RidingMatthew

anyone have a good recommendation of a 700X 28 tire that I rolls fast for mostly paved riding but a little 5-10% gravel here and there. One Michelin I was able to do 4500miles on and the sidewall eventually blew. These I only got 1670miles

alan s 

Marathon Supreme

HardyWeinberg

+1

asmac

I have folding Kojaks and really like the smooth quiet ride. Unfortunately for you they are in 700-35. The Schwalbe One looks similarly light and smooth and is available in 700-28. Looks interesting. Schwalbe One - Schwalbe Professional Bike Tires

HardyWeinberg

I have some schwalbe ones in the mail, along w/ tubeless-ready rims, looking forward to trying them out.

vaultbrad

Panaracer Gravel Kings. I dont have lots of miles on them yet but the initial verdict is "great"

AlTheKiller

Make sure you get the supreme label if that's what you want. There's about a thousand different "marathon" labels, and there's a good chance you would get one with the ride quality of a solid rubber wheelchair tire if you don't specify.

RidingMatthew

I have seen many times they are the best. Do they really roll fast? How many miles could I expect from them?

Wilfred Laurier

I am pretty in love with my Panaracer Paselas right now. I have the 32mm version and do quite a lot of gravel road riding, but I weigh 240 lbs, so the 28s would be a good choice for a smaller person.

FWIW, I do a lot of gravel road riding and in the past couple years have used Conti (I think) Tour Ride, Panaracers, some verison of the Marathons, Kenda Kwik Tendril, and a couple others, and none of them were substantially better than the others, or noticeably worse than the others when it came to riding. And they all seemed to last so long that I was itching to buy new tires well before the tires wore out, with hardly any flats AFAICR.

RidingMatthew

I am just disappointed that my previous ones went for close to 4k miles and many of them were on the rear wheel. These only have 1670 miles or so on them. The sidewall is what blew out. It is what blew out out of the old michelins as well. I like to ride fast. I rode my commuter a cyclocross with fenders and a rack on saturday and avg 17mph. I then the next sunday rode (although very windy on the return ride) around 17 mph.

I am mostly riding the road (rain or shine) but sometimes I take a lap around the lake in gravel.

MMACH 5

I was an Armadillo fan for years. The last time I replaced tires, I went with the Specialized Espoir. It's a sportier tire than the Armadillo, but it still has awesome flat protection. (I rate them about 10x better than Gatorskins.)

old's'cool

I'm finding the Panaracer Ribmo and Vittoria Randonneur on respective commuters quite confidence inspiring in the toughness department. I'm not very sensitive to ride quality or rolling resistance, but I don't notice any shortcomings.

alan s 

Too many factors to determine mileage, including loading, surface conditions, and just plain luck, but all of mine have lasted a long time without much wear. Plus, I don't track mileage and run multiple wheelsets on my commuter bikes. Have them in 700 x 28, 700 x 35, 700 x 40 and 26 x 2.0 (50 mm). Amazing traction, very comfortable at the right pressure, and durable. They roll pretty fast. Some people complain they feel slow, but I think that's more a result of the lack of harshness. I've found the sweet spot is 10-15 psi below max.

MZilliox

These are the best 28mm i have found yet. tried schwalbe something or other, Conti 4 season and 4000s, michelen pro 4, and these Gravel Kings are top notch. great traction, great feel, fast, light, so far durable on gravel, just all round a great tire and only 40-45 bucks per. I think its the best buy out there right now for an all round tire.

RidingMatthew

thank you Alan for the the feedback. I appreciate the evaluation.

thanks also for this suggestion. I appreciate it.

wphamilton

Nice tires, but fast and light? The Pasella 28's seemed slow to me.

Wilfred Laurier

YMMV. I had a set of the 28s years ago and I remember the speed being a revelation - although I may have been riding on too narrow tires before that.
Also, I occasionally do group rides with people on real road bikes and I have no trouble keeping up with 32mm Pasela PT tires on my touring bike - maybe I am just super strong!

RubeRad

I've ridden my 700x50 (29x2) Supremes for over 3000 miles now, and they still look almost new. I'm 250lbs, and I commute 11mi r/t daily on them, plus some recreational riding. I do take them on light trails occasionally. I crashed once, but it was not beacuse of tread so much as getting stuck in a rut.

However, I would look also at Schwalbe Hurricane (see here). Cheaper, still fast-rolling, and you'll get some side texture that will be more helpful off the pavement.

tarwheel 

Panaracer Pasela PTs aren't the fastest rolling tires but are reasonably light in the folding version and decent for gravel roads due to slight tread. Not a bad compromise for Matthew's stated uses. Vittoria Voyager Hypers roll a little nicer but are more expensive and harder to find. Rivendell Ruffy Tuffys should be able to handle gravel just fine but are just glorified Paselas at a higher cost.

I would go with Pasela PT folders. Also available with black or tan sidewalls.

Stormdog

+1 on the Armadillos!

RidingMatthew

i dont see the Pasela PT FOlder in anything other than tan or gum sidewalls. I dont really like that for my bike.

vaultbrad

My previous suggestion of Gravel Kings still stands. I will also suggest Clement Strada LGG. They are slightly bigger than the gravel kings which are pretty true to size. The LGGs are about a mm wider in my experience.

noglider 

You will probably like the Vittoria Voyager Hyper. I bought a pair and was disappointed before I mounted them. I couldn't imagine something with such a thick tread could ride well. And I was wrong. It rides very well. I understand the puncture protection works well, and it's very durable. I haven't had any flats with them yet.

jfowler85

Conti Top Contact.

Double0757

I ride 28 & 32. Rode Armadillo, conti gatorskin, conti 4 season (front only), conti 400gp, mitchellin ??? and others that don't come to mind. The most puncture resistance with decent riding qualities are the Gatorskin or Armadillo specialize. The mos comfortable, and confident tires from the bunch, are the conti 4000gp.

I get about 3-4k from the conti Gatorskin and about 2.5-3.5k from the conti 4000gp.

Will like to try the Marathon supremes some day.