KD5NRH

Got CST Corporal 700Cx32s right now, and liking the price point, but I do occasionally find a puncture from a staple or other object that might well be turned away by a tougher tire. They seem to be wearing well, though at 50-75 miles a week I'm not exactly testing hard, (though it is partly on Texas chipseal) and I love the added side visibility of the reflective sidewalls at night.

Any recommendations on a reflective best suited to road use (mostly asphalt, about 3 miles a day of truly awful worn chipseal) in an area with lots of puncture hazards? There's about a mile of my commute that's along the main highway between the edge of town and the turnoff to the dump, and another half mile to the scrapyard, so it's heavily sprinkled with all sorts of random crap that fell off people's trailers. (Still trying to figure out the roughly 6" somewhat cubical chunk of solid steel I dodged a few times before kicking it into the grass.)

dim

Schwalbe Marathon Plus (but get the folding version as the sidewalls are stronger)

I don't think that you will find any better IMHO

ph0rk

Conti Tour RIDEs come in 32c and with a reflective strip, don't they? Pretty sure you can ride through pile of cubed auto glass no problem. I did this morning, anyway (Although in 42c).

I think the colorway is called black/black reflex, Amazon is out of stock at the moment, but Conti claims they're out there.

aggiegrads

Panaracer t-serv protex. outstanding grip, durable, puncture resistant, and reasonably fast. All sizes available with reflective sidewall.

Jaywalk3r

Can you please elaborate or provide a link? I've never heard this before and I'd like to learn more.

To the OP, I put over 25,000 miles on my Kevlar belted original Marathons, with only four punctures for the pair over that distance. I replaced them with Green Guard (original) Marathons, mostly because I had a brand new pair in the garage. If I were to buy a pair with which to replace them, I'd probably go with Marathon Plus.

kickstart

Schwalbe marathon plus for the best longevity and puncture protection, marathon green guard for a balance of puncture protection, with minimal rolling resistance.

Moe Zhoost

Just replaced my tires with Marathon Plus 32's. I have about 500 miles on them and like them very much

But its me 

Another vote for Marathon Plus. No punctures in my over four months of daily commuting through all sorts of debris. Reflective sidewall works, to my surprise.

PaulH

Marathon Plus with Mr. Tuffy. Same tire life and miles between punctures as my car tires.

canklecat

Michelin Protek Cross Max -- if you can find 'em. This tire may have been discontinued and was heavily discounted the past few months, usually well under $25 apiece. When Bike Tires Direct still had 'em in 700x32 to 700x40 (my size) they were $16-$20 apiece.

Here's my review from last November.

My riding around Fort Worth sounds like your riding conditions. After six months on the Michelins I'd still recommend them enthusiastically, assuming the rider doesn't mind somewhat heavy tires in exchange for excellent puncture resistance and grip. For my Globe Carmel comfort/hybrid (already a 30 lb bike), I can't imagine a better tire for all around use. I've ridden 'em dry and wet, paved, gravel, grass and mud, up hill and down. I'm not a fast or tricky rider but appreciate the stability and security.

The only caveat: Don't over-inflate this tire! If anything it's better somewhat under-inflated. Every credible report of dissatisfaction I've read about Michelin tires, on Bike Forums and Amazon, came from riders who admitted to over-inflating their tires, sometimes to dangerous extremes, usually resulting in sidewall cracking and failure.

Even at the recommended pressure for my weight (Michelin suggests 75 psi for my 165 lb weight) the tires feel over-inflated. The ride is rough, jittery, unstable and no faster. Last month I tried the tires at 70-75 psi and twice had minor falls when transitioning between grass/gravel and the paved path on my local MUP. The tires rebounded like Superballs off the 1/2" to 1" concrete ledge.

Before and since that experience, I've run the Michelins at 50-60 psi on the front, 60-65 psi on the rear, and had no problems. It handles tricky ruts and cracks running the same direction as the tires. On rough gravel and open fields I'll reduce pressure to 40-50 psi. No problems with pinch flats. No flats at all, on the same roads and trails that flatted my Specialized Hemisphere tires four times in one month last fall.

I'd buy 'em again, but it appears Michelin has discontinued this particular model. Excellent value if you can still find a set.

09box

Marathon's seem to be a tough tire to beat. I might try a pair out one of these days..

jrickards

I have Continental Contact that came with my Kona Sutra and I have about 8,000km on the front (the rear was worn down last year after about 6,000km) and the front tire is doing fine. Only one (rear) puncture, ran over a nail. I have Schwalbe too, a Marathon Green Guard (700x37) on the back of my Kona now and when it is wet, because it seems to be a tougher and harder rubber, I can spin out (braking and accelerating) on wet streets so I personally wouldn't put them on the front. If I don't need to before then, I'll replace both with new Continentals but I haven't decided which model.

dim

if you want a tyre a bit thinner that has very good puncture resistance, and that rolls faster than schwalbe marathon plus, and offers the same puncture resistance as Marathon plus ....

get Schwalbe Durano plus in 700Cx28 (with the reflective strip)

there are a few durano models, but the Plus is the one to get.... I'm on my second set now but I use the 700cX25 .... brilliant tyres, grip well in wet or dry aswell and last a very long time with no punctures (touch wood)

fietsbob

Green guard is like a Mr Tuffy but in the tread so it does not wear leaks in your tube

KD5NRH

Sounds like the Marathon Plus is the way to go here.

I can't imagine why any tire manufacturer wouldn't offer every tire with reflective sidewalls, though. Since they're already putting logos and such on the sidewall, it can't be more than a few cents per tire to add the strip, especially for the makers that offer other tires with it, (I'm looking at you, Continental. There's no reason a Gatorskin can't have what a Touring Plus does.) and I don't think more than .05% of riders (hardcore ninjas) would avoid a tire because it has the strip, while having it seems like a pretty good selling point for any buyer who ever rides at night.

Moe Zhoost

Check out this video about how Schwalbe tires are made. Adding the reflective strip cannot take more than a few seconds.

Medic Zero

+1

Also: Vittoria Randoneur tires. Reflective sidewall, even more durable than the vaunted Panaracers. For some reason the Vittorias don't seem well known, but they've served me fantastically for years on several bikes.

Neither of the above tires are as heavy as the Marathons I tried, and the Vittorias are often much cheaper. They are regularly on sale at Nashbar.

Bike Hermit

As far as I know the Marathon Plus is not made in a folding version.

KonAaron Snake 

In 3 years and 2.5 sets of tires, on a tandem, marathon plus had 0 flats. On a tandem. They've seen gravel, debris...you name it.

dim

you are correct .... they only come in wired

wsgts

+1

KD5NRH

And another flat today. Haven't stopped to patch it yet, but the last one was a failed glueless patch, which I replaced with a glued patch yesterday. Held for the ride home, was fine this morning for the ride in, then an hour later I noticed my tire is flat again. May give up and put the Presta-valved spare tube in and retire the current Schrader-valved one if the glued patch has failed too. Hate keeping up with that silly adapter, though.

So far, the puncturing objects I've found were pretty reasonable. (Chunk of a heavy duty box-type staple, piece of wire about the diameter and stiffness of a sewing needle, finish nail, etc. Not getting torn up by bits of glass or thorns.) Not sure how much it would actually help to go to a tougher tire, but these CSTs will eventually feel the grind of the chipseal, and I'll have to order something in. Sounds like Marathon Plus is winning unless something happens to be on sale when I get ready to order.

HardyWeinberg

My commute devours lesser tires but marathon supremes have been up to the challenge and are a lot nicer than regular marathons or marathon pluses. They do have reflective sidewalls and come in 32s.

mercator

I sincerely doubt there is any tire that will withstand a construction staple or finishing nail and still provide a reasonable quality of ride.
Conversely, if chip and seal roads are causing flats, you definitely need better tires.

On the quality side, I'll second the recommendation of Vittoria Randoneur.

RubeRad

Google is your friend.

If you believe they are disappearing, stock up now