Originally Posted by
SirMike1983
The interesting thing is that I bought two sets of Duro whitewall tires within a few months of each other for two different bikes. The set on the 1958 Sports had a lot of premature cracking of the sidewalls that kept worsening. The set I put on my 1970 Sprite were better. They were the same model of tire and bought fairly close together in time. With a cheaper tire, I guess you get the quality control variations too. I moved on from the Duro whitewalls to newer Schwalbe whitewalls, and the ride improved greatly on the 1958 Sports. You really do gain a lot when you move from the really cheap tires to more of a mid-level tire (I guess the Schwalbe is more mid level than economy level for these).
Are they mid level? What would high level be? I know you can get Grand Bois 650A from Japan. Perhaps they are the top notch. The Panaracer 650A rides very nicely, but I'm not sure about punctures. I keep mine at 45 pounds in the rear and 40 in the front and haven't had any punctures yet and its smooth. For my girlfriend's '72 Sports, I'm thinking of the whitewall tires for puncture resistance and good ride quality.