danguskhan

My girlfriend is turning an older specialized stump jumper into a touring bike for a trip we are doing this summer. Can you make any recommendations as to what would be a decent 26" touring tire to put on there?

I was looking at these a bit

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=23042

EriktheFish

3 bikes rode coast to coast last year on Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. 0 flats. Highly recommend!
https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...ls.php?id=7614

danguskhan

Thanks Erik, Ill try to talk her into those. Ive heard alot of good about them and they arent horribly expensive either.

ClemY

An alternative is the Panaracer Pacella Tour Guard 26x1.75". It is available in wire and kevlar bead. I am using them this summer in a cross country run, carrying a kevlar folding one as a spare.

matchy99

Schwalbe Marathon XR for mixed surfaces or Supreme if riding mainly on paved roads.

markf

The Schwalbe Marathon Cross in a 26 x 1.75 (https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_ti...marathon_cross) is a good, sturdy go anywhere tire, good for paved or dirt roads. Unfortunately it's not especially light (but neither is the continental you linked to).

The Marathon Supreme in a 26 x 1.6 is a good paved road tire, much lighter but not quite as sturdy as the Marathon Cross. The tread is very puncture resistant, but the sidewall is not quite as puncture resistant. It's also hideously expensive. https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_ti...rathon_supreme .

Unfortunately, both the tires I recommended are out of stock in the US, I may end up ordering from Germany or the UK to replace my Supremes.

Nycycle

Specialized Armadillo Crossroads. PERIOD 80 PSI say goodbye to flats, Loved em, I had em on my Hard Rock tourer.
I don't miss that aluminum frame,,,

fietsbob

Continental travel contacts are reliable .. weigh less than the Schwalbe marathon plus..

contango 

I like the Marathon Plus tyres as well. I've ridden over hawthorn trimmings, broken glass etc and never got a flat with them.

I replaced the rear tyre with a Marathon Extreme to get a bit more grip in mud - it's still pretty fast on the road and so far hasn't let me down.

Tourist in MSN

You did not say if the trip is on pavement or not. I like the Marathon Dureme on the front and Marathon Extreme on gravel, Dureme front and rear on pavement. I also wanted folding bead and reflective sidewalls. Quite expensive, but a good tire. I used 2.0 width, but your girlfriend is probably lighter and likely carries less gear weight than me so she might want a narrower tire. I ordered two tires from here:
https://www.cyclocamping.com/Tires__L..._50410-22.aspx

With two tires I was 20 cents short of the cutoff for free shipping so I ordered some cheap item to qualify.

danguskhan

Yeah, it should be all pavement. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

transporterjr

I am looking for 26" tires to tour on as well. I kind of hate to spend good money on these tires, only because I have a touring bike, but I am using my MTN bike for an upcoming 4-day tour. That said, while we are touring on pavement, I would like to buy a tire for touring on relatively smooth dirt.gravel roads so I would get use of these beyond this tour.

Several people mentioned a set-up such as Marathon extreme on rear, smoother tread tire on front. Sheldon Brown recommends the opposite and now I am confused, Any comments/suggestions?

Sheldon's comments below (from https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html)
Off-Road Issues
Bikes that are used some of the time on loose surfaces often benefit from a wider front tire, with a fairly aggressive tread, coupled with a somewhat narrower, smoother rear tire.

The wide, knobby front tire will provide the all-important front wheel traction. Front-wheel skidding almost always leads to a crash. For riding on soft surfaces, such as sand or mud, a wide front tire is essential. If the front tire sinks in and gets bogged down, you're stuck. If the front tire rolls through a soft patch OK, you can generally power the rear through to follow it.

The narrower, smoother rear tire will have lower rolling resistance. Since most of the weight is carried by the rear tire, rolling resistance is more important on the rear than the front. If the rear tire slips, in most cases the worst that will happen is that you'll have to get off and walk.

This is a great idea that developed out of BMX racing.

positron

this

iforgotmename

I have both supremes and duremes and they are both great tires. The speed difference isn't that big of a deal so I would go with the duremes for the comfort factor. Both tires are great and the extra$$$ is worth it in my opinion.

robow

The last two years I've been running Vittoria Randonneur Pro in the 1.5" and been very impressed with their flat resistance and their compliant ride. They're much lighter than the Marathons and have a more supple ride probably due to the less stiff sidewalls. If flat resistance is your Holy Grail, then tough to beat the Marathons, Pluses and the Armadillos but of course you pay for that in weight and quality of ride.

bwgride

Panaracer's new RiBMo tire is worth a look. About half the weight of tire you link, but same price. Panaracer claims this to have excellent puncture resistance. I bought two and have been riding them for about 100 miles now. So far they roll well. Only issue is that the don't roll well off-road in soft material because the middle is raised a bit to form a point, but this is one reason they roll well on the road.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=21607

transporterjr

I think my tire decision just got settled - found my wife's old 26 x 1.5 slicks! That saves me buying tires for a 4-day tour, since future tours will be on my Fuji Touring Series IV.

Tires are IRC Metro Duro 50-100psi. My only concern is that I don't really know the age - should be younger than, perhaps, 10 years. Oldest post I can find on-line about them is 2002, but they apparently were standard on some tandem in 1998, and 1999.

The tires and side wall look great. The sharp edge below the wire is brittle and I can break this sharp edge with my hands. Think I'll put some conditioner on the side walls and run em' My tour isn't till end of May, so that should give me some run time. Might carry a spare tire to be sure and the 3 of us are running 26" tires anyways.

John

countrydirt

Thanks for the good information. My debit card is now $128 poorer!

transporterjr

Turns out, my wife's left over slicks are showing side wall cracking. I was hoping not to buy tired for this 4-day tour. I have cheap or free access to the 2 following tires. Ritchey Moby-Bites -26 x 2.1 slick, 60psi, reportedly originally developed for slickrock. the others are Michelin Country Rock, 26 x 1.75, 73 psi. Any thoughts on either?