Puncture Resistant Tires
 

I'm currently riding on a pair of 700x23 Panasonic Panaracer Pasela tires but picked up a tiny thorn the other day that required a inner tube change before I could carry-on my route. I don't want this to happen again so I'm looking to update the tires to something a little more sturdy and puncture resistant. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Schwalbe Marathon Pus but they only come in 25c or larger.

I have been using 700x28 Specialized Armadillo tires for almost 7 years on my commuter. They come in a variety of sizes, including 700x23. I have not tried any other flat resistant tires and thus cannot do any kind of relative comparison.

Fixing a flat on my commute is just about the last thing that I want to do. The Armadillos are not perfect. I still get flats, but the flats are usually slow leaks that I do not notice until the next morning. Although thorns are not a particular problem in my locale, I have had pieces of glass and thin metal wires (probably from damaged steel belted auto tires) that work themselves through the tire into the tube. Doing a better job checking what might be embedded in the outer surface of the tire and removing it promptly would probably help.

I get about an average of about 2500 miles per tire - a little more on the front and a little less on the back. They are not cheap and can only be bought at Specialized dealers, so I keep an eye on prices and buy a couple when I see them on sale.

I'm trying to imagine how a Marathon Plus in 25mm has room for any air inside

I had 3100 miles on a set of Vittoria Randonneurs with no flats. I just swapped them out because the tread on the rear tire had worn down. That was 3100 miles of mostly very rough city streets with lots of debris on the roadway. My other bike has Schwalbe Marathon Pluses. I've also never had a flat on those.

drmfunky, you will find a wide range of tires to suit whatever your perceived need. There are premium tires with no, little, some, plenty, or overkill armor, with the tire compound also getting stiffer as the armor goes up. There are also cheap tires in most of the same choices (maybe not the heaviest armor). You will have these choices from every major brand.

For example just from Conti's top roadie line you have
Grand Prix TT with no armor
Grand Prix 4000 SII with a little armor
Grand Prix 4 Season with more armor
Gatorskin with plenty of armor
Gator Hardshell with overkill armor

And this is just standard roadie tires not counting niches like tubeless or touring or gravel

Rolling resistance and armor go up at the same time, it makes the tire slower. Cheaper tires are also slower because they have fewer but bigger cords in the carcass and cheaper/less fancy rubber compounds, making them stiffer; and may have wire beads that make them heavier.

That made me laugh!

OP, I would suggest you also consider a pair of liners. I have had very good success with Mr Tuffy's, there are other brands as well. For less than the cost of a pair of tires, you get liners that can be reused in unlimited sets of tires. Many people have reported problems with the liners causing flats by the squared-off ends rubbing, but it has never been a problem for me.

I recommend you get a whole new bike. No tires are going to be 100% thorn proof, but 23mm road tires are always going to be the most vulnerable, and you probably won't be able to fit 37mm tires in your current bike.

+1 tire liners. I have Mr. Tuffy's in all three of my bikes. I cut them to fit with minimal overlap and rounded the edges myself. I did have them in when I was running 23s on the roadbike. I now run 28s, can't remember if I bought new liners for the new size.

Panaracer also makes a Pasela Tourguard, which is more puncture-resistant.

Continental Gator Skin, Schwalbe Marathon are good puncture resistant tyres.

Punctures are a normal thing. They will happen with puncture resistant tyres as well. When it's dark, raining and you're away from home. :) Always carry a spare tube and a patch kit.

The wider the tyre, the lower the pressure, the less chance of sharp objects puncturing it. Best way to avoid punctures is watching where you're riding as much as possible and having lower pressure, wider tyres. Anything below 6 bars is pretty much resistant to sharp rocks and even glass (in most cases). Anything below 4 bars (that would call for 37 mm tyres, so not possible for road bikes) is pretty much bomb proof, even when using regular, not puncture resistant tyres.

Puncture resistant tyres ride more harshly. I'd use them if I rode regularly through roads full of thorns or glass, so it's not possible to avoid them. Otherwise, not worth the comfort penalty, IMO.

If I have one complaint about Panaracer Paselas, it's those stupid sipes in the tread. They're not arranged in a way that would make the tread rubber significantly more flexible, but they do make it easy for thorns and small rocks to get lodged in and puncture the tire. Once my current ones wear out, I'm going to Fairweather Travelers or Grand Bois Cerf Greens. Those have a tread pattern as well, but it's not nearly as deep.

I like how the Pasela rides quite a lot, but if you need a tough tire, it doesn't seem like the best choice. The sidewall is pretty delicate.

Generally I don't care about puncture resistance, but I understand those who do. I've been riding Vittoria Voyager Hyper which is a puncture resistant tire, and I'm pretty impressed. For all the weight and bulk, they ride really nicely. I don't feel a penalty from the puncture resistant layer. The only caveat is that they run much wider than rated. Buy the size lower than you think you need. Plus they have reflective sidewalls, and that can't hurt at all.

Is that the gooey, smelly version of the Marathon Plus?

It's their non-patent-infringing version of Slime. :lol:

Yeah, they ride smooth but I got the tiniest thorn lodged into the tire and it was game over. The little booger was probably a cm long and flattened the tire in no time.

Gatorskins 700x 25mm all the way. They're bulletproof, smooth, and affordable. My last set of 700x23 gatorskins lasted through years of NYC commuting with barely one flat. I just bought 700x25s for my new vintage bike and they're smooth as butter. I rode through a pile of broken glass today with no problem.

Yeah, I was going to say - you can go for the Tourguard (or TG) version and get flat protection.
Or their next tire model up is the Panaracer TServ, which I always liked and used before my current tires.

Nowadays I ride Continental gp4000's on all my road bikes. If you order them from Amazon they're $45-$55 / tire. They're not cheap, but they have both faster and grippier tires which is pretty cool. They have good flat protection to. I don't know how to rate them since I haven't really gotten any flats on the outside of my tires with either the tservs or the gp4000's.

I'm running Tannus Flatfree tires on my winter commuter. Some notes are in this thread.

http://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...olid-tire.html

They're a major pain to install, at least the first couple one mounts. I think they are a little slippery when wet. Also slightly higher rolling resistance (not the biggest issue for a commuter). I've now got a couple thousand trouble-free miles, and am looking forward to many more flat-free miles.

However, summer riding is much less stressful on the tires, so I have pneumatic tires on all the other bikes I tend to ride in the sunshine.

I did pretty well with my Origin8 Elimin8er tires. A couple of incidents, but nothing major. I ground them down way past what should have been the wear mark, and they kept going.

I now have a Gator Harshell on the rear of my road bike and a GP 4 Seasons on the front. I did rip a hole in the sidewall of the hardshell which is now booted and patched. That is one of the potential weaknesses of the tire. But the road crack I did it in was pretty bad.

Schwalbe Durano Plus .... has Schwalbe's puncture rating of 6 (the same as Schwalbe Marathon Plus)

there is no better road tyre than this as far as puncture resistance is concerned.... they are bombproof

They last long, roll well and most importantly, they grip very well in wet aswell as dry (unlike Gator's)

Durano Plus - Schwalbe Professional Bike Tires

I just got back from my LBS and now have a pair of Gatorskins! The ride was just as smooth as with my previous tires.

Not to mention the Urban Max and the Ribmo, which are both even more puncture resistant.

Recently put a set of the Panaracer TServ 26x1.25 on one of my bikes. On a Velocity Aeroheat rim, measured width is 28mm. Nice ride so far.

Both of these are nice tires. Had a string of the Urban Max tires when Performance Bike carried them for $25. Great deal. One set of Ribmo's in 28's too. Very nice tires for steel road bike.

Vittoria Revolution G+ Reflective City Tire

Give these a shot if you can fit 28's or larger.