After suffering through two flats in a 3-day period while commuting to and from school last week I decided to replace the OEM Kenda tires that came on my Schwinn with a decent puncture-resistant pair. My 2nd favourtie LBS had a set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires in stock for $65 CAD a piece. My experience with the Marathon Winters this past season leads me to believe that this is probably a good tire, but the exorbitant pricetag made me balk. I asked them to price me out a set of Panaracer RibMo tires - and they want $55 a piece for those. I told them I'd think about it, which I did, but today I found myself at my 1st favourite LBS and they had a set of Michelin Pilot City tires in stock for $35 a piece. Sold! I did a search here on BF to see what folks had to say about this tire and so far I haven't read anything negative, except for the weight. That being said they seemed to me to be about the same as the Schwalbes; a check on each manufacturer's website confirmed that they are within 50 grams of one another. Since I'm no weight weenie and a Clydesdale myself this was a non-issue anyway.

My only gripe so far is that they were a real PITA to install compared to the OEM tires. This came as no surprise as I've read similar threads concerning puncture-resistant tires. That being said, I must have pinched the tube with the tire lever because after getting the first tire seated I couldn't get any air into it. At first I thought that there must be something wrong with my pump, so I tried it on another tire and it worked fine. After a few choice words I took the first tire back off, found the hole in the tube, and got out my patch kit. While the glue was setting I mounted the other tire without incident. Once I finally had both mounted I took it for a spin around the block - what a difference! The OEM tires are 38s and have a semi-aggresive tread pattern (meant for light trail riding, I suppose.) The Pilots are 35s and their slick profile made the bike feel smoother, faster, and more responsive. I'll put some real-world commuting kilometers on the bike soon and report back on my experience.

In the meantime, does anyone else run the Michelin Pilot City tires? What has your experience been like? Oh, and I'd still like to try out those RibMo tires someday so I'd like to hear about those, too.