Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
Hmmm... anyone see a pattern? At least five posts reporting tire failures due to cuts, bulges, etc. I've got two vintage bikes with 27" wheels and Continental is one of the few major suppliers of tires in this size. I bought their good stuff and within a few rides one of the tires had to be booted with a dollar bill, and another had to be scrapped entirely.
On our road tandems we run Schwalbe Marathons in 28mm, and Big Apple 2.0 on the around town tandem. We have never, ever, ever had anything like a bulge or any other kind of tire carcass failure. We wore one pair right down to the warning marks. We run them at 100psi.
I don't know, I'm not particular about ride quality etc. but I think a recommended tire should not have five reports of carcass failures in... what 10 posts? Doesn't sound like a screaming deal to me.
You must have posted to the wrong thread. We haven't had a failure. Some of the tandem teams we ride with are also running IIs in 28mm. No failures there, either. If you ride enough, any tire will fail. I've had my share of sidewall cuts, but fewer of them on the IIs than for instance on Pro4 Endurance. I had a team right in front of us go down in the rain while running Marathons. It wasn't even slick.
I can believe that 27" tires are not at good as 700c. Maybe it's time to change out the rims. Modern wheels and tires are a much bigger advance in bike technology than are frames.