danielb

I need some recommendations and advice about tyre for commuuting, I commute to work on my MTB, atm it has 1.95" x 26" hybrid slick/trail tyres (halfords own brand) on it. I have had 2 punctures in the last week from glass and thorns on cycle paths/roads.

I would like some recommendations on good road slicks that are puncture resistant and also can I fit 1.75" tyres onto my wheels to try to speed my bike up a bit? The 1.95" tyres are allot widder than my wheels.

Also a friend who does allot of triathlons suggested I should get my rim tape replaced as well as that can cause punctures. The bike is 3 years old and I have never touched the rim tape. I had a look at it last night and it just looks like masking tape rather than the rubber tape thats in the books.

Cheers,

Daniel

MichaelW

A lot of us still like cloth rim tape by Velox. Some people say it doesnt work well in the wet, but that is not my experience.
For a reliable commuting tyre Specialized Armadillo are rated as very puncture resistant. You could probably go to a 1.5" width for a faster ride.

danielb

I take it I need to check my wheel width before I go for something as thin as 1.5"? I will see if I can get that brand of tires in Scotland, if not are the kevlar reinforced tires a good bet for being punctures resistant?

Ah wiggle seem to do that type of tyre:
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/v2_product_d...dID=-876550125

Those the ones you mean?

Daniel

Juha

If you're punctures were caused by obvious outside reasons, such as glass and thorns you mentioned, your rim tape has got no part in it. Just make sure you leave no glass / thorn poking inside your outer tyre. I would not worry too much about the material of the rim tape as long as it covers the spoke holes completely. If it does not, replace it.

--J

danielb

Yeah the tape does, and all of the punctures have been on the tread of the tires so I guess I just need to get some decent thorn & glass resistant tires.

Daniel

Simon Ed

Hi,
I use a MTB for commuting it has 1.9" Geax Evolutions on them. Check around on the review sites like mountainbikereview.com They get rave reviews. If your rims are hooked you can pump them up to 65 psi and they roll very well. I weigh 230 and my pack is around 20 pounds. Up to now riding 20 miles per day in a city, no punctures. I also use slime between the inside of the tyre and the tube for added peace of mind. Anyway, go check out the reviews and inquire here:

MICHAEL ELSON MARKETING
address P.O. Box 5 - MELTON MOWBRAY, Leic. LE14 4SH
phone 01664/444513 fax 01664/444515
e-mail michaelelson@btconnect.com

Good luck

Simon

danielb

Just got another puncture this morning going to local bike shop at lunchtime to buy the best armoured MTB road slicks I can find. 4 punctures in a week is a joke!

Daniel

Juha

I once had 6 punctures in a week. I was not laughing. I am not going to jinx myself by telling how long it has been since my last puncture, but I still ride the same roads and use approximately similar tyres and tyre pressures. No apparent difference for better durability. But I do hope the new tyres work out for you.

--J

danielb

Hopefully they will need something pretty sturdy I think compared to my normal MTB tyres as the local yoofs seem to think its funny to leave broken glass in the underpass I use to get to work

Daniel

mikey

Daniel,

I've had excellent luck with Panaracer Paselas. I use the 1.25" ones with the kevlar bead, mounted on Bontrager Select rims, inflated to 80psi. Maybe 3 punctures in about 6000kms. Yes, that's how long they lasted. I just replaced them last week.

Hope this helps,
Mike

smurfy

mikey,

I just bought Paselas for my roadish comuter bike (700 x 32 rear) . I only had them a couple of weeks and the sidewall blew out on the rear tire! I am still riding it but I have a candy bar wrapper covering the inside of the hole. I hope that will be okay and the hole will not get any bigger. After that I got another flat with a tiny piece of glass in the same tire. That really sucks! The front tire (700 x 28) seems to be just fine, no problems with that one.

I kind of like them, though. They ride really nice and they're reasonally priced.

mike

One thing you can do to prevent flats from glass and other debri is to ride conscienciously to prevent them.

Obviously, you want to avoid curtains of broken glass, but that is often hard to do.

If you do go over a glass 'spill', touch your gloved palm to the tire surfaces (front and rear) while you are moving. It takes awhile for the glass to work its way into your tire, so you can often brush it off before it gets to imbedded and causes a puncture.

Of course, be sure you are wearing gloves when you try this technique

caloso

Has anyone had problems with rim tape shifting?

I had 4 flats in a week, including an extremely frustrating solo century that I cut short to 75 miles after my third flat. On Saturday I missed the local shop ride because my tire was flat when I came out to the garage. I took out the tube and compared the hole with the tubes I'd patched. They were all about the same distance from the valve. It seemed that the rim tape had shifted just a few mm so that the tube was bubbling into the edge of the spoke hole. I temporarily fixed it with athletic tape but I think I probably need to replace it altogether.

Moral of the story: check your rim tape.

Cyclepath

Ditto on keeping your tire pressure high. On fat tires, at least 10 pounds over the rated pressure should still be comfortable to ride.

I run my two road bikes with 700 x 23cs on top rated pressure & get maybe one flat a year, if that (& here the streets are paved with broken glass). They don't have any Kevlar belts or other special protection. I use Kevlar rim strips.

Good quality tubes can also make a difference. I use Continentals, which are virgin natural rubber & very tough. More costly than run of the mill tubes, but they last. Tubes & rim strips are two areas where i can afford the best.:->

danielb

I'm using specialized tubes atm, and keeping the presure at about 90psi (tires rated to 100). So far no punctures (touches wood) but a bit of tire presure loss over a month or so...

What is rim tape and were does it go on the wheel exactly?

DanielB

Cyclepath

Hi Dan. It's normal for high pressure tires to lose air relatively quickly. I need to top mine off every week or so, you will lose at least a few pounds in that length of time.

Rim tape goes in the "trough" of the rim & protects the tube from the spoke ends.

Andy Dreisch

I have tuffies, a very thick innertube, and I keep the pressure way up, pumping the tires every morning before starting out.

I find if I change any of these steps, I'll get back-to-back flats.

danielb

Cheers for the info Ebro38 thats what I thought you ment, I've not got any new rim tape yet. Still on the orginal stuff that came with bike, how often should it be replaced?

Pumped up tires other day and they seem to be holding presure so far

caloso

Danielb: There shouldn't be any reason to replace it unless you need to pull it off to replace a spoke or something. Just give it a quick look next time you patch or replace a tube to make sure it covers all the spoke holes. You'll avoid problems like I described above.

Incidentally, my athletic tape fix seems to be working fine and I'm thinking I can just leave it alone.

Cyclepath

Dan, if you use Kevlar or polyethelene tape it should last as long as your wheels do.

It's still a good idea to inspect it when you change tubes, just to make sure no spoke ends are cutting thru. (One advantage of double-wall rims is the recessed spoke ends, which prevents them from damaging the tube.)

Michel Gagnon

Dan,

Ride in/with traffic. As others would say, you are part of it.

Seriously, unless there is good maintenance, cars tend to sweep the travel lanes and push rocks, glass and other debris to the side, where the dedicated bike lane usually is.

Regards,

Cyclepath

Things may be different in Scotland & Canada - i hope! Around here, riding "with the traffic" would only be an invitation to become road kill. Our gasburners neither know nor care that we can't ride 3 inches from the curb.

Richard D

I've been running Schwalbe Marathon Plus 1.75's for the past week, and other than being a bit weighty they seem a superb commuting tyre - fast rolling (very light recessed tread), good grip, convincing puncture protection- I'll post more details once I've tried them off-road!