Litespeed

We have a Co-Motion Speedster. We only ride it once, sometimes twice a week- average miles about 30. We have had it for one year and had about 5 flats. This last one was a cut in the sidewall (from who knows what) causing a blow out on the rear wheel. I believe the size of the tires are 700 x 28. Any recommendations as to a tire that is more durable?

late

Go a size larger, and get something heavier/tougher.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/new_marathon_plus.html

galen_52657

I am riding 700/28 Conti's inflated to the 125 psi max and have not had a flat yet. Not much you can do about something sharp through the sidewall.

zonatandem

Flats/blowouts happen!
Am currently using Maxxis Detonnator 700x23 on front and Michelin Pro 700x25 on the rear of our ariZona tandem.
Living in the desert southwest we get lots of cactus thorns, followed by shredded up steel belted radial debris from cars (don't run over shredded car tires!) and glass cuts
(unfortunately we don't have a deposit/return bottle law in AZ). Glass debris can look like diamonds scattered on the pavement . . . especially after/during the weekend.
Last week, 3 miles from the finish of the El Tour de Tucson, had a front flat. Stopped, put in new tube and was gone less than 5 minutes later.
If you don't ride you don't get flats; so learn to live with an occasional flat/blowout.
Pedal on!

SDS

At 700 X 28 and 120 psi there is no cause to go to a larger tire unless you both together weigh more than 350 lbs. Further, the wider contact patch swept out by a wider tire is more likely to run over something that will cause a flat.

I think there are tire characteristics that make them less susceptible to flats:

1. A (black) rubber coated sidewall. The rubber resists cuts and punctures and reduces flat frequency. It also helps the sidewall fabric last longer by cutting UV exposure to zero.

2. Kevlar belt under the tread. Seems to help.

I prefer folding tires for their performance after getting a flat. Because a folding tire can be made to fit on the rim tighter than a wired-on tire, they are less likely to come off the rim after they go flat.

I don't have a tire I want to recommend. I am using Panaracer T-Serv for Messenger tires, size 700 X 28 (team weight 330 or so, plus about 45 lbs bike), which have the characteristics I listed above (kevlar belt and bead, rubber coated sidewall), but I have decided that they are not round enough and tend to have too much radial runout, and perhaps the tread is too soft. So I am just about to embark on yet another search for the (nonexistent) "perfect tandem tire." I won't use anything made by Specialized, owing to their previous history with tire reliability. I will be looking at some of the Continentals, I think.

"Cuts" on the sidewall right next to the rim can be tire failure and not caused either by road hazard (rocks, glass, etc.) or a sharp burr on the rim. I'm not sure of the mechanism. Cuts elsewhere on the sidewall are more likely to be road hazards.

late

Hi,
my experience is that you get fewer flats as you go larger. The pressure is lower, and the conatact patch is larger reducing the force at any one point a little. I had a hybrid with an OEM 40c tire I tried to kill by deliberately running through debris and over glass. I long ago scaveneged the miserable frame for parts. Still have the damn tire.

I noticed they weren't riding much. A larger tire will tend to have a nicer ride; and as we're advising them to get things that can make the ride rougher, a little bigger can compensate a bit. I stand by that advice as well.

A Brit mag recently did a heavy duty tire shoot out. By a small margin, the Marathon Plus won. Others that scored only a little lower include the Conti TT 2000, one of Specialized's tires, I forget the rest.

SDS

A check of the Schwalbe website finds that a Schwalbe Marathon Plus in 700 X 35, the next larger size after 700 X 28, weighs 835 grams, THREE TIMES the weight of a Panaracer T-Serv for Messenger, size 700 X 28 (280 grams), as listed at the Precision Tandems website. I bet the rolling resistance is pretty dang high too. It seems to me that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus might be suitable for heavy-duty agricultural implement applications, but definitely not for hilly tandem rides in California.

late

You may be surprised to learn I feel the same way. The gentleman
asked for flat resistance; and his comments made me think some of the harder riding tires were not going to be his cup of tea. So I suggested that. Lot of guys in the touring forum swear by them, and like I said, it came in first in a Brit test of tough tires. Still think he should look at a size larger, and a couple ounces heavier.

TandemGeek

That would depend on what brand and model of 700x28 tire you're riding right now. Off the top of my head and not knowing what you're presently using, you might want to give the 700x28 Continental Gatorskins a go.

lmzimmer

We had the same problem with the 28 panaracers that came on our Santana. a flat about every other week and finally separation of the front tire from the sidewall. 800 miles total . Both pinch flats and punctures as well as a glass cut that ruined the rear. We upgraded to continental gatorskins late in the season no further flats in the last 200 miles. They do not come larger than 28 but we were pleased with the ride. Nash bar has 28's if you have trouble getting them locally Be sure that you are airing the tires up sufficiently to prevent pinch flats. That was responsible for several of ours. We do 120 psi with only the glass cut since then . used to ride at 100 psi

cedo

I have always found it interesting and puzzling to read someone saying that they get multiple flats per month (per week) (per day). I ride quite a bit and have gotten maybe four or five flats in 30 years. Other than the type of tires, people talk about various possible causes: the weight of the rider (yes I'm light), tire inflation (generally less air = fewer flats), riding style (stay out of the gutter), weather (wet roads my contrbute to debris adhesion), etc. Personally I cannot make sense of it all because over time, I would expect to have gotten many more flats than I have had. So pure speculation on my part . . . there are a lot of people out there who don't get flats but they don't talk about them because (a) why talk about a problem that doesn't exist; (b) no one who has a problem likes to hear someone else "bragging" that they don't have that problem; and (c) superstition (whenever I bring up the topic that I rarely get flats, invariably someone says, "Now you're going to get one.") I think the superstition arises because flats appear to be such random events and, as socio-anthropologists will tell you, people come up with superstitious explanations when they don't have a logical answer to a phenomenon. And now, I'll probably get a flat on the way home from work tonight.

TandemGeek

It's a statistical conundrum... but, the fewer flats you have the fewer flats you'll get. Put another way, if you have a flat you're statistically more likely to get another flat.

What! Yes, that is my theory. And, here's why, if you get a flat tire you must either fix the tube or replace it and in both cases you must remove the tire from the rim. So, here are just 10 new opportunities for flats:

1. An improper patch job that leaks: gotta scuff up that tube let that activator set-up for 5 minutes, don't you know.
2. Getting a snake-bite and finding only the larger of the two nicks.
3. Installing a new tube with a defect that leaks; been there done that. Actually, after having 3 tubes go flat on one 50 mile ride and finally borrowing a spare tube, we discovered that all 12 of the tubes that I bought in that lot were defective and many others who bought the same tubes suffered the same fate.
4. Having gone without a flat for so long or acquiring old tubes that have been folded for so long that the creased sides split open under pressure shortly after the tube is pressed into use.
5. Fixing or replacing the punctured tube but not finding and removing the object still embedded in the tire that caused the first flat.
6. Fixing or replacing the punctured tube but not seeing or booting the cut in the tire casing which leads to subsequent flats in short-order.
7. Creating new "nicks" in the tube while reinstalling the tire and tube.
8. Getting the tube caught between the tire bead and the rim during reinstallation.
9. Not getting the tire bead properly seated.
10. Not realizing that your rim-strip tape shifted during a blow-out, tire removal, or just got tired and is no longer doing it's job and that your flats are coming from inside the rim, not outside the tire.

Just some food for thought. Again, often times flats and their frequency defy logic. Of course, if you ride in pace-lines and someone doesn't call out a pot hole that you bash into it's pretty clear what caused that flat. Also, if you find that you are wrestling your pump's valve chuck off the valve stem whenever you put air in your tires there's a pretty good chance that you'll eventually create a small pin-prick leak at the base of the stem that is hard to find if you're not looking for it.

galen_52657

I hate that one.....

Luckily, last time I had one of those it was a 'delayed reaction' but still went flat in the parking lot....

TandemGeek

The problem is very pronounced on bikes fitted with deep-section rims and 60mm valve stems; however, it can be mitigated by using:

a. tubes with unthreaded valve stems,
b. using smooth-sided valve stem extenders on standard valve stems, or
c. by smoothing out the valve stem threads.

Most valve stem extenders are a PIA in that they are not sold with instructions on how to get an air-tight seal. Mavic provides a very nice pair of extenders with it's deep-section rims that are internally chamfered for use with an enclosed O-ring. If you're really anal like me, you can carefully add a chamfer to some of the other aftermarket valve extenders with a drill or Dremmel tool and get the proper-size O-rings from supply houses like McMahann-Carr. However, the easiest method for getting an air-tight seal is wrapping some teflon tape around the threaded stem and then installing the extender. If you choose the latter method and have deep-section rims, just remember to keep a spare extended with some teflon tape wrapped around it in your patch kit for use in the event that you get a flat a need to use a spare tube, either your own or from someone else.

Mhendricks

I'm looking for recommendations for a 26" tire for our Raleigh tandem. The ones that came with it (Kenda) are wearing out. I'm still running the ALEX rims with mechanical disc on the front with XT hub. Thanks

Charles Ramsey

I get about five times the life with a kevlar belted tire they cost $5 more and even with a serious cut they will get you home.

TandemGeek

Your team weight and road conditions might dictate a 1.5 vs 1.25; however, these are the 26" that seem to garner the most consistent praise for reliability & value:

Performance Fast City ST/K - 26x1.25 - semi slick, kevlar, 400 gms, $16-$20

Panaracer Pasela Tourguard 26x1.25 Blk/Tan Kevlar, 325 gm, $25

Avocet City/K - 26x1.25 - slick, kevlar, 400 gm, $33

K&M

During the rainy season --- and it has definitely been rainy in CA lately ---- I like to use Continental Ultra Gatorskins. They don't have the supple feel of high-end racing tires, but they sure do last longer and get fewer flats (they also cost less ). I've used them in 700X28 on a tandem and thought they were great.

cedo

We use 700 x 28 Specialized Armadillos on our triplet. Inflate to 125 - 140. As stated by others, the rolling resistance is greater, but they provide superb confidence against flats. Personally, I prefer to ride 2 mph slower, but not lose 10 minutes on the side of the road changing a tire.

From what I understand , the key difference between the Armadillos and the Gatorskins is that the Armadillos have extra sidewall reinforcement, making them even more resistant to sidewall problems (from curbs, etc.). This advantage in strength comes, of course, at the expense of increased rolling resistance.

Speaking of which, I have not been able to find any empirical studies, so does anyone have an idea how much extra resistance these belted tires actually generate. I pulled 2 mph out of the air. Maybe it is less, maybe more. Also does it lower top end speed more than acceleration from a stop? Or does most of compromise come in the handling (i.e., they feel less "nimble")?

spacerconrad

We use Panaracer Pasela TGs in 700x35 on our Santana. We've suffered one flat (spoke broke, slipped in and ruptured the tube) which destroyed the tire.
I immediately bought two more of the same size, as otherwise we've had zero problems. I've had extremely bad luck with Conti's and slightly better luck with Hutchisons (on the Kona, anyway) and the price/weight of the Paselas with our experience sold us on 'em.
The destruction of the aforementioned tire was caused by our rolling downhill while trying to gradually stop after a sudden and very fast loss of psi in the rear wheel. The fact that we were on a very rough surface didn't help at all.

2intexas

My 125 lb stoker and I (220 lb) have put about 600 miles so far on a pair of Conti Ultra Gatorskin 700x28s with minimal wear and NO PUNCTURES, CUTS, VISIBLE SIDEWALL ABRASIONS, nada. We've got a 1997 Santana Arriva, and we average about 120 miles a week on well-paved but somewhat abrasive caliche roads in central Texas. We previously road Panaracer Paselas, but we wore those suckers down to the threads in no time (400 miles?). Inflate the Gatorskins to 120 psi. I was raised on Clement and Conti tubulars back in the 70s, so I learned early on to avoid glass, sharp stones, curbs, expansion joints, etc. Minimize the off-road excursions, even across the lawn, and the Contis should last. No problems;never ridden a better clincher...

George Handy

We've had good luck with the Panaracer Paselas, using 700x28 unless we are doing self-contained touring, then we use the 32's. We really enjoy riding the unpaved (but graded) roads in the area (North & Central Texas)

2intexas-Where do you live? Going to the SW Tandem Rally in Fredericksburg?

2intexas

Definitely considering the SWTR. Live outside Georgetown, near Austin. Springtime is busy, and I have a daughter who plays HS varsity softball, so I GOTTA watch those games... I must have had a couple of dud Paselas. I'm a definite Conti convert.