Commuting - mountain bike commuter tires

i commute 26 miles round trip. I own a trek mountain bike and a carbon giant road bike. I only use the mountain bike for the commutes because i have to carry a bunch of crap, and the road conditions suck. I even have to ride on the sidewalk for about a mile or so. So.... the question... for the last 6 months i have been using continental town and country tires.. these tires offer a smooth slick like drive, and are big, fat, and thick, and heavy so naturally puncture resistant. the biggest flat maker around here is glass on the road. there is glass everywhere.... and my drive home at night is in the dark. Well, it is time to replace the tires, and i am wondering if there is a slimmer, lighter, more long distance tire out there that i should consider instead of another round of the town and countries. does one exist that would give me the same pucture resistance as the town and country? It is a fairly long commmute to have 1.95" tires. i also will take a long night ride every week or two at night.. these rides are 30+ miles. Again, i don't like to ride the road bike at night... road conditions will destroy it when i can't see upcoming obsicles very well. Keep in mind i am 6'3'' and weigh 260.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

Specialized Armadillos come in 26x1.5, you can pump it up to 100 psi, very flat resistant, pretty fast, but harsh ride. What I use.

The Schwalbe Marathon Plus should give you even better flat protection and much lower rolling resistance. They won't work as well off road as the Town and Country tires, though.

Paul

I second the Armadillos. Punture resistant if you keep them inflated and reasonably fast.

Try the Armadillo Nimbus.

That's the 1.5" tire... the other option is the Hemisphere Armadillo, which is 1.95" wide. Armadillo is a full LINE of Specialized tires. There isn't just one model called the Armadillo. Everyone seems to keep making that same mistake and probably confusing the hell out of someone actually looking into purchasing them. :p

I'm actually surprised to hear that you've worn out a set of T&C's... you must have at least 5000 miles on them. Obviously they've served you well. I'd say the Nimbus are more flat resistant than the Conti's though.

GEAX Street Runners 1.25" and 1.4" varities, kevlar, 100psi
I have the 1.25" ones to try. They seem like they'd be pretty fast.

That's the 1.5" tire... the other option is the Hemisphere Armadillo, which is 1.95" wide. Armadillo is a full LINE of Specialized tires. There isn't just one model called the Armadillo. Everyone seems to keep making that same mistake and probably confusing the hell out of someone actually looking into purchasing them. :p

I'm actually surprised to hear that you've worn out a set of T&C's... you must have at least 5000 miles on them. Obviously they've served you well. I'd say the Nimbus are more flat resistant than the Conti's though.

Yes, I use Nimbus, Hemisphere, Team Control, Team Master, and All Conditions. Used to use Turbos as well but they and All Conditions suffer a bad problem of tread separation after about 2000 miles or so. Can't say about the Nuimbus as I have only about 1000 miles on those so far. For 700c and 27 inch I've started using Ultra Gatorskins to see if they will better stand up to commuting abuse.

I didn't suggest Hemispheres since the original poster was looking for thinner and lighter tires than his current 1.95s. Hemisphere's are my favorite Armadillo tires. The set I have on the MTB have about 4000 miles or more and are still in great shape with only one flat.

That's the 1.5" tire... the other option is the Hemisphere Armadillo, which is 1.95" wide. Armadillo is a full LINE of Specialized tires. There isn't just one model called the Armadillo. Everyone seems to keep making that same mistake and probably confusing the hell out of someone actually looking into purchasing them. :p

I'm actually surprised to hear that you've worn out a set of T&C's... you must have at least 5000 miles on them. Obviously they've served you well. I'd say the Nimbus are more flat resistant than the Conti's though.

well, they are not totaly dead but close. i only have just over 2000 on them. one of them has a cut in it that i glued with crazy glue a couple hundred miles ago... but now it is coming apart again. the tread depth isn't that bad... the damage all over the tires is from all the glass.

now, at my weight.. with the nimbus, if i pump up to 100 psi, will that be harder on my rims? will they go out of round faster? keep in mind i weigh 260 pounds. fact is, i don't know much about the advantages of the 1.5 vs 1.95.. what do you think would be better for me?

The Town and Countrys have been around a long time. The old ones seemed to be a lot higher quality than the newer ones, and were my favourite 26" commuter tire until a few years ago. I noticed that the quality suffered after they stopped making them in Germany. After I had two of them shred I switched to Hemisphere Armadillos. Also, I have had bad luck with the Hemisphere Flak Jacket model.

now, at my weight.. with the nimbus, if i pump up to 100 psi, will that be harder on my rims? will they go out of round faster? keep in mind i weigh 260 pounds. fact is, i don't know much about the advantages of the 1.5 vs 1.95.. what do you think would be better for me?
Considering that the Nimbus Armadillo is rated for 90psi and is PLENTY stiff at that point. You won't need to go 100. I weigh ~ the same as you do and I won't run another tire on the commuter bike. I've tried 1.95 slicks and I didn't find they had the zip of my 1.5's. In answer to your question if you pump them to their max rating you will have no issues on the 1.5's at your weight. I run mine on some fairly generic Weinmann 519's that I've had on the bike since I bought it as a new closeout model in 2000. I've never had an issue with them going out of round. They've gotten out of true on occasion but that's due in no small part to me hopping curbs and other such screwing around.

thank you everyone for your help. i just picked up a pair of 2005 armadillo nimbus. i will let you know how they work out for me.