Hi,

I commute to college and between classes every day and looking to possibly get a pair of tires in the 700 x 25 size. I bike fairly aggressively and I've eaten it quite a few times. This is usually from my tires locking or slipping on turns or hitting pot holes and sand. I was looking into continental gatorskins. What would be the difference between the folding tire and wire bead? That aside I'm open to any suggestions. I want something with good traction that will last me a long time.

Thanks,
Bleumeon

i use gatorskins and i'm quite happy with them. over gravel or sand they don't do well, esp. on banking turns. i'm not sure any tires would be great for those conditions, i would imagine you might what knobby cyclocross tires and they'd work better, but i don't have the experience to lend.

Folding tires are significantly lighter weight as well as more expensive. Otherwise, not much difference.

If you love hitting potholes, jumping curbs, etc, then I would go for something bigger than 25mm. What is the widest tire that your bike can handle?

I've been using Specialized Espoir Sport tires for a year, now. I really dig them.

They claim to have the same protection as the Specialized Armadillos (which I have used with great success), but they are lighter and provide a more supple ride.

#1 - work on your cornering. Follow through when you turn. If going through sand, if you need to scrub speed, do it before you hit it (though the sand will scrub speed off for you). Just think of it like driving in snow or mud. Don't add or subtract power/speed during your turn or in gravel/sand. We have a lot of sand where I live (like, a lot. Where does it all come from???) and I always find myself riding through it.
#2 - If you can go wider with your tires, go wider. Wider tires = lower pressure = better traction

Why are your wheels locking up?

I don't use Contis. I've heard so many mixed things about Gatorskins and their traction (or, lack of). Personally I prefer Panaracer, or Clement or Vittoria tires.

I'd have to check. Would putting on wider tires require different rims?

Perhaps locking up is not the right term? I mean when I lose traction and skid instead of my wheels rotating.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus - good traction, supple ride, great flat prevention

Specialized Armadillo - great flat prevention, ride is a bit harsh, traction is so-so in comparison to Marathon Plus

Continental Gatorskin - good traction, flat prevention not as good as Marathon Plus or Armadillo, ride is not quite as nice as marathon plus (however, I have the 25 gatorskins on my road bike and 28 marathon plus on my commuter - it could be that the wider tire makes the ride nicer on the marathon plus, and not necessarily the tire itself.)

My favorite commuting tire is the Marathon Plus.

Are you squeezing the brakes with a death grip? Emergency braking happens, but you will find much better results if you modulate your braking. I don't think there are any tires that will help with that. That's more of a technique thing. Oh, also meant to say don't be afraid of completely slick tires. You might not think it, but they usually have superior traction.

Wider tires will not require different rims. I like to use 32s on my commuter, and the rims are standard run of the mill road bike rims.

Come for the advice, stay for the admonition...

I haven't worn out any tires fast enough to really try all the others being recommended.

Here's some deep thoughts on treads, which is from a famous retrogrouch but which I buy pretty well. Bike tires don't hydroplane but they banana-peel just fine, a little bit of tread can help.

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2016/...nt-stick-well/

My go-to training/commuting tires are Michelin Pro4Endurance. Very supple, very reliable, good cornering. The 25mm size inflates to nearly 27mm though, so that can be an issue on some bikes. The Michelin Lithion is almost as good, and very inexpensive. I have also had good luck with Maxxis Refuse and Serfas Seca Sport. These two are pretty heavy, but very tough and long wearing.

Schwalbe Durano plus: Wiggle | Schwalbe Durano Plus Performance Rigid Road Tyre | Road Race Tyres

or Schwalbe Marathon Plus .... Wiggle | Schwalbe Marathon Plus Smartguard Rigid Road Tyre | City Tyres

Both give good grip in dry and wet, and both have excellent puncture protection .... and both are cheap

Gators have weak sidewalls from what I have read?

https://www.amazon.com/Schwalbe-Marat...op?ie=UTF8#Ask (wrong link previously, was changed somehow)

Is this the same marathon plus tire mentioned and linked in the thread?

Fast + Great Grip = Continental gp4000's.
Longest Lasting + Best Puncture Protection = Schwalbe Marathon Plus

Gatorskins haven't had a great reputation for great grip in odd conditions.

For potholes the solution is a wider tire. Like, 40c wide. A lot of road bikes won't handle a wider tire though.
For sand there's no big solution other that looking for sand and not hitting it. A wider tire helps some because some of the tire might be in contact with ground with no sand on it.

it not your size. .. it would fit my Bike Friday, Though..

Also consider working on your cornering and bunnyhopping.

Don't touch the brakes when cornering. Sometimes pedaling through a turn will improve traction. For sand and gravel sometimes you just need to slow down.

A tire with minimal tread will give you the best traction on pavement. No tire really handles loose gravel well, but if it's just a bit of gravel a smooth tire with good grip can sometimes re-grab the pavement after you've slipped a little.

The Conti GP 4 Seasons has great grip, even in wet conditions, but is pretty expensive. The GP4000S is also a very good tire and is available with a reflective sidewall (very useful if you ride at night). If you order them from UK websites the price isn't so bad.

My commuting bike is a vilano tuono. Does anyone know if it will accommodate 28 mm tires?


I contacted Vilano and they said the bike would accept 28 mm tires. Right now I'm looking at continental GP 4 seasons in 28 mm size. It is rather expensive so I'll probably wait to summer or the end of my quarter to buy and swap em out.

Schwalbe Marathons are heavy, great in the rain, and last forever. I have had one puncture flat in 8 years of daily commuting (I am on my second pair, got more than 5K outta my first set.)

Panaracer Tservs. Relatively light and good flat protection.

I've picked up some Gatorskins in 32 and have been very happy with them. My first experience with the Gatorskins. I had been using Michelin Pro4 Endurance for a while, but started having a rash of flats for some reason even though the tread looked good and I could not find anything in the casing. So I opted to change tires instead. the Pro4's rode great though, was very happy with them.

Panaracer Paselas w/Tourguard or Schwalbe Marathons.

I have a similar question. I currently have Schwable Sammy Slicks ( Sammy Slick HS 414 | Schwalbe North America ). I like these tires alot as I often hit some off-road trails after work. A rash of punctures through the tread, including an annoying week and a half with a annoying sliver of glass lodged in the tire tread that I did not spot. I want something that can handle a tiny sliver of glass no matter what angle I hit it at.

I'm thinking of switching to the Marathon Plus Tour (Marathon Plus Tour HS 404 | Schwalbe North America) or the Marathon Mondial (Marathon Mondial HS 428 | Schwalbe North America). These are rated the same as the Sammy Slicks for off-road use-- 3 1/2 squares-- but I'm worried without the knobbies they may not be able to handle beginner/intermediate singletrack I take sometimes. Does anyone have any experience with these tires?

Staying within ones skill level is usually the best place to start. Tires won't solve the issues raised.

I don't like the grip on the Marathon Pluses. I hit a patch of wet gravel with these and went sliding. I've got a new set of Mondials that seem to have better grip - won't know for sure until I finish recovering from the fall caused by the Pluses (screwed up my knee for the last 3 weeks).