Originally Posted by
G4teamG
...A friend said to go with Specialized Nimbus Ex tires. He never complains about flats so I figured I'd call the LBS and get a quote. They are an authorized dealer so I figured this guy knows what he is talking about. Turns out this guy says go with the Bontrager tires instead. When I mentioned the flak jacket protection with the Nimbus he said it really doesn't help much if anything. What gives?
Specialized is one bike brand. Trek is another bike brand - Bontrager is a Trek brand (basically Trek). What sounds like happened is that you called a Trek shop, they don't sell Specialized, so they told you that Specialized sucks and to buy the Trek (Bontrager) tires that they sell.
If speed is a priority, I think the best wider tires are Schwalbe Marathon Supreme's. Fastest tire you can get for it's size, comfortable, good flat protection, and excellent grip including grip in the wet. The drawback is that their price reflects that they are premium tires. In 700c I can find them for $50/tire, but in 26x1.6 the cheapest I found was $70/tire (which is admittedly a bit yikes):
https://www.amazon.com/Schwalbe-Mara...hon+supreme+26
This is what **I** get, but I like to invest in more expensive tires.
But I think the reason they told you what they did is that you called a Trek shop and asked for Specialized tires, and they don't sell Specialized tires so they told you those tires were bad. Personally I've not had the best luck buying Bontrager stuff, it can be fine or it can be awful, I've had better luck with Specialized branded stuff.