Originally Posted by
gringodevil
Greetings BFers,
I am relatively new to roadbikes (1 year) and completely new to cycle touring and have an upcoming ride of about 1200K. I have a titanium road bike with mountain bike rims and disk brakes, modelled on Salsa traveler, with SS-type frame couplers. I have been riding road with continental gatorskins 28s on the rims at 110, and I love them, and they haul a**, and they seem indestructible, but ride is a bit harsh, and they have zero tread. This ride in Spain will have about 10% hard-packed dirt road/trail. I am looking at other kevlar-lined or otherwise puncture-proof options with tread, and have found Schwalbe marathon plus in 28s that seem to get good reviews. My question is, from talking to varied cycle tourers, it always seems like they were riding fatter mountain bike/bike messenger slicks--I don't recall seeing any people riding skinny tires--maybe they were in my blind spot. I will have about 20 pounds of clothing/gear on this trip. Schwalbe has this HS 348 model in 28, 32, 35, and 38--all of which would work on my rims.
So, my questions are: does anyone cycle tour on 28s or 32s , or is that masochistic and insane? other than schwalbe, and any other tire recommendations for puncture proof, low rolling resistance, and with some tread?
Thanks for your sage advice,
Russell
The trend is wider tires.....but lots of folks toured with skinny tires back in the day. Before the fat tire trend took off I did tours with 28 and 32s. Bigger allows lower pressure which = more comfort and better rim protection over potholes and rough terrain. Skinny tires really don't have any benefits on a touring bike. If your bike fits em', get the biggest you can get, especially if using 'slicks' offroad, so you can airdown and find better traction.
Schwalbe tires are excellent, across the board and have some of the best touring options available.