Folding Bikes - Any recommendations on fast 20" tires?

I've had a Conti sidewall go after only a couple of hundred miles in the exact way you describe Jur - I think their quality control is a little squiffy as the other has shown no such tendencies over far more miles than that.

Jur,
The Conti's are sounding very good. Did you get a 2nd Conti to replace the one that failed?
What pressure do you run them at? I weigh about 190 pounds.
Which tube are you using with them? biketiresdirect.com suggests:
Quality Tube -20x1.25/1.50 Presta (32/40-406)

LittlePixel,
You said:
" I think their quality control is a little squiffy as the other has shown no such tendencies over far more miles than that. "

What tire is "the other".? Which tires are you using now? How do you like them?
What pressure were you using in the Conti's?

sorry - I meant the other one from the pair of conti's I was running.
I've also ran Mango Stevlios (the orangey/yellow ones you can get for the Dahon SpeedPro) which have been pretty good, though I did experience some of the tread peeling a little after a few hundred miles.
Marathon Racers (discontinued now I think?) are a good fast compromise city tyre with a bit more protection.

I have several replacement Contis ready but at the moment I slapped a Primo Comet on the back just because. ;)

For tubes, here I have a very strong recommendation: Schwalbe! Schwalbe tubes are much much better than anything else I have tried. Like in 10x better. Their quality is superb. Several months go by and I don't have to pump.

jur,
Where do you buy your Schwalbe tubes? biketiresdirect.com has great prices for the Conti's but they don't list Schwalbe tubes on their web site.

Also,
What pressure do you use in the Conti's? Based on what I have been reading, tire pressure seems important do reliability. Too high and they explode. Too low and you get pinch tube failures.

...Marathon Racers (discontinued now I think?) are a good fast compromise city tyre with a bit more protection...

Marathon Racers (http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c2-1070-schwalbe-tires-marathon-racer.html) are still available in UK at least.

I get Schwalbe tubes from the LBS, I asked. In the US they should be freely available.

Thanks everyone for the information.
After much consideration I decided against The Contis. Too many people here and in other threads reported catastropic events with them.

I bought Schwalbe Stelvios with Schwalbe tubes. I got them yesterday, put them on today and tried them out on a short ride. I am very happy with them. The Swift felt faster and better. Very nice. I hope they hold out well.

Curiously, the simplest place to order the Schwalbe tubes was from www.xootr.com (http://www.xootr.com). I had to order some other stuff from them so I got the tubes from them too. But the Schwalbe Stevios were much cheaper from http://www.biketiresdirect.com/. Of course they don't carry the Schwalbe tubes.

Although they are a bit expensive I like the Schwalbe Kojaks. Since you say you bought Schwable tubes, I might like to mention that these are removable core tubes. This means you can squirt some Stans into them and make them basically flat proof. Yes, you are adding the weight of the liquid but after flatting the Kojaks I decided the little extra weight was worth not having to stop and fix a flat.

Sorry "Schwalbe"

Although they are a bit expensive I like the Schwalbe Kojaks.

I thought about the Kojaks but when I checked the ratings on the Schwalbe site I noticed that while they rated the Kojaks better for speed, they also rated them much lower for protection and durability.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/recumbent

Marathon Racers (discontinued now I think?) are a good fast compromise city tyre with a bit more protection.

When I last checked, they were still available in the US and on the web.

I thought about the Kojaks but when I checked the ratings on the Schwalbe site I noticed that while they rated the Kojaks better for speed, they also rated them much lower for protection and durability.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/recumbent


I just switched my Swift's 20X1.5 Marathons for 20X1.35 Kojaks. Like night and day - the slick Kojaks run so much better!