Originally Posted by
Andy_K
It depends on your riding style. Do you like to sprint or cruise?
I cruise more than I sprint but I don't want to add too much extra labor.
Personally, I'd go with the 700x38 (or even smaller). Unless you have really rough pavement anything wider than 32 is going to provide plenty of cushion. A wider tire also gives you better puncture protection, but again I think 32+ is plenty good and additional width doesn't provide proportionally more protection. For these reasons, I'd go with the weight savings of a lighter tire. I know weight isn't supposed to matter for a commuter, but to me heavy tires just feel sluggish.
On the other hand, a tire like the Marathon Plus is not going to feel either quick or plush in any size. They're a great tire for puncture protection, but I can't imagine loving the feel of them in any size. As such, my argument for the narrower size isn't really applicable. I'd probably still go with the smaller ones.
I have had so many flats that I'm looking for something bullet proof. It's true that the majority can be attributed to the missing bead but I've changed 10-12 flats since May 2012 - all on the rear tire. If my memory serves, two flats were from rolling through broken glass in the bike lane. The rest were all blow outs, only one of those was when I was moving. The first one was the day after I went max pressure the very first time - so I'm thinking that the bead was a defect all along.
That said, I'm commuting to/from work; dependability is by far my top concern.