Anyone used Tannus Tyres longterm?

ben@31

Hello,

I have a few bikes... a mountain bike, the "best road bike" that I use for long rides in the countryside plus for fitness and then I have an old and cheaper road bike that I'd like to turn into a commuter... Its actually faster than by car and damn cheaper to park. Being a fit roadie, if I take it easy I can get away with wearing jeans, a tshirt and normal casual trainers. It sounded ideal...

But the problem is the cycle lane I use to commute into the city centre. Theres always broken glass (deliberate?) and debris everywhere, even with Continental Gator Hardshell tyres fitted to the commuter Im frequently getting punctures or slow leaks.

Have any of you been using Tannus tyres for commutes? How do you find them to live with?

The only reviews Ive found are short term impressions after one ride. I get the impression that a solid tyre might not perform as well as a pneumatic tyre but I'm not bothered about speed of my commutes, as I've got my other road bike and other routes for that, I'm just wanting to do the 8 miles (30 minutes) into the city centre along the cycle lane and back, hassle free.

Other alternatives Ive read about could be Schwalbe Marathon Plus commuter tyres or even tubeless tyres with sealant ?

Thanks.

roger_merriman

I think Ugo used them for a while?

personally this sounds like a a fit for Marathon pluses rather than solid or tubeless in that the tyre is still a standard tyre so no special tools needed, and glass slashes in my experience don't phase it etc.

cougie

+1 on the marathon pluses and could you complain about the state of the cycle lane ? Just needs a sweeper?

andy9964

What happens with these tyres if you snap a spoke? My understanding is, if you need to remove a tyre, you're going to ruin it

ugo.santalucia

roger merriman wrote:

I think Ugo used them for a while?

personally this sounds like a a fit for Marathon pluses rather than solid or tubeless in that the tyre is still a standard tyre so no special tools needed, and glass slashes in my experience don't phase it etc.

No, I've ridden them for a few days, my wife rode them once... we both found them exceedingly harsh, so we binned them as there is no practical way to remove them without damaging them.
It's a shame that they ended up in a bin... although I didn't pay for them... but a waste nonetheless

ugo.santalucia

Andy9964 wrote:

What happens with these tyres if you snap a spoke? My understanding is, if you need to remove a tyre, you're going to ruin it

Yes, basically you have to bin the tyre... unless you can do a sterling job of removing only the pins you need to access the spoke hole, but I think it will be very hard

jds_1981

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Andy9964 wrote:

What happens with these tyres if you snap a spoke? My understanding is, if you need to remove a tyre, you're going to ruin it

Yes, basically you have to bin the tyre... unless you can do a sterling job of removing only the pins you need to access the spoke hole, but I think it will be very hard

Am I weird in that I rebuilt a wheel using only a spoke key, not a screw driver in the hole?
Unless it snaps in a really bad place should be able to replace it.

tgotb

jds_1981 wrote:

Am I weird in that I rebuilt a wheel using only a spoke key, not a screw driver in the hole?
Unless it snaps in a really bad place should be able to replace it.

You can do it that way; I did it myself once because the tyre was glued on. However, with box section rims you have to be very careful not to lose the spoke nipple inside the rim.

OT: I built a wheelset with DT Swiss Squorx nipples recently. Those things are brilliant; replaces the dodgy screwdriver slot in the top of the nipple with a male Torx interface. You then use a female torx driver for all the adjustments. No more fiddling to avoid losing nipples inside the rim, and I didn't have to touch a spoke key. Only works with box section rims, but that's not an issue for most...

Stalexcal

I'm interested in these too for my hybrid commuter, so would be pleased to hear any feedback.
I run a Gates Carbon Drive set up and removing the rear tube will be an absolute ball ache at any time, let alone when cold,wet & dark at the roadside. There is a little "removable" section of frame on the rear stay for just this purpose.
I suspect I have just tempted a meeting with the PF next time it rains !!

cgfw201

I've had them on my Mango for 3 years, or 10,000km. Probably about 10% harsher ride than normal tyres, but not a concern for me riding on smooth roads in London. Also probably 5-10% slower, but not an issue, it's not meant to be a fast bike.

Not having to worry about punctures or carry any equipment is worth sacrificing a small amount of speed for in my opinion. The tyres have developed a flatspot all the way round, but it doesn't affect handling at all so not a concern for me at the moment.

I'd recommend them if you're worried about glass for sure. Marathon + are also pretty resilient, but I'd prefer Tannus in your situation.

jds_1981

TGOTB wrote:

You can do it that way; I did it myself once because the tyre was glued on. However, with box section rims you have to be very careful not to lose the spoke nipple inside the rim.

I was worried about losing my nipples to begin with but started off with the the on and inflated and like that there didn't seem to be enough room to easily lose them.

asprilla

cgfw201 wrote:

I've had them on my Mango for 3 years, or 10,000km. Probably about 10% harsher ride than normal tyres, but not a concern for me riding on smooth roads in London. Also probably 5-10% slower, but not an issue, it's not meant to be a fast bike.

10% harsher ride and 10% slower compares favourably with Marathon+ being like wooden wagon wheels, and not to mention slipperier than a Tory Manifesto claim in the cold and wet.

HydraulicGarlic

I've been commuting on 28mm Tannus tyres since mid February this year which replaced a set of 28mm Marathon Plus.

Overall I'm very happy with them. My commute is 10 miles each way into central London and back on a mix of paved cycle paths and roads, occasional detours over rougher ground.

The ride is slightly harsh and takes a little getting used to but alongside punctures being a thing of the past the convenience of never having to check tyre pressure between rides and carrying nothing but a multi-tool can't be overstated. I didn't ride the bike for over two weeks and set off on it without a second thought of checking anything except a quick pull of the brakes.

The tyres are fitted to Shimano RX31 wheels so might be more robust than an average road wheel, I haven't experienced any issues with spokes yet.

The Marathon Plus punctured twice in around 18 months on the same bike, a large shard of glass both times. Trying to get these off and back on the rims to fix the puncture in the dark on a wet ride home is something I don't want to repeat. One of the punctures involved waiting to be able to get on a train at the nearest station and extracting the piece of glass with pliers when I got home.

The 28mm Tannus have a slightly smaller profile than the Marathons and are lighter weight from what I remember.

One thing I might consider if I replace with another pair in future is sizing up to 32mm as the RX31 ETRTO no. is 622-17C which is at the top of the width range recommended by Tannus for their 28mm tyres. I sometimes think I feel a slight lateral 'skating' sensation from the rear wheel as I freewheel, I still haven't figured out if this is the tyre having very slight play within the rim or it's just the ride characteristic of a solid tyre deflecting off the road surface differently to a pneumatic one. Grip in wet has been fine so far.

For average commuting and casual use purposes I'm sold on them, just very convenient fit-and-forget.

fenix

I've marathon pluses on the winter bike - sure they're a bit heavier - but its just better training. I've not found them slippery and they get to go out in the worst of weather. I'm happy to have to work a bit harder if theres less chance of a "p" thing happening in the cold.

ugo.santalucia

HydraulicGarlic wrote:

I've been commuting on 28mm Tannus tyres since mid February this year which replaced a set of 28mm Marathon Plus.

Overall I'm very happy with them. My commute is 10 miles each way into central London and back on a mix of paved cycle paths and roads, occasional detours over rougher ground.

The ride is slightly harsh and takes a little getting used to but alongside punctures being a thing of the past the convenience of never having to check tyre pressure between rides and carrying nothing but a multi-tool can't be overstated. I didn't ride the bike for over two weeks and set off on it without a second thought of checking anything except a quick pull of the brakes.

The tyres are fitted to Shimano RX31 wheels so might be more robust than an average road wheel, I haven't experienced any issues with spokes yet.

The Marathon Plus punctured twice in around 18 months on the same bike, a large shard of glass both times. Trying to get these off and back on the rims to fix the puncture in the dark on a wet ride home is something I don't want to repeat. One of the punctures involved waiting to be able to get on a train at the nearest station and extracting the piece of glass with pliers when I got home.

The 28mm Tannus have a slightly smaller profile than the Marathons and are lighter weight from what I remember.

One thing I might consider if I replace with another pair in future is sizing up to 32mm as the RX31 ETRTO no. is 622-17C which is at the top of the width range recommended by Tannus for their 28mm tyres. I sometimes think I feel a slight lateral 'skating' sensation from the rear wheel as I freewheel, I still haven't figured out if this is the tyre having very slight play within the rim or it's just the ride characteristic of a solid tyre deflecting off the road surface differently to a pneumatic one. Grip in wet has been fine so far.

For average commuting and casual use purposes I'm sold on them, just very convenient fit-and-forget.

I think this a very realistic perspective and a very good first post... welcome to the forum

HydraulicGarlic

Thanks, although it's not my first post.

I had a previous registration that I used to post under but haven't logged in for a couple of years. Was easier to register a new user than retrieve my old password today but wanted to contribute and pass on my experience of the Tannus tyres.

Expect me to disappear for another couple of years again after this.