Classic & Vintage - 27" tire

What is a good 27" tire for touring? I want as fat a tire as I can get, no real interest in going to 700. Price is not a primary consideration.

I have Vittoria Randonneur Pro on my Jamis.... would like something as good or better.

Thanks, Scott

Pasella 27" x 1 1/4". You can also step up to the Pasela Tour Guard. They are reasonably priced, and pretty well regarded. If you have fenders mounted, make sure there is enough clearance. Continental Gatorskins might also be worth looking at. I haven't tried them, but know other riders using them. Just double check current quality, since I have read some complaints about them lately.

One more vote for Pasela Panaracer Tour Guards, great tires and very reasonable priced. I have them on four bikes in sizes from 700x28 to 27x1 1/8 to 700x32.

Another +1 for the Panaracer Pasela. Super tyre for the money

If your in Europe, Chain Reaction Cycles have them for 24 euros each with free delivery.

I like the Pasela TG, but if puncture protection/durability is a primary concern (over weight) I have found the Schwalbe Marathon to be outstanding. It is available in 27x 1 1/4 sizing and is around the same price point. The Pasella rides nicer, but I worried less about glass and such with the Marathon.

I think that sonatageek has it right -with one other consideration. The Marathon has a reflective strip, which is a small but real improvement in safety if you're going "just a few more miles" after dusk.

The 27 x 1 1/4 Bontrager x lite hardcase tires have served me well enough, over the road. Finding them on sale is really helpful, as the MSRP is rather expensive. If the bike is worth it...

I have Schwalbe Marathons on one of my bikes- they do seem pretty impervious which is great, but I would say that the ride quality is a little "dead." They are still great tires, though.

What is a good 27" tire for touring? I want as fat a tire as I can get, no real interest in going to 700. Price is not a primary consideration.

I have Vittoria Randonneur Pro on my Jamis.... would like something as good or better.

Thanks, Scott

What do you mean by better? The Vittoria is a fairly wide and soft riding tire as I recall, you want something wider and softer? Speed, weight is no consideration? I might look at Schwalbe Marathons or Michelin World Tour. The Gatorskins and Bontragers are fairly "hard" in comparison, no tread.

The Michelin World Tour's are huge, and might cause clearance issues with some fenders. I briefly had a set on my 520, before I moved them to the Bobet.

+1 on Conti Gatorskins, never had a puncture or issue. They seem to grip the road well enough. I'd try to find something with Kevlar as an alternative. The reviews on roadbikereview.com might be in order, as long as you get enough reviews to make it reasonably reflective of the quality.

I like the 27x1-1/4" Paselas on my girlfriend's bike, for what that's worth. :thumb:

I love the Paselas, but if I were actually touring on a 27" wheeled bike, I would probably use Gatorskins and would pack a spare.

I know a lot of folks here like Pacelas. I've grown a little indifferent to them myself, but they look period correct and it's tough to beat the frequent sale pricing. I've run Gatorskins for a while now and really like them a lot. I switched over to Schwalbe Marathons this year and was disappointed at first, but I guess I just needed to get used to them because I'm finding that I really like them quite a lot...maybe better than the Contis. Actually, definitely prefer them over Contis at the moment.

Speaking of the Panaracer Paselas...I checked for the current price on Nashbar this AM & only found the TourGuard version.
Wonder what's going on there. All us bikeforums folks must have bought them out at $15 a pop.

(http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/SearchDisplay?storeId=10053&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&cn1=&gast=panaracer&URL=CatalogSearchResultView&searchTerm=panaracer)www.nashbar.com/bikes/SearchDisplay?storeId=10053&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&cn1=&gast=panaracer&URL=CatalogSearchResultView&searchTerm=panaracer (http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/SearchDisplay?storeId=10053&catalogId=10052&langId=-1&cn1=&gast=panaracer&URL=CatalogSearchResultView&searchTerm=panaracer)

I am running the 27 1/4 non TG version on 2 bikes for local rides but would not use them for touring.
For loaded touring I would not even use the TourGuard version.
Tried that once and after about a half dozen flats switched to Schwalbe Marathon expedition grade tires and flat problems ended for remainder of tour.

Again, I really like the Paselas for local riding but would not use for loaded touring, instead go with one with better flat protection.
It's such a pain to change a flat on a loaded touring bike.
Your mileage and flat frequency may vary.
I hate those little wires that come off the semi's retreads slung all over the roadways.

The 1-1/4" GatorSkins look fat and have held up well on the tandem.

Michelin World-Tour and the Paselas in the 1-1/4" size seem very fat. The Marathons are indeed very tough.

I didn't know that there was a Hard-Case tire offered in 27". Those are extremely tough as well, along the lines of some of the past Armadillo tires.

I like my Gatorskins, but I think that tan sidewalls would look better on my vintage Gitane.

http://inlinethumb34.webshots.com/37473/2166918460068014369S600x600Q85.jpg (http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2166918460068014369WsJIHt)

I like my Gatorskins, but I think that tan sidewalls would look better on my vintage Gitane.



I've got some Specialized Armadillos that would look great on this bike. They're 700c though, they might not make them in 27".

I had some of the cheap "Bell Sportster" black kevlar tires, and while I hated the ride, I never got a flat tire with them that wasn't related to the rim tape.

I replaced them with 1-1/4" Paselas TG's and love the ride, but have gotten a few flats due to goathead thorns.

Ironically, I have a set of 700c x 28 mm Pasela TG's that I've ridden on several fixed gear bikes over the last five years and never had a problem. But I tend to ride it in different terrain.

I think a gumwall look like the pasela is much better on a bike with 27s. I went to the Schwalbe Marathon. (http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/marathon_420) They aren't sporty, but you said touring tire, & they are heavy & heavy duty. I would have preferred a better flat guard than the thick strip of rubber they use. The reflective strip works very well. You get used to them, they just aren't lively.
I have not seen any quality tire in 27" (630mm) wider than 1 1/4" (32mm). Going to a 700c wheel would give you that option. My bike has cantilever brakes, so 700c wasn't an option without putting funky looking cheap long reach caliper brakes on it.

Can you still get Specialized Expedition 27 x 1 3/8 tires? I toured with those in the 80's and thought them pretty excellent. In fact my tandem has one of the same vintage.

The bike has Specialized Touring II K4 27x1 1/4 on it now.... I just don't know how old they are.

Maybe we should start a sticky thread with a list of the best 27" tires since it seems like this question comes up every other week or so :)

Panaracer Pasela (TG)
Continental Gatorskin
Schwalbe Marathon

I've had pretty good luck with the cheapo Kenda K35 gumwalls too.

I'm pretty new here... seems everything I bring up...someone comments that this had been discussed.

I guess we should all just search for our topics of interest and not post at all. :crash:






:beer: Cheers

Here is what was on the tubes I replaced....

253919253920

You're looking for tires for touring, right? We've been running Pasela TG 700cx32 on our tandem trouble free for about 1000 miles. Over in the tandem forum they talk about running widths of 25mm and even less. So your intent to tour on 1 1/4", i.e. 32mm, would seem fine.

Maybe we should start a sticky thread with a list of the best 27" tires since it seems like this question comes up every other week or so :)

Panaracer Pasela (TG)
Continental Gatorskin
Schwalbe Marathon

I've had pretty good luck with the cheapo Kenda K35 gumwalls too.

Kenda also has a knobby 27" x 1 3/8" tire that can be had for under $8 online. I don't know how well they hold up.