look after the tyres, every week or so just go around them looking for unexpected items, and take them out with a knife (much easier with the tyre deflated). Glass and other stuff WILL carve right through ANY tyre, puncture resistant tyres will just slow them down.
Another benefit of this is that you should check tyre pressure once a week, if you are deflating the tyre, by definition you are forced to check the pressure when you pump them back up!

seanorawe

Sounds perfect

Amazon are doing 2 tyres 25mm for £40

t.m.h.n.e.t

I'm always going to recommend Schwalbe Blizzard Sports w kevlar belts. Thousands of km this year and zero hassle..

£18 or so a pair on eblag! In red too as I'm a colour matching tart.

seanorawe

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

I'm always going to recommend Schwalbe Blizzard Sports w kevlar belts. Thousands of km this year and zero hassle..

£18 or so a pair on eblag! In red too as I'm a colour matching tart.

£18 for 2 is very cheap.

I can only find 23mm in folding tyre

t.m.h.n.e.t

seanorawe wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

I'm always going to recommend Schwalbe Blizzard Sports w kevlar belts. Thousands of km this year and zero hassle..

£18 or so a pair on eblag! In red too as I'm a colour matching tart.

£18 for 2 is very cheap.

I can only find 23mm in folding tyre

Whoever told you 25 was more robust than 23 should be slapped quite hard,it comes down to where and how you ride not tyre size. 25 will be ever so slightly more comfy to ride on, as again a 28 would be.

seanorawe

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

seanorawe wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

I'm always going to recommend Schwalbe Blizzard Sports w kevlar belts. Thousands of km this year and zero hassle..

£18 or so a pair on eblag! In red too as I'm a colour matching tart.

£18 for 2 is very cheap.

I can only find 23mm in folding tyre

Whoever told you 25 was more robust than 23 should be slapped quite hard,it comes down to where and how you ride not tyre size. 25 will be ever so slightly more comfy to ride on, as again a 28 would be.

I like that they are cheap. I have a black and white bike, so I would have to be boring and get the black tyres. Another colour would drive me insane. All my bib shorts and leg warmers are black and white to match the bike.

seanorawe

Are the lugano the same as the blizzard sport?

t.m.h.n.e.t

seanorawe wrote:

Are the lugano the same as the blizzard sport?

I believe they are an older version of them

I7 Extreme

can someone answer my question, is 700c X 40c to big for a road tyre? and the rims Wienmann x-plorer -http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=86743

simon_masterson

I7 Extreme wrote:

can someone answer my question, is 700c X 40c to big for a road tyre? and the rims Wienmann x-plorer -http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=86743

Absolutely not. It's big, make no mistake, but there is no hard and fast rule about what size your tyre must be, as long as it fits the rim. It's not as if 'narrow' tyres are 'fast' and 'wider' tyres are 'slow' and you will gain 7mph just by switching from a 28 to a 23. It just so happens that a narrow tyre should have less rolling resistance, will be lighter and will have a more 'direct' feel of the road; not a lot of cushioning.

I use 1 1/4", or 32mm, on my main bike; it has 27" wheels so my choice is very limited. They are very comfortable and robust. I will eventually upgrade to 700c and when I do I will not be using tyres that big, but only because I have no reason not to opt for the most suitable choice.

fevmeister

Michi pro 4 endurance