Commuting - Help me choose a tire II

I've read the recent thread but have a few questions for my own situation.

My bike is a Giant Cypress DX with whopping 700x40 tires with "city" tread, they say 85psi max and I keep them at 70-75 psi. I've put about 2400 miles on them so far and the tread pattern is almost worn down in the middle of the tire, so I guess it might be about time to replace them.

First question, do you think I can put 700x32 on these rims (I have no idea what the bike came with or how to determine what I can do with it). or 700x30? Anybody have one of these & replace the tires?

Second question, of course, is which kind of tire. My criteria in rough order is:

1 - protection/durability. Center City Philly with plenty of broken glass, debris, and potholes. I just fixed a flat from a staple or blown-tire wire. This was actually my first flat in 3 years not from a leaking valve from the original 'slime' filled tubes.

2 - speed, to a degree. It's a comfort/hybrid bike, but I do a 32-mile one-way commute and suspect I could get a little more oomph out of a higher PSI tire and hopefully a 700x32 is better than the 700x40. The recommended Avocet FasGripK DuroPlus looks like a good tire at 90psi max.

3 - grip / safety. I occasionally have to ride when it's drizzling out, but I avoid riding in steady rain.
I have no idea what the difference is between the 'smooth' treads and the various light 'city' treads.

4+ - price, weight, etc. I don't really care, tires don't seem like a major purchase at $10 vs $40, compared to using them for 2500 miles. My bike + me + gear is already 220 lbs, so I'm not going to sweat plus or minus 200g. I guess rotational inertia matters from a dead stop, but not a major concern for me.

My gf's got that bike right now and she's running 700x35's fine. 28 might be too thin for you. I haven't seen any real slick 30's so 32's are your only choice and you have a bunch of options. The specialized nimbus or infinity's have a touch of tread for when you hit spots of loose gravel (where the treads will dig in better than slicks) and they have pretty good puncture resistance.

1 I don't have a Giant Cypress, but I do run 40mm tires -- 622-40 Schwalbe Marathon Plus. The give a good ride, roll easily, and have been flat-free for about 7,500 miles. Tread is still fine. On the other hand, if you have had only one flat in three years, why change tire type?

2 In the winter, I switch to 35 mm Nokian studded tires. They fit fine. No idea whether the 32 mm tires would improve rolling resistance much, but I think they would also fit.

3 Bike tire traction in the rain is not greatly affected by tread (or lack of it). Compound may be a factor. Wider tires seem to do better on metal plates, bridge gratings, and the like. The main reason I see for replacing your tires is that they are worn thin and likely to flat.

4 My philosophy is that I want the same flat resistance on my bike and car. Bike stuff is silly-cheap compared to car stuff.

Paul

My gf's got that bike right now and she's running 700x35's fine. 28 might be too thin for you. I haven't seen any real slick 30's so 32's are your only choice and you have a bunch of options.

Slvoid, do you mean she's running 700x35 or 700x32? Just to clarify what you mean that 32's are my
only choice...

On Sheldon Brown's website there is a chart comparing rim width to tire width and it gives suggested ranges. I would think that you'd have no problems fitting a 700x30 tire on a rim that originally had a 700x40, unless the 700x40 was already a downsized tire. I'm a big fan of Specialized Armadillos (currently using both the All Condition and Nimbus versions) and have had zero flats in close to 2 years now (~8000 miles total). I'm finally wearing out my 700x25's which have close to 5000 miles I think. No experience with Schwalbe Marathons but I hear the same great reviews of them as I do for the Armadillos.

Slvoid, do you mean she's running 700x35 or 700x32? Just to clarify what you mean that 32's are my
only choice...

She's running 700x35's now. I mean that there aren't a lot of slick or semi-slick tire choices out there in size 700x30, most common ones around that size are 700x28 or 700x32. 700x28 is ok but I'm not sure how that'll fare with 220+ lbs of cargo. 700x32 would be a good choice.

I run 700X28 Bontrager Xlite Race, which have incredibly low rolling resistance. I have Mr Tuffy strips under the tread. If the inside width of the rim is 19 mm you could run these. They are very light weight but I dont notice any easier acceleration, but the steering is more nimble. They are made of a silicon compound, which may not give the grip in the wet, but I dont plan to ride when it is raining.

OK, next naive question. Everyone is talking about 5000 miles, 8000 miles, etc. on a set of tires.

So is 2400 miles on a tire 'normal' for some tires? I think mine are Michelin Transworld City or similar. Am I thinking of replacing the tires too early and can get another 1000-3000 miles out of them? The tread pattern is almost gone just in the very center of the tire (5 mm wide or so), but I don't remember how deep it was in the first place.

I guess I was jarred into action by having my first puncture flat in 3 years, but maybe it's not the end of the tire life yet.

She's running 700x35's now. I mean that there aren't a lot of slick or semi-slick tire choices out there in size 700x30, most common ones around that size are 700x28 or 700x32. 700x28 is ok but I'm not sure how that'll fare with 220+ lbs of cargo. 700x32 would be a good choice.

I presume there are tons of people out there running on x28 and even x23 widths with 220 pounds.

I'm 175 lbs, the bike is 25-30 lbs, and my trunk rack when commuting is another 10-15 lbs. That
can't be too uncommon.

I didn't mean 220 lbs of cargo in ADDITION to bike+rider.

Still, I would probably go with a 700x32 given general feedback so far.
-=$>Dave<$=-

If I am not getting lot of flats I will ride until the threads start to show. If I get several flats in one week I get new tires.

Not that it's so important, but I finally got new tires -- normal Schwalbe Marathons (non-Racer, non-Plus) in 700x32. I mounted them yesterday and did a quick spin and they seem a bit faster, 90psi instead of the previous 70psi. The previous tires had 3700 miles on them, and I got called into action due to a flat during the Lancaster County metric (tiny piece of glass).

I weigh 230 and commute 25 miles RT with rack and panniers each day. I am running Bontrager Racelight Hardcase tires in 700x25. They come in several sizes. These are as close to bombproof as any other puncture resistant tire and should give you several thousand miles. You should go to Road Bike Review to see some of the reviews on this tire and others that have been mentioned.

Schwalbe tires are excellent tires and the Marathon is a nice general purpose do all tire but I think it has too much tread for a road tire. A wide slick tire is the best tire for wet pavement.
Tire weight is not a huge issue but it does affect the speed of the tire in two ways. First the heavier tire is harder to accelerate and will slow your starts and stops. Second a heavier tire is an indication of a stiffer tire which increases the rolling resistance. It is always a balance of heavy tough tire vs low rolling resistance. I currently have 37mm Conti Sport Contacts which are a nice slick tire and in comes in several widths. However I am interested in the Marathon Supremes from Schwalbe which are very expensive but also light and claim to be very tough.
Craig

Schwalbe tires are excellent tires and the Marathon is a nice general purpose do all tire but I think it has too much tread for a road tire. A wide slick tire is the best tire for wet pavement.
Tire weight is not a huge issue but it does affect the speed of the tire in two ways. First the heavier tire is harder to accelerate and will slow your starts and stops. Second a heavier tire is an indication of a stiffer tire which increases the rolling resistance. It is always a balance of heavy tough tire vs low rolling resistance. I currently have 37mm Conti Sport Contacts which are a nice slick tire and in comes in several widths. However I am interested in the Marathon Supremes from Schwalbe which are very expensive but also light and claim to be very tough.
Craig

As you can see from the 1st post of this thread, the previous tires were the stock 700x40 that came with the Giant Cypress DX (and originally with HEAVY slime-filled tubes as well). Never had a 'road' tire and the Marathons seem like a good compromise between robustness, speed, and price. The Supremes seem to come in at $60 / tire, the plain Marathon was $30 / tire.