Tandem Cycling - Goat Head Proof Tandem Tire?

I'm about ready to try a new tire/brand. Currently using 28mm Conti GP 4 Seasons. Yesterday, 5 miles from home on a short ride I flatted the front tire. During the repair (thorn/Goat Head) my stoker noticed about 10 Goat Heads sticking in the rear tire. My suspicion is that a mower crew must have kicked up a ton of these onto the shoulder. Repaired the rear, limped home and (of course) found the rear flat this morning:cry:

We're doing 50-60 mile recreational rides and plan at least a century/month starting in March so we need something smooth rolling. I could use a wider tire, Todd at daVinci says the frame will take up to 38mm, but I don't know that will help much except perhaps to allow us to run a lower pressure which may have benefits in its own right.

Frankly, the Goat Head has been designed by the devil's best engineers and I'm not sure any regular tire will prevent flats, but I'm willing to listen and learn. There are tons of threads on tires here and on Hobbes, but I'm looking specifically for positive Goat Head experience.

Oh, ,and team+tandem in the 385 lb. range.

Rick...great desciption of the goatheads!
We deal with them here as well particularly summer and fall. Like you, we are running Conti 4 Season GP at 28mm and 100/110 PSI on our trusty C'dale. We go in cycles and flat maybe once a month (400 Miles+/-)from the goatheads so not nearly as much as you. The good news is they are the slow leakers type flats so usually no big dramas when they go down. These conti's have been my favorite for the last 3 years and I can't bring myself to change.
However, for the last 8 months we are also splitting time on a second Tandem that we bought (NOS '07 Trek T2000) that came with Bontrager RaceLite Hard Case tires on the Bontrager Tandem wheels. They are also 28mm. Surprisingly, we have yet to flat on these tires riding on many of the same roads. I don't know much about the Bontrager's and truthfully don't like the feel of them (or is it the wheels?) when we stress the bike but they have been quite durable. I would not be afraid to try them on the C'dale...We are a 300 pound team (plus the Tandem) and I don't want to go any larger than 28mm on the tires. Let us know if you start testing other ones.

Bill J.

I only live 100 miles south of you and haven't had a goat head flat in quit a while. They've made a huge effort to eliminate them around here. It wasn't too many years back I used to see huge fields of them, not anymore. Anyways, I don't think going to a larger diameter tire is going to help you. You could try using a tire like the Armadillos but you're going to sacrifice ride quality. I use Conti GP4000 and Michelin Pro Race tires in 23 and 25mm sizes.

Have you considered using Stans or Slime in your tubes during Goat Head season? If they are slow leaks, this might be all you need.

I only live 100 miles south of you and haven't had a goat head flat in quit a while. They've made a huge effort to eliminate them around here. It wasn't too many years back I used to see huge fields of them, not anymore. Anyways, I don't think going to a larger diameter tire is going to help you. You could try using a tire like the Armadillos but you're going to sacrifice ride quality. I use Conti GP4000 and Michelin Pro Race tires in 23 and 25mm sizes.

How many miles to you get on Pro Race 3 25c on the rear?
Its my favorite tire on my singles, but would be worried it wouldn't last long on the tandem.
Lots of complaints about Pro3s wearing out fast on singles.
GP4000s wears better but felt a lot harsher than the Pro3s on my single.
Thinking about trying Vredestein Fortezza or Tricomp.
I am willing to sacrifice some durability for better ride to a point.
Team weight is 250 lbs so we are not so hard on tires.

What you call goat heads we call puncture vine, I think. The central valley is the world's capital of puncture vine.

What we find helpful, but not 100%, is to use tire liners.

We use Maxxis Re-Fuse 700x25s.
Average a flat every 675 miles (we keep track of stuff like that). Living in the Sonoran Desert we get some goatheads and lots cactus thorns + the usual road detritus.
This is the best flat resistant tire we've run in our decades of tandeming. Just our experience . . .
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

How many miles to you get on Pro Race 3 25c on the rear?
Its my favorite tire on my singles, but would be worried it wouldn't last long on the tandem.
Lots of complaints about Pro3s wearing out fast on singles.
GP4000s wears better but felt a lot harsher than the Pro3s on my single.
Thinking about trying Vredestein Fortezza or Tricomp.
I am willing to sacrifice some durability for better ride to a point.
Team weight is 250 lbs so we are not so hard on tires.

That's a good question. I never really paid much attention. Plus I do a lot of switching around with tires and wheels. I'm sure it isn't better than on the single. I don't get to good of mileage with the Pro Race or the GP400 on my single. About 1000 miles on each.

About 20 years ago I did the Tour de Garlic which starts near Hollister and heads south to the Pinnacles, set my record for number of flats on a single ride 8! At flat number 7 I threw the towel in and got in the SAG wagon when I took the bike out of the SAG the other tire was also flat!

I usually ride out to the Pinnacles once a year and have not had any problems.

I am currently using 28mm Conti GP 4 Seasons here in the south bay area and have had very few flats, 1 a month would be a lot.

On a trip to NZ we were blessed with 9 flats on the tandem, there is some type of flint that seams to float up when it rains. At one time when we were changing a flat in the rain I could look up and down the road and see 3 other teams doing the same thing.

We average 1000 miles on the pro race 3 in the rear. Winter monthe we move to the Michelin Krylion, that gets us at least 1300 miles. I run em until they show a 3/8" flat spot on them. Hardly ever a flat, but they come in 3's. Thats in a 25 size. The ride quality is the best, and I've used a lot of different tires

We average 1000 miles on the pro race 3 in the rear. Winter monthe we move to the Michelin Krylion, that gets us at least 1300 miles. I run em until they show a 3/8" flat spot on them. Hardly ever a flat, but they come in 3's. Thats in a 25 size. The ride quality is the best, and I've used a lot of different tires

How much pressure do you put in them? They are only rated to 120 PSI so I would be worried about pinch flats. That's why I was looking at the Vredestein Tricomps, hard to find in 25c though.

I ride that road to the Pinnacles a lot except I come from San Miguel (to the south). What an awesome road! I love it.

How much pressure do you put in them? They are only rated to 120 PSI so I would be worried about pinch flats. That's why I was looking at the Vredestein Tricomps, hard to find in 25c though.

Actually I was wrong, the 23 is rated to 116 PSI and the 25 to 102 PSI.
That doesn't give me a lot confidence for tandem use.
While on Michelin's web site I found this new tire that looks very interesting but it only goes to 110 PSI and is not on the market quite yet:

http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=optimum.view

We like the Michelin Pro Race 2 25 mm tires. Also, we have used the Conti GPS 4000 25 and 28mm. We have thorns as well and have not had many problems. Debris hazards tend to collect toward the side of the road away from the tire path of the cars. We try to ride closer to the fog line assuming it is safe to do so biased by the amount of shoulder that exists. If there is a good shoulder or bike lane, the farther you ride to the right, the more chance there is in flatting, IMHO.

With respect to gonzo bullet proof tires, in another thread, OP wanted to improve power to weight ratio. Well, going to heavier, wider tires will increase rolling resistance and rotational weight. A heavier team produces even more frictional force than a lighter team requiring additional power to roll the tires and lift them up the hill. And wider tires are less aero.

If you lower the team weight and improve the engines, you will give some back with lower performing tires.:)