Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Tire Help?

I'm rolling a Surly Karate Monkey single speed as my commuter and am currently running Serfas Seca 700cx28 tires. I have mtb risers on there and the road vibration is pretty intense at times... especially for a cat who’s broken his hand twice this year.

Anyhow, I'm looking at the possibility of playing around with a larger tire volume to suck up some of that vibration. I want something with minimal rolling resistance as well as something with some puncture protection that will handle the rigors of a rough daily commute. A couple of tires that have stood out to me are the Schwalbe marathon series, the WTB slickasaurus, the Panaracer T-serv to name a few.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Are you riding all pavement? What kind of pressure are you running? Lowering the pressure and going to a fatter tire are going to be the easiest ways to help. Schwalbe makes the massive Big Apple (http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/61/ok).

Are you riding all pavement? What kind of pressure are you running? Lowering the pressure and going to a fatter tire are going to be the easiest ways to help. Schwalbe makes the massive Big Apple (http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/61/ok).

I'm riding mostly pavement, yes. But I am certainly not opposed to a knobby tire either as long as it's something with minimal rolling resistance... something like the Kenda Small Block Eight.

I did look at the Big apples - are those just ridiculously balloon like though?

If you are riding almost all pavement skip the knobbies. Haven't used the Big Apples, but they look huge. Of course, you need comfort and their smooth profile should still roll reasonably fast. Everything is a compromise, you just need to decide where best to make the trade offs. Right now it sounds like you need something larger to take the edge off.

Panaracer Paselas are everywhere, and are a really nice tire that comes up to at least 35, though they run a little small so it's more like a 32. The Forte tires from performance are basically the same thing, and they run small as well.

The karate monkey can probably take just about anything, but I would shoot for a 35 and run it at like 75 psi. This will be a whole new world compared to a 28 at 110 or whatever. It is going to feel a little slower, but TANSTAAFL. If you want you could go with higher pressure in the back since it's the front that's killing you. Hell, you could even put the big tire only on the front, people always think this is going to be goofy but like many things you never notice it unless you're trying to. But get bigger than about 35 and unless you weigh like 250 you're just dragging around extra tire without getting the benefits.

Panaracer Paselas are everywhere, and are a really nice tire that comes up to at least 35, though they run a little small so it's more like a 32. The Forte tires from performance are basically the same thing, and they run small as well.

The karate monkey can probably take just about anything, but I would shoot for a 35 and run it at like 75 psi. This will be a whole new world compared to a 28 at 110 or whatever. It is going to feel a little slower, but TANSTAAFL. If you want you could go with higher pressure in the back since it's the front that's killing you. Hell, you could even put the big tire only on the front, people always think this is going to be goofy but like many things you never notice it unless you're trying to. But get bigger than about 35 and unless you weigh like 250 you're just dragging around extra tire without getting the benefits.

That's great thanks. I've heard many-a-good things about the Paselas.

I only weigh in at a buck-fitty soaking wet so my ***** gets used and abused on the Seattle streets.

You may also want to try and move your saddle back a little bit, it may help take some of the weight off of your hands, thereby allieviating some of the pain.