Best tyre for commuting?

pblakeney

TGOTB wrote:

mattdanielc wrote:

Sgt.Pepper wrote:

I've got cheap no-brands 1 1/4s on my Arena, and 28mm Conti 4 seasons on the GT. Couldn't recommend the 4 seasons anymore highly - low rolling resistance, great grip in the wet, still quick in the dry. Only had one puncture on them from a big chunk of wire, and I've ridden over broken glass a couple of times while I haven't been paying attention.

The 1&1/4s are also tough, but that's just sheer thickness - dreadful rolling resistance. But then again, they were the equivalent of about 30 quid for a pair, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Thank you! Found some good reviews of the 4 seasons from continental so it's between them or the Durano Plus. The 4 seasons is a lot lighter - and more expensive - if it's lighter does that mean it's more suitable for racing over commuting?

I used to use 4 Seasons, and found them nowhere nearly as good as the Durano Plus I switched to. The sidewalls are quite light, and it's not uncommon for them to split along the tyre bead as they get older. I lost another to a sidewall gash. Durano Plus have much more solid sidewalls, and the compound itself seems to last longer too.
Ride quality is pretty comparable, despite the Durano Plus being heavier.
From my perspective, the Durano Plus is the tyre I thought I was getting when I bought my first set of 4 Seasons.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought that the 4 Seasons are all about the compound and cooler temperatures, wet conditions and grip with some protection whereas the Durano Plus is about protection first and longevity. Different beasts, but in the same field, if that makes sense...

mattdanielc

Joe Totale wrote:

How about the regular Durano? I commute on them and find them a good compromise of price and puncture proofing whilst not being too sluggish. They're not as tough as the Durano Plus but certainly a fair bit faster.

mamil314 wrote:

I agree on not compromising the ride too much and use normal Durano 28mm on my commutes. Durano Plus has a hard plastic protection belt and just so much less pleasant to ride. I found both Conti tyres, 4k and 4 season, too fast wearing.

Looking on wiggle.co.uk it looks like there is a few Durano models - which one are you guys referring to?

I'm conflicted again! My current tyres are 'budget' (vittoria zaffira) and I've never had a single puncture (since I started commuting in May) so maybe I don't need a tyre with heavy puncture protection.

Currently considering the Durano, Durano Plus and the Vittoria Rubino Pro (but can't find this one in my size - 28)

tgotb

PBlakeney wrote:

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought that the 4 Seasons are all about the compound and cooler temperatures, wet conditions and grip with some protection whereas the Durano Plus is about protection first and longevity. Different beasts, but in the same field, if that makes sense...

My starting point was commuting on GP4000s - they were (and are) great to ride, but too fragile to cope with Winter commuting; the treads cut up badly, I had a fair few punctures, and the sidewalls failed.
When I bought my first set of 4 Seasons I thought I was getting a tyre with performance/handling almost as good as the GP4000s, but robust enough to cope with Winter commuting. What they actually turned out to be were a tyre that were almost as nice to ride as GP4000s, and not quite as fragile. They still cut up, but not quite as quickly, they punctured, but not quite as often, and the sidewalls still failed, but not quite as quickly.
The Durano Plus deliver what I was hoping for with the 4 Seasons, which is a tyre that's almost as nice to ride as a GP4000, but significantly more resistant to cutting up, punctures once or twice over the life of the tyre, and with sidewalls that never fail. I normally retire them when the blue puncture-resistant strip starts showing. A 4 Season had to be retired either when the tread disintegrated or when the sidewall failed catastrophically.
I've never had an issue with grip on any of the above three tyres, in any conditions.

pblakeney

TGOTB wrote:

Good info.

Cheers! Like Matt though, the Folding reads as better than the Plus from a ride quality point of view. Opinions?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I keep thinking about trying some Durano DDs, for a jack of all trades commuter, but then I've often thought of trying the Marathon Almotions to test their "legendary" low rolling resistance... While they create their own gravity field.

tgotb

PBlakeney wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Good info.

Cheers! Like Matt though, the Folding reads as better than the Plus from a ride quality point of view. Opinions?

The one I've used is the Durano Plus Folding,Halfords Link

I haven't checked whether there are cheaper places to get it from, this is just the first one that popped up (but seems to be cheaper than Wiggle).

I'm on the 25mm ones, your preferred width may be different...

cougie

I've the marathon plus on my winter bike. Yes they're heavier but I just look on it as extra training. At least you're almost guaranteed you won't get a p*******.

pblakeney

TGOTB wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Good info.

Cheers! Like Matt though, the Folding reads as better than the Plus from a ride quality point of view. Opinions?

The one I've used is the Durano Plus Folding,Halfords Link

I haven't checked whether there are cheaper places to get it from, this is just the first one that popped up (but seems to be cheaper than Wiggle).

I'm on the 25mm ones, your preferred width may be different...

Cheers! Thinking my next set will be 28mm. I am more interested in grip and handling than longevity. Folding then, not rigid. (Most searches for Durano Plus comes up with the rigid version for me, be careful).

mattdanielc

well.... bought some tyres.... but a completely different set!

went for Continental Grand Prix 4 Season

awavey

interesting views on the weight side, I had Marathon Pluses on my first commuter hybrid, which felt like it was made of cast iron,, so I dont suppose I ever really noticed the tyres were adding much to that weight, but they always felt comfortably grippy in the rain, presumably because of the added weight, though I had two punctures with them, so they arent bullet proof, one I hit a hole in a speed bump quite hard in the wet and the puncture resistance strip broke or got out of shape and created just enough of a little sharp bump that was just pointy enough to slow puncture the tube when under high pressure, took several PF visits and a walk of shame to work out that was the cause as I was only looking for things puncturing the tyre from the outside.

current commute has Vittoria Randonneurs, which are just what it came with, not much lighter than Marathon pluses but have apparently a much worse rolling resistance, and you can definitely feel they are harder to ride on, plus they are squirrely as hell on wet roads, so as they are now near enough end of life I was going to replace them

so I had been thinking of Marathon pluses again, but maybe Ill reconsider, considering my commute route is just roads/cycle paths its still surprising how many cuts I get in the tyre, so something with puncture resistance still seems necessary

norvernrob

Marathon plus for me. I commute mostly on the Trans Pennine Trail, and have gone all year so far without a single puncture. I’ve ridden through the path completely covered in hawthorn cuttings when the tractor has been on there trimming the hedges, broken glass all over the place in the town centre, and had a hawthorn branch jammed in my rear mudguard with the spikes being forced into the tyre.

Fixing punctures is absolutely fine in the daytime, but I commute at 5-6am, most of it pitch black trail. Last year I had a flat on Vittorias and had to just keep riding slowly to the nearest main road to be able to see enough to fix it under a streetlight.

I noticed the weight of the Marathons on the first couple of rides, after that they just feel ‘normal” as everything else does when you’re used to it.

cjcp

PBlakeney wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Good info.

Cheers! Like Matt though, the Folding reads as better than the Plus from a ride quality point of view. Opinions?

The one I've used is the Durano Plus Folding,Halfords Link

I haven't checked whether there are cheaper places to get it from, this is just the first one that popped up (but seems to be cheaper than Wiggle).

I'm on the 25mm ones, your preferred width may be different...

Cheers! Thinking my next set will be 28mm. I am more interested in grip and handling than longevity. Folding then, not rigid. (Most searches for Durano Plus comes up with the rigid version for me, be careful).

I choose the folding over the rigid, and go for the 23mm option.

pblakeney

cjcp wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Good info.

Cheers! Like Matt though, the Folding reads as better than the Plus from a ride quality point of view. Opinions?

The one I've used is the Durano Plus Folding,Halfords Link

I haven't checked whether there are cheaper places to get it from, this is just the first one that popped up (but seems to be cheaper than Wiggle).

I'm on the 25mm ones, your preferred width may be different...

Cheers! Thinking my next set will be 28mm. I am more interested in grip and handling than longevity. Folding then, not rigid. (Most searches for Durano Plus comes up with the rigid version for me, be careful).

I choose the folding over the rigid, and go for the 23mm option.

Durano Plus is not available in 28mm folding. It is either 28mm Durano Plus Rigid, 28mm Durano folding, or 23/25mm Durano Plus folding.

inbike

PBlakeney wrote:

Cheers! Thinking my next set will be 28mm. I am more interested in grip and handling than longevity. Folding then, not rigid. (Most searches for Durano Plus comes up with the rigid version for me, be careful).

Do they do 28mm folding? I thought it was wire bead only.

pblakeney

inbike wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Cheers! Thinking my next set will be 28mm. I am more interested in grip and handling than longevity. Folding then, not rigid. (Most searches for Durano Plus comes up with the rigid version for me, be careful).

Do they do 28mm folding? I thought it was wire bead only.

I got two delivered yesterday. :P
Durano, not Durano Plus. As stated above.

rhodrich

cjcp wrote:

I choose the folding over the rigid, and go for the 23mm option.

Haven't you read the memo? Wider tyres are faster, and more comfortable! Why put up with 23's, unless you haven't got the clearance for wider?

28's as a minimum for me these days. 32's if I can squeeze them in. When I ride my Pearson road bike, that doesn't have clearance for anything bigger than 23's, it feels like a solid wheeled bike.

cjcp

Rhodrich wrote:

cjcp wrote:

I choose the folding over the rigid, and go for the 23mm option.

Haven't you read the memo? Wider tyres are faster, and more comfortable! Why put up with 23's, unless you haven't got the clearance for wider?

28's as a minimum for me these days. 32's if I can squeeze them in. When I ride my Pearson road bike, that doesn't have clearance for anything bigger than 23's, it feels like a solid wheeled bike.

25s would be a bit tight on the nice bike.

Plenty of space on the Canyon, but that means change. And what don't we like about change? That change is bad.

pblakeney

Two runs on the Durano 28c folding this weekend. Quite impressed! Comfort greatly increased.
Vent spews were annoying though. Took quite a while to give them a "haircut".

mattdanielc

Rode my new Conti 4 Seasons this morning - great tyre! Felt very nice.

Gallywomack

Once you get into wider than 28's, are there any decent, value, folding options for purely road tyres? Just been having a look and I'm not finding a lot.

asprilla

Gallywomack wrote:

Once you get into wider than 28's, are there any decent, value, folding options for purely road tyres? Just been having a look and I'm not finding a lot.

A lot of folks swear by Vittoria Hyper Voyagers: https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIVOHY/ ... lding-tyre

I'm using Schwalbe G-One Speeds my CX for commuting. Nearly double the price of the Voyagers, but I like them.

straas

I've always used gatorskins for commuting - but they don't seem very popular here?

I get around 1 puncture a year (if that)

asprilla

straas wrote:

I've always used gatorskins for commuting - but they don't seem very popular here?

I found they lived up to their 'Skaterskin' moniker when it's cold and wet. The harder the rubber compound the less compliant it is in the cold and so the less grip it provides. I generally do OK with 4 Seasons or tubless Pro Ones. I do like Durano Plus as well and used to run them on my now departed (and dearly missed) single speed.

tgotb

straas wrote:

I've always used gatorskins for commuting - but they don't seem very popular here?

I get around 1 puncture a year (if that)

Good for speedway-style powerslides in the wet too (so long as it's only the rear tyre that lets go...)

rhodrich

straas wrote:

I've always used gatorskins for commuting - but they don't seem very popular here?

I get around 1 puncture a year (if that)

Plenty of people use them. In fact I've got one on the back of my bike, and I'm quite happy with it. I've found that they give a very harsh ride in the smaller sizes, owing to the reinforced sidewall, but the larger sizes are OK.

Some complain that their wet weather grip isn't so good, but I wouldn't really know, as I don't really use the bike that they're on in the rain.

veronese68

Asprilla wrote:

Gallywomack wrote:

Once you get into wider than 28's, are there any decent, value, folding options for purely road tyres? Just been having a look and I'm not finding a lot.

A lot of folks swear by Vittoria Hyper Voyagers: https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIVOHY/ ... lding-tyre

I'm using Schwalbe G-One Speeds my CX for commuting. Nearly double the price of the Voyagers, but I like them.

I'm usually on Voyager Hypers in a 32mm flavour. Very nice.

Read Rodrich's post upthread telling CJ to try 28s, thought to myself but CJ doesn't like change. Next post confirmed it.

Gallywomack

Cheers, the voyagers look good.

norvernrob

Voyagers are great for road use, I did get a couple of punctures on them riding on trail/cycle path though. If it was just road use I’d put them straight back on.

greenamex2

Asprilla wrote:

Gallywomack wrote:

I'm using Schwalbe G-One Speeds my CX for commuting. Nearly double the price of the Voyagers, but I like them.

How much mileage do you get out of them?

My dimple pattern was gone from the centre of the rear in around 100 miles. The front is probably good for another 5-600 miles.

inbike

I've been really dissapointed with Pro-Ones and G-One Speeds for commuting. They get nicks and cuts really fast - although they do seem to hold together OK when damaged.

The G-One speed on my front wheel looks like a pin-cusion that's been used for knife throwing target practice. But it's been like that for 6 months and still no punctures.