Folding Bikes - Tyre recomendations 20"

Looking for some tyre's for my Twenty in 20" (ISO 406 I think)

I used to run schwable city jet's on my commuter and have been very very happy with them but they don't come in the right size so I'm forced to change to something else , but that's the sort of thing I'm after.

After extensive research I've come up with

schwalbe citizen
schwalbe marathon plus
Kenda kwest

Can anyone add any to that list or if you have tried them any comment's on those listed.

Im after a reasonably slick tyre which will cope with short excursions away from paved roads , Reasonable puncture resistance (I don't mind fixing the occasional flat) and good price vs longevity (I don't mind a expensive tyre as long as it last's).

Thanks in advance.

avoid Kenda Kwest if you can afford to. next to no puncture resistance. I've had 3-4 flats in as many weeks on my rear tire. just picked up a pair of Schwalbe Marathons today,we'll see how they do


Looking for some tyre's for my Twenty in 20" (ISO 406 I think)

I used to run schwable city jet's on my commuter and have been very very happy with them but they don't come in the right size so I'm forced to change to something else , but that's the sort of thing I'm after.

After extensive research I've come up with

schwalbe citizen
schwalbe marathon plus
Kenda kwest

Can anyone add any to that list or if you have tried them any comment's on those listed.

Im after a reasonably slick tyre which will cope with short excursions away from paved roads , Reasonable puncture resistance (I don't mind fixing the occasional flat) and good price vs longevity (I don't mind a expensive tyre as long as it last's).

Thanks in advance.

avoid Kenda Kwest if you can afford to. next to no puncture resistance. I've had 3-4 flats in as many weeks on my rear tire. just picked up a pair of Schwalbe Marathons today,we'll see how they do

Well that's one crossed off the list , Thanks for the advice.

Continental Contact
Panaracer Crosstown
Schwalabe Marathon (plain)
Schwalabe silento

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=1149

I've ordered the conti contacts, but from the reviews, it should be a fairly good match against the marathon plain.

IMO, marathon plus level of protection is unnecessary unless you're riding through thorns and nails.

just put a pair of marathon (plains) on. will try the full commute tmw (25m rt) and let you know how they go. quick test ride was quite an upgrade form the Kendas.

I recommend Greenspeed Scorcher tires - they're in a size that is both comfortable and fast.

For big slicks, Schwalbe Big Apple will do - I have them on my Raleigh Twenty. They just soak up the road bumps and roll well.

I use Primo Comet kevlar belt tires on my Giro and after 1 1/2 years of riding I've never (knock on wood) had a flat.

I use Primo Comet kevlar belt tires on my Giro and after 1 1/2 years of riding I've never (knock on wood) had a flat.


I recommend Greenspeed Scorcher tires - they're in a size that is both comfortable and fast.


There both a little to slick for my liking



For big slicks, Schwalbe Big Apple will do - I have them on my Raleigh Twenty. They just soak up the road bumps and roll well.

What's the longevity like on those? ... I did look at them but thought that they looked like they wouldn't last very long.

Only one day on the marathons but what an upgrade from the Kendas.

Only one day on the marathons but what an upgrade from the Kendas.Interesting... Ithought Kendas were a bit of an unsung hero... I got good mileage, few punctures and I formed the impression they had good adhesion. Admittedly, one of mine did fail in its casing but all of my tyres that I replaced so far failed in their casing.

So what do you find different?

Repeated flats (boston)

Lots of tire drop due to low psi max (I'm heavy)

Kenda Kontact - came w/bike, a flat every second day
Marathon Plus - excellent puncture resistance
Continental Contact - as good puncture resistance as Marathon Plus, BUT virtually no dynamo track if you ever want to ride with a bottle dynamo (this presumably concerns all recent Contis)

My experience with the Kendas were assenntially identical to just about every other tyre I have used - puncture resistance built-in has never worked very well for me. Mostly it is little shards of glass; these have found their way through Kevlar belts (Primo Comet Kevlar), Big Apples (Kevlar again), Marathon Plus (more than once) as well as all other tyres I have used. So these days I no longer consider puncture resistance in my buying decisions - I simply install Slime Liners, well sanded down at the ends.

Also, the Marathon Plus were like concrete donuts when pumped sufficiently hard, and wallowed unacceptably bad when just a little soft. So these will not end up on any bike of mine again - not worth the extra money and performance is crap. I can buy a Kojak for far less and get my puncture resistance with no perceptible performance penalty.

To see the sort of results I once got from a Big Apple, take a look:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/juried/misc/IMG_0061.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/juried/misc/IMG_0063.jpg

I retired it then. The green Slime Liner was visible. But I never had a puncture from any of these crazy cuts.

I am currently using a Marathon Racer on my Birdy on the back, with Slime Liner of course.

Sorry i havn't replied .. the thread slipped past me.

Dyno track isn't a concern , I have a dynohub and no need for lights ATM.

Some good points put forward .. and as I should have expected I'm even more confused then when I set out.

Thanks everyone.

+1 for Primo Comet 1.5 Kevlar... durable and fast

Marathon Slick's 20 x 1.35 are good too, but not as reliable as the Comet's.

I'm quite unhappy with Big Apples. Even with a tire liner I got this nasty flat tire. It started as a protuberance, but I was just 1.5 km away from home so I decided to roll easy (I was going downhill) until... BAMMM!!! :)
176149
Now I've installed plain Marathons and I'm quite happy with them, let's see how they work over time.

Marathon Plus....I am currently running Marthon's one one Tweny and Marthon Plus on the other. I like the Pluses better.

Aaron :)

I'm quite unhappy with Big Apples. Even with a tire liner I got this nasty flat tire. It started as a protuberance, but I was just 1.5 km away from home so I decided to roll easy (I was going downhill) until... BAMMM!!! :)
176149
Now I've installed plain Marathons and I'm quite happy with them, let's see how they work over time.

Hmmm I'd ask the LBS for a replacement in that case.

Yeah that's defective. Big apples are my favorite tires for 20" wheels because they're the best "balloon tires" and there's hardly any weight penalty for using "balloon tires" in this size.

Hmmm I'd ask the LBS for a replacement in that case.

Unfortunately it's too late for that as I threw it away. It was a 3 year old tire anyway.

On the other hand, I was getting too many flat tires until I installed the tire liner in the back tire (most of them caused by small pieces of glass).

just a follow up, the continental contact tires in 20x1.75in are excellent.
They feel just as good as my pasela in 700x35mm.