Best tow path tyre?

gcwebbyuk · June 2014

I am looking for a 26" tyre that I can use on my MTB for road/tow path use.

I won't be using the bike off road for a while, so want to switch from Bonty Mud-X to something more slick, but with a little bit of tread. I have looked at the Schwalbe Marathon Plus or the Continental Travel Contact.

It would be good to have some form of puncture protection (how good are these at preventing road based punctures?).

Any suggestions?

snowster · June 2014

Worth a look Schwalbe City Jet been using mine for roads tow paths and touch wood until now not had a puncture in more than 1300+ miles and cheap

Long_Time_Lurker · June 2014

I use Sports Travel Contacts on my Cube - fast rolling and the puncture protection is very good. Racked up about 2000 miles on them.
They are also available in a semi-slick version, which will probably suit for 3 seasons if the tow paths are particularly dusty/loose.

gcwebbyuk · June 2014

I can see the Sport Contact or Travel Contacts on the Conti website, but not Sports Travel Contact?

The city jets look good, but a little too slick for me. I'm thinking more semi-slick like the marathons.

I currently run low weight Bonty Race X-Lite tubes. Would the puncture resistance of the tyres be enough, or should I go for some more heavy duty tubes? Would prefer to save weight where I can...

samsbike · June 2014

I used a marathon plus but its a beast. The towpath I used has a lot of glass, thorns and other debris.

gcwebbyuk · June 2014

A beast. Is that good or bad?

Initialised · June 2014

Marathons are heavy and lack surface feed back.

I didn't like how many punctures I got on Sport Contacts but did like how they handled/felt.

The best 26" road biased tyres I used were Schwalbe Durano, no punctures, good wet grip even on muddy riverside paths.

gcwebbyuk · June 2014

I've gone for Conti Travel Contact Trekking tyres (folding). Will feed-back on how I find them.

gcwebbyuk · July 2014

First ride wit the Contis - and first impressions were good. The reduction in rolling resistance was impressive. I have had them pumped up to 80psi. Was only a short 5-6mile seafront ride on road.

However....

... about 100 metres from home, I noticed the rear of the bike start to become soft and a friendly hissing sound from behind me. I racked my brains to try and remember if had packed a snake - but no it was a puncture...

It looked like a piece of glass. It took the 100 metres walk home for the tube to almost completely deflate.

You can just about see the cut in the tyre just off the centre of the tyre, right next to the side nobbles:

I was expecting the puncture repair to be a ball ache, as getting the tyres on the rims last night was a chore, but managed to get them on/off in pretty good time. I have a patch on the inside of the tyre as it is a fairly big hole and am now worried about other debris getting in there.

So much for puncture resistance!

drummer_boy · July 2014

I find I am using Schwalbe land Cruisers for mixed surface use, on my MTB and my CX. Medium puncture protection, centre bead, knobbly sides, and cheap as chips!!

snowster · July 2014

snowster wrote:

Worth a look Schwalbe City Jet been using mine for roads tow paths and touch wood until now not had a puncture in more than 1300+ miles and cheap

Should have gone with the city jets not a puncture in slight

gcwebbyuk · July 2014

I contacted Continental, and they have asked me to send the tyre back for inspection. Maybe it was a bad tyre?

snowster · July 2014

Can you not take it back to where you purchased it?

gcwebbyuk · July 2014

Bought from CRC, will contact them today and let them know continental have suggested it get inspected.

Best tow path tyre?

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