Disappointed with tires
 

Decided to go for a new look and feel regarding rubber on my Surly LHT. Was running 700 X 35 tan sidewall Paselas (for two years) and felt they were a bit big and slow so thought I'd go with 32s in black for a change. Bought and mounted Conti Contacts today. Instead of 32 they measure 29 (Paselas are always true to size or better) and the ride is on the hard side. Have always loved Continentals, have Grand Prix Four Seasons on my Lemond Zurich which I will never change unless they completely wear out. Also have "brownwall" 27" Sports on another bike.
I feel like I've been shortchanged by Continental. These Contacts (made in India) are dogs. I might be able to use them on a future build but they're coming off the Surly tomorrow. Goodbye $$$$$$$$

I have 27 x 1 1/4" Pasela Tourguards on my touring bike. Lovely ride. As much as we all fan boy those tires they really ARE good. :)

Have 27 X 1-1/8 Pasela TGs on my '83 Fuji Royale II. Gorgeous ride and handling!

Paselas always run bigger than other tires.

I have never been impressed by Continentals, and after a nasty experience with Continental GPs, I am sticking with Paselas.

you can get paselas in 32/black if you want to give those a shot.

I tried Conti Ultras on my bike last year and didn't care for them at all, they seemed to constantly pick up sand and stuff and pelt my shins with it.

Switched to Panaracers and love them, I have them in sizes ranging from 700x28 on my sons bike, 27x1 1/8 on the wifes and my backup and 700x32s on my prime bike.

I really like the Pasela's but I'm running Conti Gatorskins right now, and they are great as well.

Dissenting opinion here on Pasela TG 32s: wooden ride in my opinion, measure only 30 mm wide on 23 mm wide rim. I much prefer the non-TG 35s I've replaced them with. Also, bought a set of Jack Green Browns from RivBike recently (not mounted yet), and they have a much more supple (skin) wall; manufactured by the same people, I think. I bought a set of "lightly used" Continental Contact tires of some sort from a BOB list fellow, and was not impressed enough to use the one that came usable (the other had a bead torn) -- it had a hideous tread pattern, I couldn't figure out what they were thinking. Like IsleRide, I like the set of Conti Grand Prix 4000s that's on my son's SS, though a bit narrow for my taste.

My paselas-700/25 are 19mm thick!!That's with a caliper.

I'm surprised by the measurement on the 32s. I've always thought that most Panaracer products were true to size. Thought about getting the Jack Browns but I started to lose interest in Riv products when they started to name frames and such after obscure persona. Also, fell off my chair laughing a few years ago when they published an article in The Reader showing mounting fenders on a racing frame with the fenders going OVER the brake bridge. BUT, the JBs are supposed to measure 33 so they are a possibility, but I was looking to get away from the tan sidewalls this time.

I really like the "parquet" tread pattern on Rivendell's tires. Tread on bike road tires is a load of crap anyway; I wish most mfgrs still made slicks, they're the tires with the best "feel" I've ever ridden, no matter what the width.

Both of my sets have measured ~35mm. I've been using Challenge Parigi-Roubaix tires that measure 29mm. They feel great, but I've had three flats in less than 200 miles. I've never had a flat with any Panaracer tire that had an aramid belt.

One of my new new Panaracer Pasela TGs flatted this morning, with 290 miles on it(A tiny piece of wire). Other than that they are really nice tires, and I will surely buy them again.