Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - heavy guy durable road tire 700x23

I keep flattening out the contact surface of tires faster than I want to, what types of road tires have you guys/ladies had good results with as far as durability. I like to ride 23s, but might go 25s since I am riding more dirt roads.
last 2 times have gotten michelin krylion carbon tires.
thanks

I haven't found anything smaller than 28 mm that can survive daily commuting for more than a month or two before it flats so many times I get rid of it. I'm about 220 clothed, + a 20-30 pound bag, so on the lighter end of the clyde spectrum. 28mm tires seem to be the trick for me.

I mean the actual tire contact surface gets flat from wear, not punctures! been lucky about those. anyone experienced with gator skins?

I'm using 25's without a problem and I am 320

I use Continental 2000's (23's) on our roadies. I bought a few when Ipurchased them so not even sure if they make the 2000 anymore. I think it's about the same as the 3000 pretty much.

I wanted to use Michelins on one of my wife's roadies. I liked the celeste tire for her Bianchi but decided against it as I had several friends complain about the Michelin tires (Pro model?). Great reviews as far as speed and traction for racing but poor reviews as far as wear. Like any tire, the better it is for racing the softer the rubber and faster wear.

Same happened with the tires on my truck. I installed some expensive BF Goodrich tires. Looked great but wore quickly. Replaced with some low end tires, maybe a 1/3 of the price and those suckers lasted forever!:D

I've had really bad luck with Specialized tires. Roll great but seem to lose a chunk of rubber on every tire. I tired S-Works($35). Too much for them to be falling apart like that. Had the same results with a lower end Specialized. I stay away from the brand as far as tires.

I started over 300 and have almost 2,000 on some 700x25 armadillos mounted on my road bike. They ride like they are solid but they barely show any wear. The marathon plus tires on my xtracycle lasted over 3,000 miles before I wore them down and were nice a cushy too.
Lately I've been on the search for a good tire for my recumbent and I've had good luck with schwalbe stelvios in x28 size.

My wife was using armadillos on her road bike but she is alot lighter then I. Still they really beat her up and kept her slow. I changed for some vredstien tri-comp and now they dont' beat her up so much and she smokes me even more. :cry:
Given her weight difference they'll probably last her a decent amount of time.

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case, you should pump up your tires to the maximum PSI before every ride. Road tires lose a lot if pressure over the course of a single ride or just from sitting in the garage for a couple of days.

I keep flattening out the contact surface of tires faster than I want to, what types of road tires have you guys/ladies had good results with as far as durability. I like to ride 23s, but might go 25s since I am riding more dirt roads.
last 2 times have gotten michelin krylion carbon tires.
thanks

Riding on 23s is pointless at your weight. You'll be distorting them to create a sufficient contact area to support you; a wider tyre won't have a greater contact are and will take less stress. Go to a wider tyre that's made of fast rolling rubber - a Conti Sport Contact 28 for good roads, and maybe a Marathon Supreme 38 for dirt roads, if your bike will take it.

(Interestingly, **really** wide and low pressure tyres are faster than any other sort on gravel - see http://www.bicicletta.co.za/Downloadable%20Docs/Rolling%20Resistance%20Eng%20illustrated.pdf) (http://www.bicicletta.co.za/Downloadable%20Docs/Rolling%20Resistance%20Eng%20illustrated.pdf)

I defintely pump up to max psi al the time. if not the first pothole is a pincher. I think 23s might be done for me, up to 25s to start. you get those last few mph above 50 with the 23s, and 25s not so much. but I don't want to be putting 200$ in tires on my bikes every year.
who makes the Armadillo?

anyone experienced with gator skins?

I put a set of Continental Ultra Gatorskins on my road bike. I bought the 700x28 size, which is about the biggest tire my frame will accept. IIRC, the bead was pretty tight but other than that they seem nice. I've only got a couple hundred miles on them though...

I'm 280 and use Specialized Armadillo's (23's)- without a problem. Last great and I don't have any problems with pinch flats. I keep them close to 120psi and they do me well.

I'm running Gatorskins 700X25. In fact, I just replaced my rear wheel last night because it had worn flat. The chord wasn't showing yet so I could have gone maybe 500 miles further if I wanted to. I had 2600 miles on the rear wheel. I'm 6'3" and weigh 225 and ride mostly tar and chip roads. I run them at 100 psi.

Vredestein Fortezza Pros. Been using em on the Paramount for the last 3 years.
Very satisfied with em.
Caveat here is I spin vs stand on the cranks. I work up to speed vs the jackrabbit start.
I really like their wearability and their ride.
Sadly, at 160psi (I run em at 140) they're way over the 125 max reccomended on the ProVs on my IF and I don't want to even think about running them that low.

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case, you should pump up your tires to the maximum PSI before every ride. Road tires lose a lot if pressure over the course of a single ride or just from sitting in the garage for a couple of days.

Yeah, on Tuesday my tires had 120 pounds and on Thursday they are down to 80 pounds. No leaks, just air migrating out of the rubber. I pump up before every ride. Also, you can't squeeze a tire with your hand and tell if there's enough pressure, that's a wildly inaccurate way to guesstimate tire pressure. I see a lot of non-cyclist types riding around on semi-flat tires...

I bought the cheapest tires from bikenashbar.com and put 1500 miles on them without any problems. I guess it depends upon what your usage is. I only ride concrete and blacktop, so no problems for me. If I was going to ride anything different, I would suggest I bigger tire size first.

I mean the actual tire contact surface gets flat from wear, not punctures! been lucky about those. anyone experienced with gator skins?

Gatorskins will serve you well in either 28, 25 or 23. I put a lot of miles on them and my weight varies between 230-250 depending on the time of year.

Wish I could help you, I'm running Conti Contacts 700x37's on my Trek 7.2FX. Those tires are almost bullet proof.

I have Michelen Carbon Krylons (23's) and Conti Gatorskin tires (25's) on two different bikes.

I got (still am) really sick of flats from broken glass....seems to be a real problem in my area. But....I've only had them for a few weeks....and I already got one flat on my gatorskins. I had a good sized piece of glass puncture it. I'm hoping the tire isn't ruined. I stuck a section of an old tube under where the puncture occured so hopefully that helps.

Specialized Armadillos are significantly more durable than the Krylions, but they don't roll nearly as nicely.

krylions

If you weigh over 200 lbs, it might not be realistic to think you can ride 23 or 25 mm tires without giving up reasonable comfort and durability, and especially not if you want to ride on dirt roads. 32 mm minimum would be more like it. Michelin Krylion Carbons are superb tires, but these are training tires that are pretty close to being racing tires. Durable for someone of more moderate weight.

If you weigh over 200 lbs, it might not be realistic to think you can ride 23 or 25 mm tires without giving up reasonable comfort and durability, and especially not if you want to ride on dirt roads. 32 mm minimum would be more like it. Michelin Krylion Carbons are superb tires, but these are training tires that are pretty close to being racing tires. Durable for someone of more moderate weight.

i weigh 225 and have almost 3k miles on my krylions.

There's always some exceptions to the common wisdom :-)

There's always many exceptions to the common old wives tales :-)

Fixed that for you. ;)

23c are fine it seems for me and most of the peopel here... i think your problem may be the "dirt" you mentioned. What kind of dirt paths are you on? my 23s (conti ultra sport) work awesome (and cheap) and pinch far less than my mtb tires due to the pressure, just keep them pumped up.

I used Specialized Armadillos for my cross country ride last summer 3791 miles only 1 flat the whole way accross ... I got nearly 6,000 miles on them by time they wore out

my whole family used them on the trip and all told ... 4 flats total for the all 8 wheels in just under 12,000 miles

Gatorskins will serve you well in either 28, 25 or 23. I put a lot of miles on them and my weight varies between 230-250 depending on the time of year.

+1 on the gatorskins..... they have served me well the past year on the strees of Phlia