Commuting 700C puncture proof tyres

danthevanman

Hello,
first ever post on here, been lurking around for a few weeks.

I have recently got a Specialized Crosstrail Disc 2014 Hybrid Bike for commuting to work, weekend riding on canal and gravel paths, a few people who use the same routes have had a few punctures so I'm looking for some puncture proof tyres as I can't really afford to be late for working shifts.

These are the tyres that came on the bike Specialized Trigger Sport, 700×38c, 60TPI, wire bead
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec043102

I've been looking at the following tyres
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec001824
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/con ... e-ec004867

Has anyone got any experience with any of the above or can you suggest any other tyres.

Thanks inadvance
Dan

arthur_scrimshaw

If you want a truly puncture proof tyre, IME there's only one, Schwalbe Marathon Plus

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marath ... 5360057196

I've had the same set on my last two commuter bikes and never have had a puncture in 9000km of riding.
The downside is they are heavy as hell and dead to ride on. Take your choice. There is a sliding scale, if you go lighter you will get more punctures. For the summer I have put on some lighter tyres, Panaracer Pasalas. These are touring tyres, supposed to be able to cope with most stuff. I've had three punctures already, but they are much nicer to ride on and easy to get off the rims, which is another downside to the Marathons. You cannot get them off the rim without levers but you can fit them without levers but it takes technique and strong thumbs!

asprilla

I've that the same set of MPs on my station hack / kiddie carrier for six years without a puncture. The downside is that they are like riding hosepipes and the hard rubber can make grip an issue in the cold and wet.

excoop

I have used them for 2 years and never had a puncture, however I agree they are awful to ride on but at least you don't have to worry about punctures

justrideallday

Another set of tyres to consider is the the Continental Gatorskin range:
http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20hardshell.shtml
http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20ultra%20gatorskin.shtml

I have been using the Gatorskins on both my road bikes for the past 2 years without any problems (I have also just fitted a set of the 26" Gatorskins to my mtb for the misses to ride). I haven't had any issues with grip in the wet, but I tend to take it a bit easier when its damp.

I hope this helps and doesn't make choosing a set of tyres harder!

bill_gates

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

If you want a truly puncture proof tyre, IME there's only one, Schwalbe Marathon Plus

I've also had these as the stock fit on my Cube commuter but also chose to replace with the newer version when it was required with the reflective band on the sidewall.

Definitely a good tyre compound in terms of durability. I've not had an issue getting them on the rims. I use the Crank Bros Speed Lever tyre lever which seems to be a good product also.

EDIT: Just realised that it is Marathon Supreme that I've been using: http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/tour/marathon-supreme/

kennygalbraith

I have the specialised crosstail sport hybrid 2012 and use the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. I think they are great not one puncture after nearly 4000 miles (since last may)

danthevanman

Thanks for all the replies it looks like these Marathon tyres could be the ones to go for, but I'm a bit worried about them having bad feedback/riding confidence, as I don't like to bimble along at any time.

Dam

Big_Paul

As said before, Marathon Plus are utterly impregnable but weigh a ton, don't worry about getting them on or off, the only time you'll take them off is to repair the wheel in some way.

I have Gators on a couple of my bikes and they give a much livelier ride, but they wouldn't be as tough as the Marathons.

Mr.Duck

Durano Plus are much lighter than the Marathon Plus. They are still heavier than most people would use.

MichaelW

My std tyre for general riding in Schwalbe Marathon, the plain one , not the Plus.
M is pretty tough and resistant but not in the same league as M+, it rolls better than M+ and can be removed and fitted a whole lot more easily.
I have toured on 32mm over roads, tracks, trails, wet, dry, sand, mud, snow. 32 is a good commuting tyre, 28 is better for longer, faster routes.

andrewc3142

One more for the mix: Conti GP4000s.

Have them on mine and my wife's road bikes and my fixie.

In the last 6 years, including a 50k commute into London a few times a week, only one puncture between us.

Much lighter than the Marathons, roll well, excellent grip wet and dry, and look good.

By far my favourite road tyre.

dilemna

Big_Paul wrote:

As said before, Marathon Plus are utterly impregnable but weigh a ton, don't worry about getting them on or off, the only time you'll take them off is to repair the wheel in some way.

I have Gators on a couple of my bikes and they give a much livelier ride, but they wouldn't be as tough as the Marathons.

No they are not. My Brompton got two punctures with SMP tyres when riding the GBW. They are heavy and give an awful ride. Decidedly iffy grip in the wet too. Far better tyres are Specialised Armadillo All Condition tyres, Continental Travel Contact tyres or for road bike Vitttoria Rubino Pros. HTH.

Big_Paul

What went through them? I've literally ridden through the aftermath of a riot with glass, nails, bits of debris all over the place and not a problem, I'm not a small guy either.

Mr.Duck

Marathon Plus will survive broken glass and nails no problem. They will cut up before they puncture.

folsom1

I've had Rubino Pros on for about 1000 miles, mainly commuting from the suburbs into central London. I get a puncture roughly every couple of months...the worst was three in a week! Nothing seems to get stuck in the casing though.

The back is cut up pretty badly, right through the outer rubber skin.

Avoid Conti Ultra Race though. I bought one on sale for £7 and wasted twice that on train fares half-way to work before I binned it. Full of cuts and gouges...fast but not puncture resistant.

MrChuck

Nothing's totally puncture proof but the Marathon Plus is probably about as close as you'll get. I've got one on the back and a standard Marathon Greenguard on the front and while they're very heavy they roll OK and personally I've not found them any worse in the wet than others I've had.

CanalRider

I have had one puncture with a Marathon Plus, but to be fair the screw that did it would have taken out a road tyre so I have no complaints. I have the ATX type for use on road and on the cut. The bike is a Boardman FS Comp and the marathons have been on for 3 years. I have just bought a Vitus Dee and may well replace the tyres with M+

cedargreen

No tyre will be completely puncture proof, but whatever tyres you use there are ways of minimising visits from the puncture fairies.

1. Decent rim tape- adhesive cloth tape like Velox- will reduce the risk of puntures caused by sharp areas on the inside of the rim.
2. Keep tyres inflated to the reccommended pressure- a track pump with a gauge is best.
3. Regularly inspect tyres for bits of glass etc and remove them before they can work their way through.

I gave up using tyres like Armadilloes as I didn't like the ride/ wet weather grip (this was years ago and they may well have improved since); I've found Vittoria Rubino to be pretty good. Currently got Panaracer Race on my 'good' bike and they are superb; very grippy and no punctures but not really a commuting tyre. Problem is it's very hard to make objective comparisons between different tyres because punctures are such random events. With a bit of practice, repairing a puncture shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

pdw

cedargreen wrote:

Problem is it's very hard to make objective comparisons between different tyres because punctures are such random events. With a bit of practice, repairing a puncture shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

This. With any tyre with reasonable puncture resistance, punctures are so rare that it would take years for most riders to be able to draw a statistically sound conclusion about one tyre over another.

I've had good experience with Gatorskins. Keeping tyres correctly inflated, and replacing them before they are worn thin will probably make more of a difference than which tyres you use.

Whatever you go for, have a plan for dealing with punctures - be that leaving yourself 15 minutes to sort it, or a boss that understands that you might be 15 minutes late once a year (which usually compares pretty favourably to car commuters).

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Bit of a thread revival, but since jumping back on a bike daily for commuting ~18 months ago, I've yet to get a puncture using Schwalbe Duranos (don't think they are Pluses, but could be wrong). The odd shard of glass has broken through the outer casing, but the inner rubber liner has stopped anything reaching the innertube, before I've plucked the offending glass out.

claddo

I have found the Gatorskins or GP4000s excellent, and a snappier ride than the Marathons. They make each ride feel like a marathon sometimes.

craker

The Vittoria Zaffiros on my SS have yet to puncture in 2 years. They're cheap (£7), ride well and are a nice red colour that matches the frame. Oh, I must be in luck as they're really flimsy and I shouldn't recommend them to anyone looking for puncture resistant tyres.

rubertoe

If you P Proof but dead ride get Schwalbe M+. If you like to feel a bit get gatorskins.

Whatever you do dont get specialised all weather, as i found out yesterday, they dont like the rain...

DM222

Bontrager HardCase are very good too and quite a bit cheaper than GatorSkins!

willy b

DM222 wrote:

Bontrager HardCase are very good too and quite a bit cheaper than GatorSkins!

Big fan of Bonty Hardcases. Currently £14 a pop at JE James too. I've done around 5,000 commuting miles without a puncture, been running it like this for a couple of hundred miles without an issue...

jonomc4

OK I'll bite v- there is no such thing as a puncture proof tyre.

I have owned Specialised armadillo - one puncture sue to a 1" nail in road.

GP 4 seasons - no punctures in 2 years
GPS - no puncture in one year.

Here's the way - keep your tyre pressure to correct levels - watch where you cycle. And finally just plain dumb luck.

Go for a tyre that rolls well and grips ok in the wet - my fav all year tyres are the continental 4 seasons - came out best in a bike radar test as well

arthur_scrimshaw

Depends where you live as well I'm certain. We have lots of flint around here and as soon as it rains and this gets washed onto the road it gets nasty. I put a new set of panaracer pasalas (which are touring tyres)in the summer and they've been fine, but last week I got 4 punctures in 2 days with the rain so the Marathon pluses have gone back on. I'd forgotten how dead they feel but it's a price I'm prepared to pay for security.

Pepperoni Man

Hello All!!! First post for me

I've recently put SMP tyres on my hybrid after puncturing my Panaracer Crosstowns. I've heard from a couple of people that you need to be a cross between Precious McKenzie and Houdini to get them on and off but I'm hoping that I won't after worry about that. I don't want to be messing around changing tubes on busy main roads and being late for work. I know that people say that with practice it all becomes easier but it's not the kind of practice I want!!

So far so good and as I've just ordered a pair Durano Plus for my new road bike I hope it stays that way

arthur_scrimshaw

Pepperoni Man wrote:

Hello All!!! First post for me

I've recently put SMP tyres on my hybrid after puncturing my Panaracer Crosstowns. I've heard from a couple of people that you need to be a cross between Precious McKenzie and Houdini to get them on and off but I'm hoping that I won't after worry about that. I don't want to be messing around changing tubes on busy main roads and being late for work. I know that people say that with practice it all becomes easier but it's not the kind of practice I want!!

So far so good and as I've just ordered a pair Durano Plus for my new road bike I hope it stays that way

Welcome to the forum!

Despite the horror stories you can fit the pluses with just your hands, it's all technique and patience. They're harder when brand new but after putting a few miles on them they become more pliable. There's a video on Spa Cycles website on how to fit them which is helpful but a bit ott in IMO (suggests using toe straps!) Once they are on your wheels you can pretty much guarantee you won't be taking them off due to unplanned circumstances!

Pepperoni Man

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Pepperoni Man wrote:

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you - hopefully pick up a good few tips on here!