WWJoe

Just some research, but is there a fast tire that handles road conditions that I don't know about? I normally seek Continentals myself as they balance speed with price but I might dream of a slightly higher centerline ridge to reduce friction. Thoughts?

sculbertson

I am a fan of the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme for road touring. They are light for a touring tire and I really like the way the handle and feel. Not cheap but I feel they deliver the value.

pdlamb

There's a bunch of decent touring tires out there, with various balances between load carrying capacity, smooth ride, puncture protection, etc. There's almost as many threads on what the best tire for touring is (hint: it's usually the last tire the poster bought).

Therefore, I'll name my favorite touring tire: "Ralph."

woodysroad

Me too. A couple years ago I did a 10,000 mile tour and put 4,500 on the first set, then got a second set in Rapid City, SD even though the first were still in good shape. I had 0 flats on the first set in 4,500 miles, and on the second set I've had only one slow leak from a piece of wire I picked up in Western Montana, and they have 6,000+ miles. I'm riding the Mississippi River Trail this Summer and plan to use the first set. The folks at my LBS think they are easily good for that as they are in such good shape. 11,000 miles with only one slow leak is ok I think.

WWJoe

I think I've used Schwalbe myself but it's tough to recall names. Oddly my favorite 26"er was made by Kenda - had a HUGE raised centerline
slick to ride on with small knobbies on the sides of the 1.75"er . You rode on 1/2" of rubber. Can't find that anymore, everything is 700c...

veganbikes

Conti all the way. I am planning on running Gator Hardshells on my new touring bike and have been running Gatorskins on my current commuter and Comfort Contacts on my old touring bike (though those are 26ers). I also run Grand Prix Classics on my vintage roadie. I am happy with all those tires but the Gators are perfect for commuting and touring, great puncture resistance (and better on the hardshells) and they roll well with good grip even in wetter conditions. Plus no knobs which do nothing on paved and really hard surfaces.

Most of the folks at the shop I work at would also recommend and ride Gatorskins or Hardshells.

LeeG

Oookay. It kinda matters what size of tire you're looking for given your load on the bike and surface you're riding on and whether you are riding fast to begin with. Raised center block is not what I'd be looking for if easy rolling and speed was a criteria and if you're looking at 26"X 1.75 and touring then you probably aren't going very fast. That said of the few easy rolling 26" tires I've used I recommend Panaracer Ribmo 1.75 or Schwalbe Supreme 1.6.
It's not clear what you mean asking for tires for conditions you don't know about but if your load is big and you want tires easy rolling tires for rough roads the Schwalbe Big Apple is nice.
Without knowing your load and wheel size you're getting recommendations from 25mm-60mm

hueyhoolihan

i'm planning a short four day tour this fall and am modifying one of my bikes for the job. believe it or not, i'll be running Continental 23mm Supersonics with tire liners . i don't think i would suggest these for anyone, and they are not my first choice either, i like 28's, but the supersonics are already on the wheels i plan on using and don't want to swap in the only other tires i own that are also not suitable, well-worn 25mm Vittoria Evos. so there it is.

psy

The best all arounder touri g tire is the schwalbe marathon mondial. No question.

nun

I'm seeing a trend in all these tire threads. The wider tires tend to be Schwalbe, lets say 32mm and above, and for 25s and 28s Continental Gatorskins or something similar from Continental are the choice. I'm certainly happy with 25mm Gatorskins.

vijinho

Vittoria Randonneur is also a great choice and very good value for commuting and touring. Light and good rolling resistance. Check out the reviews on various sites online, consistently highly rated.

staehpj1

I used 25mm Gatorskins on my last tour and was pretty happy with them. I have happily used 28mm Gatorskins in the past as well.

Of the tires I have tried, the one tire that I found most unacceptable was the Marathon Plus. I don't doubt that they are long wearing and very puncture resistant, but the weight, the stiff sidewalls, and probably the belt made for a ride feel that I couldn't tolerate. I took them off after a few hundred miles.

jargo432

My favorite name for my touring tire is Paula Dean. "fatties fit fine"

Yan 

Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Rarely flats.

lopek77

Vittoria Rubino is my choice. Light, long lasting AND with great resistance to flats. Everything you need in a touring tire for cheap.

stevnim

Schwalbe Marathon XR Tires. Too bad they were discontinued.

nun

I used some Schwalbe Marathon Duremes in Iceland and have been riding then during the winter. They are definitely tough, but also heavy so for my summer road tours with limited off road riding I'll stick to the 25mm gator skins.....anyway 25mm is the max tire width that fits the front fork on my bike.

WWJoe

Panaracer Ribmo 1.75 or Schwalbe Supreme 1.6.

Thanks for the info- I use different sized bikes myself and normally grab what's best for the conditions. For example I just used a 26" with 2.00 Kenda's in Texas because I was riding and camping on a 100 mile beach and the distances on paved roads was under 30 miles per hop. The bike is a 6 gear beach cruiser which "allegedly' did 6mph in first gear, if you trust the radar signs that is.

The discontinued raised center block Kenda actually doubled the speed of a very overloaded bike, again if you trust the radar signs you pass, which is why I'm looking at raised-ridge tires are being important to speed. Agreed that the 1.75 size matters but you didn't ride on that - the ridge raised the bike up above the 1.75 and you rode on about 1/2" to 3/4" of hardened rubber. V

ery fast on any bike I'd think...

Ivo_Shandor

Marathon supreme 32's are amazing. never had a flat in many many miles (riding in the streets of Brooklyn as well as tours in new england).

I had Marathon Plus for a bit, but they were unreasonably heavy and rolled extremely poorly.

I also like Continental gp4 seasons for light/fast tours. These have been on my wife's bike, but i moved them to my road racer (in 25mm) when I am training (usually use gp4000s for racing road/track). Way nicer ride than gatorskins with the same flat protection (maybe better?). However, since the rubber is meant for all year riding, it is very soft in the summer. And while it provides excellent grip and a very supple ride, they wear fast. Also, they are 2x the price of gatorskins.

Im going to try Jack Brown (blues) next. But so far, Marathon supremes are my choice for light touring

3speed

Did you do a forum search yet? You'll learn more reading several recent threads on this exact topic than what will come up in this one thread. There are options that people aren't going to bother posting due to the frequency that new people ask this question. Click on advanced search and change the option that searches the entire thread posts so that it only searches the thread titles. That will help you weed out a lot of stuff that doesn't necessarily apply to what you're searching for.

I can't name them off of the top of my head, but I know there are tires that will roll better than your Continentals. If you want something faster that rolls better, stay away from anything Marathon.

wheelinthai

My favourite for 700c 28mm is Panaracer T-Serve PT


I also like 26" 1.5" of the same manufacture, but it's a bit slower.

Ivo_Shandor

This is wrong. Marathon greenguard (the originals) dont roll great, Marathon Plus roll very poorly (but will never get a flat). But what about Supremes? They roll very well for a tire with good flatprotection. And have you forgotten Marathon Racers?

3speed

I've heard from a couple people at my LBS that the Supremes are better than the other versions of Marathons and are a nice tire, but still aren't overly "fast." I know they're heavier than the tires I tour on and have stiffer feeling sidewall. I don't really know anything about the racers, so I looked them up. They do sound like they'd be a great tire. They're pricey, but it's usually possible to find things cheaper online, so maybe they don't have to be. I might have to try them out next time I need touring tires.

Mr IGH

I know I'm a Panaracer Pasela fanboi, nobody has mentioned them. Are they not suitable? I have a set in 32mm with the tread guard, I was planning to use with a total load of ~300lbs for ride, bike and gear.

3speed

I haven't ridden Paselas personally, but I've read many times that they're a good "bang for your buck" tire. I think you just haven't seen them mentioned here because this discussion has been more focused on higher end $50+ tires.