700 x 28 low priced. What's your recommendation.
 

Hi Forum,

Any opinions on what the best low priced (under $20) 700 x 28 road/urban tire is? Black preferred, gumwall or skinwall OK.

Thanks.

These have held up pretty well for me:
CST Caldera Comp 700 x 28c Wire Bead Tire, Black

But these seem to roll a little smoother:
Panaracer Tire Pasela 700 x 28C Black/Tan Steel

It depends a lot on where you are on the speed/durability scale. On the durability end, I've had good success with the Forté Metro from Performance Bike. Put thousands of miles of urban riding on a set with no flats, but fast and light, they aren't.

Vittoria Randonneur (not Randonneur Pro) tires in 700-28 are very durable and near your price point. As above, fast and light they ain't. I have them on my Surly Pacer rain/utility bike and they have held up very well.

I like the Panaracers, but in a folding model.

I'd prefer the Randonneur Pro, which is the much lighter folding model, but it far exceeds the OP's price point.

In recent research I find these coming up frequently. I'd be excited to try them myself but I'm often seeing the "TG" recommended, although amazon points you to the "updated" tire which is the "PT". I dunno if that's true or not, but apparently the TG or PT option provides more flat protection(?)

The tire be which all others appears to be judge are the Conti gatorskins (though, not as cheap) but almost equally the GP4 or GP4 seasons (a little cheaper, especially when on sale)

I wish there was a "perfect" 700 x 28 tire cuz I think it could please the masses at this point.

The TG and PT versions add a Kevlar belt under the tread for added puncture resistance. But that adds a bit of cost and also makes the tire carcass a little stiffer so the ride isn't quite as smooth. So preference depends on how critical the flat protection is to you. For a commute bike where it's important to know that you'll arrive at a predictable time the extra protection is quite important. But for recreational riding, esp. in areas without many road hazards like goat heads and glass shards, I'd usually opt for the standard model without the extra TG/PT layer.

Panaracer Pasela

The PT and TG (TourGuard) models have an aramid fiber (Kevlar) belt built-in for extra flat protection. The standard Pasela doesn't have this belt, thus the sub-$20 price.

I just put some of the standard non-TG Paselas on an old Peugeot and they seem really nice for the price so far. I haven't ridden any real distance on them yet, though.

Paselas it is.

Thank you all so much, I'm going to give the Paselas a try. There were lots of good reviews, very few negative ones on this tire. Niagara has given me good customer service so I'm buying them from there.

This Forum is the smartest bunch of people in the bike world and I appreciate the advice more than you can imagine. I have 9 bikes all tolled, so price is an issue. 4 are projects. The newest bike is 21 years old. (It can vote and drink.) Thanks for being "not snyde" about my cheapskate-ness (if that's even a word).

i always carry a tube and CO2's. Usually I use them to help other riders in distress. Rarely have I had a flat myself. (Okay that was dumb. Knocking on wood now.)

Hopefully jodphoto will come back to this thread & give his own opinion as well, but I figured I'd give mine as I went ahead and got some too.

Easy-on. I replaced my Cannondale Quick 4's Kenda Kwick Trax tires (700x32) with these 700x28 Paselas. (regular not TG, as I wanted the fastest rolling version I could get and most reviews regarded the regulars as just as successful at resisting punctures as the TG's). The tires are sized appropriately and it only took 2 levers to slip off and hands-only to slip on with just a little resistance at the very end but I wouldn't want it any easier.

They don't have a range or max/min or anything other than...."Keep Inflated 105psi" which I thought was interesting. Nevertheless, that's where I put 'em. There's a bit of tread on them which I wish was more like a slick, but no worse than my Kwick Trax and as reviews said they roll fast, I tried to ignore it.

I went on a test ride Friday night and a group ride Saturday morning. First impressions are that there's definitely a slight cost in comfort (at least 28mm@105psi vs 32mm@85psi wise) but still a comfortable tire. I don't know if I can say I felt much speed increase but I definitely felt a "little" better climbing. On my Friday night test ride I pulled 1 more gear coming home than I usually do on my Kwick Trax 32's. Was that size, psi or style??? Or was it all 3?? I'm not sure.

My 20 mile group ride included tough hills, speedy descents and rough roads. No flats and they held the road well. For such a cheap tire, I did not go wrong with these, that's for sure.

Another vote for Paselas. Nice-riding tires that won't break the bank.

panaracer paselas are the highest performance tire i have used in that price range
but the more flat resistant tourguard model is a bit more expensive

we will, as typical, push the suggestions well past what the OP considers low priced . unless they say what they can afford.

Spouse and I have arguably too many bikes but this has given us a chance to try different tires.

My most expensive are tires on my 650 wheels, the problem was the rarity of the wheel size. I have Michelins on it now. They are OK. The nicest tires are Compass tires that are similar to the Panaracer Paselas but a bit lighter and nicer. They roll fast. I have 700 x 28s on the rear of my Terry. They get flats easy. One day my spouse was riding on his set and hit a rock that when flying. The tire bulged and we replaced it with a Panaracer Pasela. About about 3000 miles on the tire that bulged.

We also have standard Paselas, all of which are still low mileage but we are liking those tires and they are relatively inexpensive.

We also have some really cheap tires which are on some bikes that family rides. We picked up some slicks on Nashbar for less than ten dollars a tire All are still low mileage. They seem to ride OK. They look kind of cheap and are not the easiest to mount so that they look perfectly round. :)

My vote is for the Panaracer Paselas. The non-tourguard version is within the OP's price range from Niagara.

I've been riding Serfas Seca FPS (Flat Protection System) wire bead tires on my road bikes for about 1.5 years. They differ from many other 28s in that they can be pumped up to 130psi. They roll nice & fast. They are a bit higher priced than the OP stated; I got mine as a package deal from an eBay seller for $48 - 2 tires+tubes and free shipping.

Running 28mm tires at 130psi kind of defeats the purpose of having wider tires.

Yes, but that adds to their versatility. I don't HAVE to run them at 130psi. Even at that high pressure, they are much more comfortable than 23 or 25s.

Like many here, I bounce back and forth between the standard Randonneur, which I would trust for really long trips, and the Pasela, which is great for us easy-rolling snobs, most notable for simulating a much higher TPI count that its (I believe) 66. I get enough kick from the great road feel that I am still a bit torn between these two options. The wire-bead Pasela is great value but without the TG option, carry patches/tube/crisp dollar bills. Haha, I never get tired of this topic.

When I went to "skinny" tires for my hybrid, the LBS recommended those.
I was very disappointed with the number of frequent flats. I'd even have small pebbles embed in the tire and work their way through.
After 2 weeks I gave them away.

Michelin Dynamic Sport.
Available in 23, 25 and 28.

$18.00 per at Universal Cycles.

Excellent tire, I run 28s at 60 and 80 PSI F/R. Very comfortable.

Great thread.

It's been a few months since I made the original post.

My 700x28c Continental Ultra 2000's finally deteriorated to the point they were unsafe to ride. I bought Panaracer Paselas but they are so much taller that they hit the underside of the brake calipers. The bike had 25mm tires originally, the rims are 14mm, inside. I installed the 700x28 Contis and rode them for a long time. I also have a pair of older Performance branded 700x28 tires which fit also.

I guess I assumed that bike tires have a round cross section and that 28mm wide meant they were also 28mm tall. There are no specifications I've found on this. Does the tread add height or is it integral? Please keep in mind, I'm in the under $20 bracket. even if I visit my LBS, I would only be able to measure mounted tires.

Any overall wisdom which will help me find the next tire to try? Thanks so much.

I know the OP has made a choice, but for others reading this thread, Bontrager T2 Road is about $20 and a decent tire and I have a set on my adult step son's bike. For a bit more at $29 you can get the Bontrager H2 urban tire which is the tire I have on my wife's, daughter's, and both grandkids' bikes and have as backups for my touring bike.