jazzgeek79

I need new tires for my 89 Schwinn Voyaguer. It currently has the Schwalbe HS 159's that were on it when I bought it used a year ago. They have been good riding relatively flat free tires, but I don't love the white side wall. I could get the gum wall version, but I was interested in seeing if there was a "better" tire for me.

I'm a Clyde, and weigh in at 310. I commute on roads here in Fl, so I only have to deal with road degree including glass and metal (no goat heads). I want the easiest rolling tire I can get away with that one doesn't give me flats. The only tire I have had experience with that I found really uncomfortable to ride due to side wall stiffness was. Specialized 34 armadillo on a 700c bike, but a different specialized at a 28 rolled fine to me.

I thinl the Pasela TG and Marathon are my best options in my price range with the marathon being at the top of that range. Let me know what you think, especially if you've ridden both.

Spld cyclist

I basically liked the Pasela Tour Guards, but found they are too susceptible to side wall damage. I bought 4 at one point (2 700x25 and 2 27x1-1/8). I removed three from service long before the tread was worn out. Two were from abrasion to the side walls that left threads sticking out all over the place. I didn't feel comfortable running them after that. I was never even aware of doing anything that would have impacted the side walls. The third got a deep cut in the tread. It stayed stable for a while, and I rode it that way, but eventually it started widening and I retired it. Maybe whatever got that tire would have ruined any tire - who knows?

I also got several flats with the TGs, versus only one for the Marathons. On the plus side, the TGs are lighter, cheaper, and probably roll better. There was a gap in time between my use of the TGs versus the Marathons, so it's hard for me to compare them directly.

fuzz2050

I agree completely, I've ridden a lot of Paselas, and all of them die when the sidewall gets worn. I honestly don't mind to much, since they're cheap, look good and ride great. I still get thousands of miles out of them, so I'm not going to complain.

jazzgeek79

Given the price difference I'm not ultra concerned about the pasela's longevity. I kind of figured they rolled better than marathons. My main concern is flats.

GaryinLA

I have a pair of Pasela TG 27" 1.25" and a pair 700c 32mm. I have ridden under 1000 miles on both bikes on these tires so i cant comment any wear issues, but i like the tires.

I have a Schwinn Voyageur bike also, but actually that bike has cheaper Kenda tires 1.25 27" that came with the bike when i got it used, and the Kendas are in new condition, and arent bad so i have left them on.

If you are considering between 1 1/8 and 1 1/4" tires for your Voyageur i recommend the 1 1/4 since it is a touring bike and the wider tires give a more comfortable ride and safer on bad streets.

The bike i have the 700c 32mm Pasela Tourguard tires on is a touring bike also. It is a 1997 Jamis Aurora. Before i got these 32mm i had some cheap 25mm tires on the bike and i much prefer the wider tires on this sort of bike. (32mm is about 1.25".) I had a couple of close calls with the 25mm tires making turns on sandy roads, where i felt i was almost losing control. I dont get that feeling with the current tires. Some of that is the brand model tire , but some is the width i think.

jazzgeek79

The current tires are 1.25". I have no intention of going narrower. I have read on here that the panaracer s run wide/actually the size printed. Given that they have the same max psi as the marathons this puts another pro on the pasela side for me. Especially due to my weight, which seems to do well with wider yet higher pressure tires.

Also, not sure if it matters, but I forgot to mention my neighborhood and commute involve old cobblestone roads.

GaryinLA

As to flats, I can tell you on my 2 bike with the Pasela TG tires i have gotten a total of 1 flat which i think was due to glass. I have not put in a lot of miles, maybe 1K on both bikes total. But before I got these tires i was getting continual flats on one of the bikes with a pair of 25mm CSI Czar which are very cheap chinese tires.

I ride on city streets and bike paths and never encounter goatheads. The problem is just misc. debris and bits of glass. I am satisfied with the tradeoff of flat protection and responsiveness/lightness with the TG tires. I am comparing them to those cheap tires that were constantly getting flats and on the other hand to a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus 38mm 700c on a hybrid bike that I dont like due to weight and dead feeling.

I find the TG tires to be very comfortable and nice riding.

But if i were commuting daily i might go with the Marathon instead, thinking it might be more durable. It is a tough decision and I havent tried the Marathon. It depends how risk adverse you are to flats. TG isnt a big risk but probably slightly more risk of flats than Marathon.

jazzgeek79

Thanks for sharing your experiences folks!

Spld cyclist

But it's a bummer when you only have a few hundred miles on the tire, and then the sidewall gets badly damaged from a mishap so minor that you weren't even aware of it. At that point, you're stuck buying a new tire or living with the worry that it could fail suddenly. That's what happened to me twice. Having to replace an inexpensive tire long before it would have worn out due to normal use isn't a good value. Maybe I've just had really bad luck - I don't know. However, I've never damaged a sidewall on any other tire.

CharlieFree

If you want flat protection I would opt for the Marathon Plus over the Greenguard. I have never had a single flat on my 25s over all sorts of terrain. Admittedly, they are not the lightest tire out there but I would rather be a minute or so slower than spend time fixing flats. I have heard the Greenguards are not as flatproof.

jazzgeek79

I don't think that one is available for 27 inch rims.

daveF

At your size I would go with the Greenguards. The sidewalls are built much tougher.

„Anti-Aging“. The completely new sidewall construction can withstand for much longer
the typical cracking resulting from overloading due to insufficient inflation pressure. Also
the new Endurance Compound substantially increases durability

I have a pair on my cross check & Model T Tikit. I love them. Best commuting tires I've used.

CharlieFree

Sorry, I think you may be right.

jazzgeek79

Well I pulled the trigger on the marathons. I would probably prefer the ride of the paselas but I've had those weeks where you end up with 3 or 4 flats and they suck.

stevel610 

Too late now, but I was going to suggest Vittoria Zafirro's. Under $20 but have never had a flat with them (of course saying that I will this week).

fuzz2050

That does suck; all my sidewalls have failed just from deterioration, and only after a thousand or so miles (at least). In my way of thinking about it, just because tread depth is usually the limiting factor in tire wear doesn't mean it has to be.

k_randomfactor

On a related note, after an underwhelming experience witb the Pasela TGs, I'm looking at either the standard 27" Marathons (32mm) or the Greenguards (30mm).

I'm leaning towards the non-Greenguard tires, but any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks.

CliftonGK1

What was your issue with the Pasela TG?
Just curious, because (like many tires) people seem to either love or hate them. They've been my go-to tire in 32mm for the past few years, including some long gravel grinder rides and many commuting miles.

k_randomfactor

My ADHD dog (75lb husky mix) hit the back tire while doing his Tasmanian Devil impersonation when I let him out of his cage after a ride. Bike rolled forward about 9in or so. The front tire hit the flat wood side of a steamer trunk (no corner or metal bit, flat smooth wood) at an acute angle and ripped the sidewall, tube popped etc etc. Brand new, less than 50mi on them TGs.

Yeah, the Demon Murphy has his own coffee cup at my place.

Sure, I shoulda coulda propped the bike in a better spot, but if that small an impact ripped them, I'm not sure I want to trust them with the crappy pavement in ETN. May have been a fluke, the rare lemon that made it thru QC, but since the Marathons are only $6/ea more expensive, I'll go with them. Just curious if the Greenguards are even better.

Thanks.

CliftonGK1

Sounds like a fluke, but for $6.00 more it doesn't sound like you're making a mistake with the Schwalbes, either. I rode Marathon Supremes on an old MTB-turned-commuter and got about 5000 miles out of them before giving the bike to a friend.

FWIW, I did a 300k on Pasela TGs and there was about 30k of gravel forest service road like this (and I had no issues):

jazzgeek79

Update, for those who will use the "search" function months from now. I went with the green guards. They roll well. Not as well as some tires I'm sure, but not badly enough to impact enjoying a decent ride. The only tires I have had that made me cringe were Specialized 700/32 or 34 that just felt really slow. So I guess I might not be too picky about rolling resistance. They provide a decent enough cushion on the cobblestones, and have a high enough psi to deal with my weight and gear, especially on the rear. They have handled well on grass and in gravely sand which I only go on when I have to get out of the way of other commuters or what not (which isn't often). And so far ...... (knock on wood)...(please flat gods I promise to revere you always) No flats, even after having to ride through large shards of glass and on bike lanes in industrial neighborhoods which tend to have a lot of metal accumulate by the curb.

noglider 

So it seems you lean heavily towards durability and away from good rolling resistance. This is good to know when reading your reviews. I generally lean the other way. I guess the bigger a person is, the less picky he's going to be about rolling resistance. There might even be physics that would explain this, i.e. that would tell us that greater mass leads to smaller differences in ride quality among different tires.

You gave us your weight. What pressure are you putting in the new tires?

FrenchFit 

I ride Paselas, Zafirro's, and Gatorskins or different c&v bikes...all great tires. I am an admitted Schwalbe hater, they have every characteristic I don't like in tire, except flat protection ... perhaps. Of course the Schwalbe SMS is one of the faster tires in their line, but my 700s were flat magnets for thorns.

I do ride Ultremos on a fast bike, but the wear and durability characteristics are simply terrible.

noglider 

FrenchFit, I'm like you. However, I did ride on some Schwalbe Stelvio tires. They were supple and fast. I don't care for Schwalbe tires in general. I can fix a flat, so they're not a big deal for me. I weigh 178, so I'm not terribly hard on tires. Panaracer are my favorite brand, but I'm not tenaciously loyal to them. I just bought a pair of Vittorias I'm eager to try.

Clarabelle

I switched to the Green Guards on our tandem, and really like them. Roll easier than the Conti's and has a wide range of pressure choice. We'll see about flat resistance later this summer on short tour with some dirt roads.