Commuting - What tire setup for maximum durability?*

I started commuting a couple weeks ago and love it. It's only seven miles, so I'm not concerned about speed, but I really don't want to bother changing a flat, so...

What setup do you use to reduce the risk of flats?

The road on my route is pretty beat up and I'm on an old roadbike. I'm thinking I should get a tire liner, a thorn proof tube and some heavy duty tire. While speed isn't a concern, would this be like riding a solid rubber tire and give no cushion at all?

Thanks!

Schwalbe Marathon Plus

No need to fiddle around with tire liners, or buy heavy duty tubes. They come in a zillion sizes, so I'm sure you can find one that will fit your rims.
I've got over 800 flat-free miles on mine.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus: 700x28, Touring Tire. The Schwalbe Marathon Tire incorporates light-reflecting sidewalls for better visibility and also utilize a Kevlar-MB-Belt for high puncture resistance. Marathon Silica compound for easy rolling and longer life. Reflex sidewalls incorporate light-reflecting bands. Marathon and Marathon Slick feature Kevlar-MB belt puncture protection using a combination of natural rubber and Kevlar fibers. Marathon Plus features New Smartguard puncture protection to resist thorns, shards, and even thumbtacks. Dual Compound Technology with Race Guard puncture protection (india rubber and nylon fabric). Dual Compound Technology with Race Guard puncture protection (india rubber and nylon fabric). Built-in suspension which absorbs over 36% of vibrations at the handlebar. Kevlar-MB belt puncture protection using a combination of natural rubber and Kevlar fibers.
That sounds great. Sounds like they thought of everything.

Thanks for the tire!

+1 on the Marathon Plus. I'll have 1 year (and 1,800) miles with mine next month and they have been bomb proof. They are not showing that much wear and will definately last longer than any other tire I have commuted with. They are heavy and some people notice a difference in cornering and because of these factors do not like the tire. My primary objective is to ride and be flat free. These tires seem to do the trick.

I have also done well (500+ miles between flats) with kevlar belted tires backed up with tuffy liners. If I were you I'd go with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

Cool. Thanks!

While I don't commute very aggressively, I'm curious about the cornering issue?

Another for Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I also have Mr. Tuffies installed. 10,000+ flat free miles. The ride and rolling resistance are both very good.

Paul

uhh, silly question, but what's the widest tire I can use on a typical road bike? It's only five years old, standard Shimano tiagra brakes and drivetrain, standard wheels.

uhh, silly question, but what's the widest tire I can use on a typical road bike? It's only five years old, standard Shimano tiagra brakes and drivetrain, standard wheels.

what road bike? it depends on the frame clearance and the rim width

max durability -

The Marathon Plus is one of the toughest. the cornering issues some folks complain of is caused by the extra india rubber layer feeling squishy & weird to some people.

Specialized Armadillo are also very very tough. i got a 1/4 inch cut (from a door key) in my Nimbus Armadillo and the casing is so tough it showed no bulge with 100pis. that is a TOUGH tire.

Continental also makes an uber-tough tire meant for industrial applications. check theri website.

for zero flats (cause there's no air) http://www.airfreetires.com/Bicycle/TireKits.html

uhh, silly question, but what's the widest tire I can use on a typical road bike? It's only five years old, standard Shimano tiagra brakes and drivetrain, standard wheels.
It all depends on the bike, actually. But usually you're looking at topping out at a 28 for clearance on roadie frames, and a 32 or 35 on touring frames. Some bikes (like the Surly Steamroller) are designed for wider tires, but from what I've seen, most are not.

On my front wheel I have a Schwalbe Marathon XR, 25000 ( thousand) miles zero punctures, still has tread. On the rear I have the Plus, 15000 miles , zero punctures but, it's like a slick now, no tread left.

Looking at going for the Marathon Evolution.

george

TrueGoo sealant in the tubes = no more flats. I ride on MUP and singletrack with what must be a thin coat of goatheads (thorny plant seed thing) I see goatheads go in, fall out, and I haven't had to add air to a tire in 3 weeks!

Maybe the 20 year old, formerly rubber...now coal, gumwall mt. bike tires are just too hard for things to stick in?

On my front wheel I have a Schwalbe Marathon XR, 25000 ( thousand) miles zero punctures, still has tread.
george
that's a lot of miles...

On my front wheel I have a Schwalbe Marathon XR, 25000 ( thousand) miles zero punctures, still has tread. On the rear I have the Plus, 15000 miles , zero punctures but, it's like a slick now, no tread left.

Looking at going for the Marathon Evolution.

Yeah I guess every 15-30k miles you might as well consider replacing a tire... sounds like you got your ££'s worth, wow!

I have Schwalbe Big Apples, also with kevlar belt. I've had them for a couple-three thousand miles. No troubles until I flatted three times on glass shards in the past week. Both tires.

I think the third flat was caused by a glass shard I got a week earlier, the same glass lode that flatted the tires before. The shard wasn't tiny, but the tire rubber entirely swallowed it. That tire had had several shards in it, I think, and I missed this one.

I could have been rolling with all these shards for awhile, not realizing it... All the holes were small nicks, just enough to deflate the tube.

I like the Schwalbe tires, and I think they are pretty good at preventing flats despite this experience. (Though I had better luck on a pair of very wide non-kevlar knobby mtb tires, which I rode for years without flats.) As long as you have air in tubes, you should be prepared to flat.

i'd just keep riding your current setup until you start having problems with flats. 7 miles isn't too far to safely ride out a slow leak if you don't want to bother with it on the road/trail.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus

Sorry for the thread revival.

How is the rolling resistance for these tires? I prefer slicks but I hate flats.

It all depends on the bike, actually. But usually you're looking at topping out at a 28 for clearance on roadie frames, and a 32 or 35 on touring frames. Some bikes (like the Surly Steamroller) are designed for wider tires, but from what I've seen, most are not.

Also depends if you're willing to swap out the wheels. Some wheels say what tire sizes they can accomodate - mine claims 19-28mm.

I hear great things about Schwalbe Marathons...
I can't get them locally... I ran Continental Gatorskins for over 3500 miles... commuter and supported summer tours. one flat between the two tires.

combination of roads and paths, weather
5-8 miles each way depending up on the job

I use Panaracer Ruffy Tuffys on my bikes. No flats, ever. Of course I'm lucky in that I haven't had a flat in my entire life as a cyclist--and that starts when I was 8.

No one runs Specialized Armadillos, eh?
I had zero flats with my set over 8K miles, but they're beginning to wear on the sidewall.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find another set at my LBS's.

I hear great things about Schwalbe Marathons...
I can't get them locally... ...
You can get them mail-order in any size they come in, off the US distributor's website. I've never heard of anywhere that stocked more than two or three sizes.
~

No one runs Specialized Armadillos, eh?
I had zero flats with my set over 8K miles, but they're beginning to wear on the sidewall.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find another set at my LBS's.


I run them on two bikes. They're generally pretty good, although I had my first flat with them the other morning. A piece of glass absolutely buried itself in the tire, eventually poking through to the tube.

No one runs Specialized Armadillos, eh?
I had zero flats with my set over 8K miles, but they're beginning to wear on the sidewall.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find another set at my LBS's.

I used them for about 8 months (2000 miles) till flats started getting too common.
You can order them on Specialized website.

Currently I'm running Schwalbe Marathons converted to tubeless. Best setup ever. tires are not as tough as 'dillos but tubeless system rocks. 2,000 miles, zero flats.

Cheers

+1 on Marathon Plus! Over 1800 flat free miles. I can't figure out why I'm still carrying a spare tube and pump...to help other people I guess ;) . Tight cornering is a little disconcerting with the extra puncture proof layer, but you get used to it.

You might consider Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase, over 2K miles, one tiny, but sharp rock got embedded in the tire, caused a slow leak on the innertube. Really unusual, the shape of the rock was perfect, almost like a tiny arrowhead - almost like a one-in-a-million chance of that thing getting stuck in the tire.

I agree on the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, but they are heavy as all hell--if you are used to "normal" tires, these tires will feel like bricks at first. I haven't had a puncture flat in the slightly-less-than-a-year I've had them on.