Bought new tires for the main commuter (2015 Charge Plug (not an e-bike)). With fenders the biggest that will fit is 700x35 (the tightest point is the rear tire behind the bottom bracket. For years I ran inexpensive but nice Metro STs from Performance Bicycle, buying them online after they closed their bricks-and-mortar stores, stocking up and saving the not-completely-used-up ones when they were no longer available. But finally, I am out.

I like light, smooth road tires with supple casings. I use tire liners for flat protection. I've tried heavier reinforced tires and they are a drudge to ride, dull, heavy and... just dull.

I used to like to go to the bike shops and feel the tires on the racks to find one that appealed to me but nowadays shops stock fewer tires. I bought some Bontrager 700x28s for my old Nishiki 12-speed that I like, and I was going to try to order them in the larger 700x35 size when I was at Walmart on Friday.

Walmart had these foldable 700x35 Blackburn road tires and one of the boxes had been open. I felt the tire. Despite the claim of being "reinforced" the sidewalls were fairly pliable, and the tread was not too stiff either. Although they had more tread than I wanted, there is a smooth center section and the sipes run mostly with the tire and looked like they wouldn't be an issue. And at just $24 each, they were a bargain.

I put them on Saturday and rode them around the block. I was worried because the max recommended pressure is 75, and I had been running the old bikes tires at 85psi for years. But the tires felt somewhat supple and very grippy. Cornering was much better than the tires they replaced, but those were old and worn out, even so, I don't remember them being this grippy when new. There was a pair of Kenda Quest smoothies I bought back in 2016 to replace the original Kenda Small Block 8 tires that had micro knobbies that disintegrated on pavement. The Kwests were grippy at first, but a little stiff and then not so grippy after a few months.

Yesterday I rode the new Blackburns to work and back and they are almost perfect (for me). The tread compound is unusually soft and grippy and the sidewalls softened up just a bit more. And they're quiet.

They just fit the bike with very little clearance, just like their predecessors.

I am very happy with them.

The commute itself was uneventful with both rides falling in between bouts of rain. Oh, and 79% humidity on the way home, in a city that averages 30% with 10 or 12% in the summer.