cyclezealot

I suspect a role in the surprising short life of my Michelin City Works commute tire is the heavy load i often carry in the rear panniers. I might commute 10 miles with maybe a 20 lbs load 2-4 times a week. The tread still looked good, but the rubber at the base of the tread got thin and all kind of objects easily penetrated the tire. The tire only got like 1600 miles. I usually hope for near 3000. The front tire is the Same Michelin City works. It appears in good shape. I think it must be the weight factor directly over the tire? Any good suggestions as to a long lasting commute tire. Heck, I can put 1600 miles on a bike in three months. I'd hope a tire last longer than that.

Cyclist0383

Schawble Marathon Plus. They are very tough and last a loooong time.

wroomwroomoops

What he said. They come in ATB and regular thread patterns. Probably the non-ATB is what you want.

operator

Keep in mind the flat protection comes at the expense of grip and rolling resistance.

DMF 

Yeah, but it's your ass, not the 20 lb. in the panniers. The rider sits behind the center point of the axles, so most of the rider's weight is on the rear tire. Rear tires, therefore, almost always wear out first.

gosmsgo

I have vittoria RANDONNEUR CROSS tires. Right now they have 4,000 miles on them and still have a ways to go. I pull a model 96 bikesatwork trailer quite a bit and a smaller burley trailer that I pull almost everyday. The model 96 puts most of the weight on the bike so I would guess that at times there is 400 pounds on the back wheel. The tires have held up great but they were VERY expensive. If you get a flat the LBS where you bought your tires give you a new intertube...no questions asked.

https://www.vittoria.com/index3.asp?lingua=en

gosmsgo

Here is my vittoria's at work with a smaller load.

gosmsgo

How long do they last? I looked at they are VERY expensive.

Im torn because my vitt's are going to go over 5k at least but they were about $75.00 for the pair.

Is it really worth that when you can buy lesser tires for 8 dollars a piece?

Cyclist0383

I don't know, I haven't worn a pair out yet. But I can say it's well over 5,000 km.

Yes, it's worth it, due to their excellent flat protection.

I've had no problems with grip even on wet cobblestones with the Marathon Plus. I find Conti Gatorskins (which I use on a different bike) have far less grip in wet conditions that the Marathon Plus. They are quite heavy though.

wroomwroomoops

You can buy a Marathon Plus for 25 EUR. That's cheaper than what you paid for your vittoria. My marathon plus-es have 7000 Km in, and the rear tire looks like it will survive 20.000 more (i.e. no measurable thread wear). That long enough? The front tire is just as impeccable. I could sell the pair as new, almost.