tyrion

Looking for a dual purpose tire around 700x40 and I keep coming back to these 2 (Mondial 40mm wire bead and Speed Ride 42mm folding). Let's say I'll be riding 50/50 road/trails. It looks like the Speed Ride would be a higher performing tire on the road and the Mondial would be more puncture resistant and longer lasting. Right? I'm leaning towards the Mondial because I'll sacrifice some performance for puncture resistance.

Any other tires of this style you'd recommend?

Background: I have Schwalbe Supremes 35mm for my main road tires and Schwalbe Smart Sams 45mm for trails. The Supremes are terrible on dirt and the Smart Sams are pretty bad on the road, so looking for something kind of in between those 2. Also, I've gotten unusually frequent flats with the Smart Sams and no flats with the Supremes - maybe that's just bad luck, but I'd like something with a reputation for puncture resistance. Durability isn't as important as puncture resistance.

TGT1

I'm on my second set of Continental 42mm Crossride folders. They have and effectively solid center stripe, (the lugs overlap) and a nice supple sidewall so I can't tell any difference in rolling resistance between them and 24mm slicks (there is an obvious weight difference) and I don't have much trouble keeping up with the carbon weight weenies on the flat. They have a Vectran breaker so flats have been a non issue. Got about 3,500-4,000 mi out of them and all but one flat from a safety pin and another from a car tire wire were rim tape (nipple pimple) issues that took me a while to figure out.

They have a fairly aggressive lug pattern that works well in dry loose conditions, but the lug pattern does not clear mud well at all if that's a consideration.

They are also a bit noisy, but can be had for under $30 each if you find them on sale. The wire bead version can be had really cheap but is considerably heavier.

NormanF

Cheaper alternative: Schwalbe Marathon Dureme 40c.

Tony Marley

Through the years, I have had better luck with Schwalbe tires than Conties for both puncture resistance and durability/longevity.

tyrion

Are you talking about these cross rides or these speed rides (confusing naming system)? One thing I don't like about the Smart Sams I have is, on a hard surface, when I corner and it gets up on the outside row of knobs it gets really squirrely. That's something I want to avoid with this next set of tires.

tyrion

I too have had good luck with Schwalbes until I got the Smart Sams (cheapest, wire bead version), which have had an unusual number of puncture flats.

TomPalmer

I had Speed Rides on a Redline Conquest Pro and they are great on pavement and dirt. Rode them in group rides on road and no problem keeping up. Should have taken them off before I sold it.
Good luck,
Tom Palmer,
Twin Lake, MI

TGT1

The Crossrides.

I haven't had any cornering issues with them and that includes high speed runs down 39 and GMR.

You'd have to be leaned over awfully far to get on the outside knobs on them.

YMMV

Ludeykrus

I put the 700x40 Mondials on my "mix" bike, and have been very impressed. They will last 10-15k miles, per internet reports. They have a fairly aggressive tread which works good for dirt/gravel/road. They seem immune to punctures. They're pretty much the same price as the Speed Rides. But they are heavy. Not extremely, but they're definitely there. For commuting, touring, and general mix use, I'd go with the Schwalbes with their well-designed block lugs. If you're looking to roll a bit faster with a diamond file tread pattern and don't mind the reduced lifespan, I'd say the Speed Rides.

tyrion

Thanks all, appreciate the input. About those Smart Sams, as you can from this pic



once that outside row of knobs is a little sparse and you can imagine, on a hard surface, when you lean over and it starts to take weight it will get squirrely. But in the last few days I've come to appreciate that design in medium soft dirt, it bites in when it should on some surfaces.

I'm still undecided about how much dirt oriented I want vs. street oriented. The happy medium that will never really be all that happy. I've now added to my list of things to think about Bruce Gordon's Rock and Road (700x43), Surly Knard (700x41), and Clement X’Plor MSO (700x40). In other words I still haven't figured out how I want to spend most of the time on this bike. Not a terribly distressing problem.



Rock and Roads (dirt oriented, high performance, low protection?)


Surly Knard


Clement X’Plor MSO

Thanks for the comments and keep them coming.

tyrion

Did you get the expensive folding Mondials or the inexpensive wire bead ones? I was considering the inexpensive wire bead ones. It's interesting there's such a price difference between the 2 versions. I might pay for the expensive ones if the cheap ones had done their duty and worn out.

canklecat

Of the alternatives you listed only the Clement X’Plor MSO would come close to suiting my mix of riding on pavement and unpaved areas. The rest are too oriented for dirt and downhill stuff faster than I'd ride, at least in my current condition.

I wanted puncture resistant all terrain tires and considered Specialized Crossroads Armadillos because I was basically satisfied with the ride of the cheaper Hemispheres - on pavement, gravel and grass - but not the puncture resistance (four flats in one month). But the Armadillos were a bit pricey and I didn't trust the loose tire/rim fit of the uninflated tires. Old fashioned, I reckon, but I wanted clinchers that didn't roll right off the rim when flat.

For about half the price (Nashbar discount) I bought a set of 700x40 Michelin Protek Cross Max. The 5mm puncture resistant liner costs weight - the Michelins are much heavier - but have handled everything I've tried the past month: dry and wet pavement, smooth and rough; grass, gravel, smooth loose beach stones (felt like quicksand), some mud (not soggy clay), loose patches of sandy gravel on paved corners. The tires feel responsive to variations in pressure to suit the terrain - I weigh around 165 and vary the pressure from around 40-50 psi for unpaved and 60-80 for paved roads.

Pretty good compromise for my needs, which includes some riding on gravel, open fields, etc., but nothing too fast. And the clinchers grip the rims uninflated, so I can roll the bike on a flat and worry a bit less about a loss of pressure on a curve, but don't need unusual effort with levers to get the tires on/off the rims.

Ludeykrus

I went with the wire beads. IIRC, the folders were almost twice as much! And they weighed about the same, I think. Believe they had an extra layer of puncture resistant stuff in the folders, but I could be wrong. I'd save my money and get the wire beads unless you need a spare tire to carry with you while touring.

tyrion

I ordered the Schwalbe Mondials 700x42 folders. Getting another flat last week nudged my decision towards the most (allegedly) rugged choice. I noticed Schwalbe recently updated their webpage to quantify the differenced between the wire and folding versions: Marathon Mondial HS 428 | Schwalbe North America

Got a heck of a deal on them from this German source: Bike Shop | Bike-Discount: Shop with Best Price Guarantee