Please Recommend Tires?
11-01-14, 10:10 AM
#51
Senior Member
It's not just the flat protection that interests me. In fact, I don't care about that much, odd as that may seem. But 15,000 miles from the Marathon Plus amazes me, and it does end up being a good value. The downside of a long lasting tire is that I can't change tires as frequently and see what different tires are like. Half joking there.
11-01-14, 10:11 AM
#52
Senior Member
I read your post and thought "Paselas" before I got that far. Not reflecting and average for traction in the wet. But decent rolling and few flats. They have served me well over the winters of Portland. I run 28s on my winter geared and fixed bikes, changing to CX tires when ice/snow hits. My old Mooney has 32s on it, allowing me to ride gravel in style. 25s on my good fixie. I rode 55 miles yesterday on those 25s with 92 psi front, 96 rear on wet roads. Felt really good.
My good wet road tires are Vittoria Open Paves, great grip but quite prone to cuts. (I glue dacron sailcloth casing patches on with the old "bad" contant cement. Makes for permanent repairs that last the life of the tire. Still, when I don't need the performance or grip, I ride the Paselas and save a lot of hassle.)
Ben
My good wet road tires are Vittoria Open Paves, great grip but quite prone to cuts. (I glue dacron sailcloth casing patches on with the old "bad" contant cement. Makes for permanent repairs that last the life of the tire. Still, when I don't need the performance or grip, I ride the Paselas and save a lot of hassle.)
Ben
11-01-14, 11:11 AM
#53
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,968
Bikes: '09 Trek 2.1 * '75 Sekine * 2010 Raleigh Talus 8.0 * '90 Giant Mtb * Raleigh M20 * Fuji Nevada mtb
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
My experience as a commuter is reliability trumps everything else. You aren't gonna break any speed records getting to work. Nor should you try. Fixating about tire weight is missing the point: getting there without having to wrench on anything. This aint a race, its going to work. or school. or back home.
Relax
Relax
How about 60 mi RT? My commutes will be racing the clock, and setting some personal bests next season, else I might as well just take the car. I did some half/commutes this year (30 mi RT) and loved it. A smooth, secure, fast-feeling tire is really high priority for me, but frequent flatting, especially at midnight, isn't something I relish. Tire weight probably only matters on acceleration, and in some cases hills, right?
__________________
FB4K - Every October we wrench on donated bikes. Every December, a few thousand kids get bikes for Christmas. For many, it is their first bike, ever. Every bike, new and used, was donated, built, cleaned and repaired. Check us out on FaceBook: FB4K.
Disclaimer: 99% of what I know about cycling I learned on BF. That would make, ummm, 1% experience. And a lot of posts.
FB4K - Every October we wrench on donated bikes. Every December, a few thousand kids get bikes for Christmas. For many, it is their first bike, ever. Every bike, new and used, was donated, built, cleaned and repaired. Check us out on FaceBook: FB4K.
Disclaimer: 99% of what I know about cycling I learned on BF. That would make, ummm, 1% experience. And a lot of posts.
11-01-14, 02:08 PM
#54
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Cascadia
Posts: 1,206
Bikes: Jamis Quest Comp
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 169 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
Unless you're chasing seconds, yeah, weight doesn't really matter. All else being equal. (Which it generally isn't.)
11-02-14, 03:28 PM
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southern California
Posts: 588
Bikes: Gary Fisher Hi-Fi Deluxe, Giant Stance, Cannondale Synapse, Diamondback 8sp IGH, 1989 Merckx
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 51 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
I use Conti "Touring Plus" on one bike and Conti "Gatorskins" on the other. The Gatorskins give an excellent ride and are the folding type (25 & 28mm, front-rear).
The everyday-bike has 37 & 42mm Touring Plus with reflex sidewalls. I installed them after having a run-in with a patch of goatheads with the OEM tires (Kendas, I think). The OEM tires were thinner, lighter and gave a somewhat smoother ride, but --- the Touring Plus is not likely to let any goatheads get through. I believe the touring Contis are roughly equivalent to the Schwalbe Marathon Plus in purpose, design, life and reliability. I favor Continental tires because I've used them for over fifty years as tubulars, on motorcycles and now again as clinchers. I never had a problem with Contis and don't expect any either.
I have a somewhat special affection for the company because of the quality of their tires together with their testing, dedication and engineering capabilities. I spent some time, years ago, at the Continental factory in Hannover, the Contidrom test track and in the company of their motorcycle test engineers and lead tire designer Manfred Kunz. If they are now as they were then, I can believe that no tire company tries harder to make excellent tires --- those guys really liked and believed in what they were doing. However, this is mostly a personal attachment and I do not mean to discount other tire makers.
Of-Topic Story:
Conti's test engineers challenged/gently taunted me to ride one of their test bikes up onto the 200 km/h line around the Contidrom. I figured that if they could do it all day then I should be able to for a few laps. I choose their BMW R90S as that's what I had at home. There were two painted lines around the bowl; the lower, if taken at 120 (150?) required no steering input due to the bank of the track. The upper line required 200 km/h (124 mph) for neutral steering.
The bank on the steepest part of the track together with the 200 km/h velocity resulted in a 2g downward load on the bike and its rider, which just bottomed the suspension of the R90S.
At 200 km/h, the bank of the track appears to be a wall that you are continually running into. The surface of the track was rather rough; it was made of concrete pieces that remained usefully smooth in spite of the German winters. So, while I was crouched over the bars under 2gs and looking at the wall-with-a-line-on-it, I was getting the crap beat out of me by the rigid bike and rough surface.
I can still relive every moment of those dozen or so laps. It was the scariest thing I ever did! Though it did put me on a first name basis with the engineering test riders ;o)
Joe
The everyday-bike has 37 & 42mm Touring Plus with reflex sidewalls. I installed them after having a run-in with a patch of goatheads with the OEM tires (Kendas, I think). The OEM tires were thinner, lighter and gave a somewhat smoother ride, but --- the Touring Plus is not likely to let any goatheads get through. I believe the touring Contis are roughly equivalent to the Schwalbe Marathon Plus in purpose, design, life and reliability. I favor Continental tires because I've used them for over fifty years as tubulars, on motorcycles and now again as clinchers. I never had a problem with Contis and don't expect any either.
I have a somewhat special affection for the company because of the quality of their tires together with their testing, dedication and engineering capabilities. I spent some time, years ago, at the Continental factory in Hannover, the Contidrom test track and in the company of their motorcycle test engineers and lead tire designer Manfred Kunz. If they are now as they were then, I can believe that no tire company tries harder to make excellent tires --- those guys really liked and believed in what they were doing. However, this is mostly a personal attachment and I do not mean to discount other tire makers.
Of-Topic Story:
Conti's test engineers challenged/gently taunted me to ride one of their test bikes up onto the 200 km/h line around the Contidrom. I figured that if they could do it all day then I should be able to for a few laps. I choose their BMW R90S as that's what I had at home. There were two painted lines around the bowl; the lower, if taken at 120 (150?) required no steering input due to the bank of the track. The upper line required 200 km/h (124 mph) for neutral steering.
The bank on the steepest part of the track together with the 200 km/h velocity resulted in a 2g downward load on the bike and its rider, which just bottomed the suspension of the R90S.
At 200 km/h, the bank of the track appears to be a wall that you are continually running into. The surface of the track was rather rough; it was made of concrete pieces that remained usefully smooth in spite of the German winters. So, while I was crouched over the bars under 2gs and looking at the wall-with-a-line-on-it, I was getting the crap beat out of me by the rigid bike and rough surface.
I can still relive every moment of those dozen or so laps. It was the scariest thing I ever did! Though it did put me on a first name basis with the engineering test riders ;o)
Joe
11-03-14, 09:46 AM
#56
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Memphis TN area
Posts: 7,391
Bikes: 2011 Felt Z85 (road/commuter), 2006 Marin Pine Mountain (utility/commuter E-bike), 1995 KHS Alite 1000 (gravel grinder)
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 676 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 13 Times
in
13 Posts
Well shoot I didn't see this thread before I posted my tire recommendation thread this morning. Has anyone gotten more than 4K miles on Grand Prix 4 Seasons tires? That's all I got before I started getting several flats on my rear tire. Great tires but I can't justify spending over $100/pair every single year.
11-03-14, 09:59 AM
#57
aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,502
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 511 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7348 Post(s)
Liked 2,463 Times
in
1,433 Posts
I don't track my tires' miles, but gee, 4,000 miles sounds good to me. Maybe I'll start tracking. The result will be that I'll probably stop using Panaracers. I like the ride and the purchase price, but maybe they're not a great value. I don't mind the puncture vulnerability; I seem to have good luck with flats, and I'm an ace at roadside repairs.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
11-03-14, 10:08 AM
#58
Have bike, will travel
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Lake Geneva, WI
Posts: 12,284
Bikes: Ridley Helium SLX, Canyon Endurance SL, De Rosa Professional, Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra, Schwinn Paramount (1 painted, 1 chrome), Peugeot PX10, Serotta Nova X, Simoncini Cyclocross Special, Raleigh Roker, Pedal Force CG2 and CX2
Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 910 Post(s)
Liked 288 Times
in
158 Posts
Also would recommend. If you can fit a 700x28, go for it. No better commuter tire in this size.
__________________
When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
11-03-14, 10:23 AM
#59
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Memphis TN area
Posts: 7,391
Bikes: 2011 Felt Z85 (road/commuter), 2006 Marin Pine Mountain (utility/commuter E-bike), 1995 KHS Alite 1000 (gravel grinder)
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 676 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 13 Times
in
13 Posts
I don't track my tires' miles, but gee, 4,000 miles sounds good to me. Maybe I'll start tracking. The result will be that I'll probably stop using Panaracers. I like the ride and the purchase price, but maybe they're not a great value. I don't mind the puncture vulnerability; I seem to have good luck with flats, and I'm an ace at roadside repairs.
11-03-14, 06:32 PM
#60
Newbie
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 1
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
i have a city bike , Jamis Coda Sport-with 700 x 32C tires now and am thinking of switching to 700 x 35C tires for a little softer ride? am not worried about speed! mostky ride on city streets and paved paths? Does switching to a larger tire make sense?
11-10-14, 06:06 PM
#61
Full Member
Both are good tires, depends on what you value more. The TServ seems to get the edge in traction(especially when wet) but the Gatorskin will last longer. If you frequently ride in the rain I would pick the TServ, mostly dry then Gatorskins. One more note, 700x32 TServs measured 31.5mm wide while the Gatorskins measure 29.5mm wide on the same rims(Mavic M236).
11-11-14, 08:21 AM
#62
Senior Member
Thanks for the input, since I live in the wet part of the PNW, Panaracers are the better bet, however my go to bike shop only had one T-Serv on hand so I got a set of 700x32 Pasela PTs with folding beads since they appear to be almost the same tire except for the sidewall treatment. So far so good since they gripped well on the wet pavement and random mud this morning although the ride is not as smooth as the Vittoria XM Pro knobbies I was using. Then again they ride a lot better than the cheap 700x25 tires they replaced.
11-14-14, 06:50 PM
#63
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 7,639
Bikes: 61 Bianchi Specialissima 71 Peugeot G50 7? P'geot PX10 74 Raleigh GranSport 75 P'geot UO8 78? Raleigh Team Pro 82 P'geot PSV 86 P'geot PX 91 Bridgestone MB0 92 B'stone XO1 97 Rans VRex 92 Cannondale R1000 94 B'stone MB5 97 Vitus 997
Mentioned: 146 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 392 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 49 Times
in
31 Posts
Second flat on the rearGatorskin. I found a puncture on the tube, but no corresponding object in the tire. Don't think it was a snakebite flat since the tire was well inflated when I started riding to work this am. But when I started my ride home, the tire was thoroughly deflated. Fortunately there is a bike shop two blocks from my office, where I can fix a flat in comfort. I bought 2 oz of Bontrager tubeless tire sealant and put a little of it into the patched tube, then installed the valve core and went on my way. How much should I put in when I get home - 1 oz per tire?
I'm not sure why I'm having this bad luck with flatting. Two punctures in a month for a brand new puncture resistant tire seems odd. Maybe I just have bad karma this month.
EDIT: after further investigation in the garage, I'm not going to count this second puncture against the tire, because I can find no penetration of the tire, and the hole was right on the tube seam. It is possible I have a bad tube. Anyway, I put 1 oz sealant in the tube and we'll see what happens.
I'm not sure why I'm having this bad luck with flatting. Two punctures in a month for a brand new puncture resistant tire seems odd. Maybe I just have bad karma this month.
EDIT: after further investigation in the garage, I'm not going to count this second puncture against the tire, because I can find no penetration of the tire, and the hole was right on the tube seam. It is possible I have a bad tube. Anyway, I put 1 oz sealant in the tube and we'll see what happens.
Last edited by jyl; 11-15-14 at 10:44 PM.
11-15-14, 05:51 PM
#64
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 28
Bikes: 2009 Trek Soho
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Kenda Kwik? Ridden over glass numerous times with mine, not so much as a scratch. Reflective sidewalls to boot! 
Kwick Trax
- Andy
Kwick Trax
- Andy
11-16-14, 11:29 AM
#65
contiuniously variable
11-16-14, 09:11 PM
#66
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 28
Bikes: 2009 Trek Soho
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
maauricio
Road Cycling
2
02-07-11 10:03 AM
