Originally Posted by
ThermionicScott
That's the thing. You can't have both maximum flat protection and a "decent" ride. Ask as many times as you want, it's not possible. You have to decide what is most important and go from there.
Maybe it would be helpful for this thread if you shared what kind of tires you're using now, what size, and how many flats you've had with them. What caused the flats?
Perhaps your experience surpasses mine and I defer to that. But the understanding that you can not achieve a just a descent ride from the highly puncture resistant tires is hard to imagine. There are several people on this thread who have stated their hard case Gator Skins which they have ridden for 8 years or more offers them an acceptable ride on their commutes where getting in on time without flat delays is important and Gator Skins are the worst of the lot in ride ability. But I will compromise with you on this point, I will look for the highest puncture resistant tire that still gives a descently good ride even if you lose a little puncture resistance.
The tires that are going to end up on the bike right now are a 700X23 hard case Bontreger triple flat protection in the front and a 700X28 Bontreger with an Aramid Band in the rear. I don't get many flats outside of Presti Valves splitting at the base and in the past flats caused by casing deterioration in some tires I bought used. But I want to avoid as many flats as possible to prevent getting into a situation that is going to be trouble.