Tire Advice
 

Hey guys - long time lurker, first time poster! I'm on the market for some new tires and just when I thought I made my selection, everything got called into question.

About me:

Bike: Specialized Globe Daily 1 commuter. Sample pic here, but I took off the basket. It does have fenders.

Use: Daily commute 365 days/year except in heavy rain and snow. Mostly in heavy Philly city traffic.

Current tires: Specialized Nimbus 700x28c. Not sure exact model, but the tread looks like this, which is labeled as Armadillo, but I can't find any other reliable listing for this tread as an Armadillo. They've held up okay for 4 years, and while there's still tread, they're starting to look like swiss cheese from all the punctures over the years and I'm getting flats every few weeks.

Where I need advice:

Model: Have honed in on the following, but still not sure.

• Schwalbe Marathon Plus: originally my top choice, but a friend tells me they ride heavy and are really tough to get on.
• Vittoria Randonneur Pro: reco'd by LBS, but they had very limited options. Heard these have pretty weak sidewalls.
• Schwalbe Marathon Supreme: might be my new favorite given the smoother, but existent, tread. Also heard they may be difficult to put on.
• Specialized Nimbus: mostly in consideration since I've been riding with them and am relatively happy, but not sure if I'm missing out since it's all I've ridden. Also not sure the exact model since I can't seem to find my exact model online.

Size: Planned to get 700x28c's but was advised to go bigger if possible to help reduce rolling resistance. My fenders have a tiny bit of wiggle room, but not sure how much bigger I can go based on that and the rim size -- Zx1000 622x20's (came stock with bike, can't find any info on them online).

Features I'm looking for:

• Moderate tread for general grip and when riding in light rain/snow
• Somewhat lower rolling resistance - don't want to feel like I'm riding on hockey pucks
• Great puncture resistance
• Easy to put on/off - don't want to wrestle with levers for an hour
• Durability/quality - would like something that will last a few years and price isn't too important
• Bonus - reflective sidewalls (totally optional)

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

The Schwalbe Marathon Supreme should do everything you're looking for. They are pricey though. Don't worry about difficulty mounting tires....modern touring tires, especially those, are indestructible. I'd say the next time you'll have to remove them would be in 5 years. You might not get a flat before then.

If you want something a bit faster and more comfy, I really like the Vittoria Voyager Hypers. You'd be sacrificing a bit of flat protection though.

If you are considering Marathons you should read this... and other articles on the same site about the other tires you are considering.
Schwalbe Marathon 32, 37, 40, 47 Comparison

Thanks, I did come across that site in my initial research, which led me to lean towards the Marathon Supreme over the Plus. Based on your Marathon link comparing sizes, it sounds like bigger doesn't necessarily mean better, but the model they compare is the base Marathon (not Supreme or Plus) and all the sizes are much larger than I'm considering, so I wasn't sure if it applies across models/sizes.

The tires you have now are not Armadillos unless they have the word "Armadillo" somewhere on the tire.

Armadillos offer fantastic flat protection, but that protection comes at the cost of reduced comfort -- especially if run at higher inflation pressures. They're damned near bullet proof, but can ride stiff unless the pressure is low.

Not trying to bash the Armadillos (I run them on my bikes, low pressure), just want to put out the whole "flat protection vs comfort" issue.


-Kedosto

Supremes are indeed Supreme, if you can afford them. I have Supremes in 700x50, and I like them OK, I've had them on for about 7000 miles and will probably get anoter 2K out of them. I don't want to pay that price again though, so I will probably replace them with Schwalbe Hurricanes, which cost a lot less, and would give me some more aggressive side-tread, because I take my crosscheck out on dirt sometimes.

I would also recommend going up to 32 if you can fit it. Check your fender struts to see whether they can be scooted out a skosh

That site doesn't seem to have marathon supremes which are the really good ones.

Schwalbe Marathon Supreme Rolling Resistance Review

There's a whole touring tire section down at the bottom of the page.

Wow they have a 'big one' I never heard of that, I wonder if it's like a Big Apple but tubeless friendly?

If you were basically satisfied with the Specialized Nimbus tires, there's also a Nimbus Armadillo with the added puncture resistant shield.

And I'll put in a plug for my favorite reliable tires, Michelin Protek Cross Max. Those are the heaviest and most puncture resistant, and also often the most heavily discounted -- as little as $20 each occasionally, presumably because some folks don't want to ride with tires that weigh 900-1,100 gr, depending on width.

I put 2,000-2,500 miles on a pair over the past year on my Globe Carmel (Alex Z-1000 622x22 front rim; I replaced the rear with a Weinmann double wall rim and heavier gauge spokes) and never had a puncture flat. Even when shards of glass and roofing nails cut through the heavy duty tread it never punctured the shield (which appears to be a yellow fabric). I recently rotated the pair of tires front and back and inspected them carefully -- there were several slashes, and I used tweezers to pick out a lot of razor thin shards of glass and metal, but nothing penetrated the puncture shield. The only flats I had occurred after a year and turned out to be due to the tube extruding through the nipple holes in the double wall rim through the thin rubber rim strip. I replaced that with Velox or Nashbar cloth tape.

But the Michelin Protek Max is lighter, with less aggressive tread, and the same 5mm puncture shield. And they have a new version of their Urban tire with two options in puncture shields. Bike Tires Direct and Amazon often discount these.

That's a very interesting article. I've been skeptical about their testing methodology, but the results with the Marathon tires are definitely showing something. It looks like the 700x32 they got may have been an outlier in terms of manufacturing. The thicker sidewall (thicker than the 700x37 they tested) would go a long way toward explaining why it didn't perform as well as the wider Marathons. I wish they'd ask Schwalbe for another 700x32 to test with.

There has been a lot of discussion recently, largely spurred by Jan Heine's findings, about wider tires being faster, but if you actually dig into what he's saying you find that he's specifically talking about supple tires and he says the effect goes away and even reverses for tires with stiff sidewalls. The BRR tests are exactly the sort that Heine seems to think are missing an important part of the picture, but the results here are consistent with what I would have expected based on Heine's explanation of the wide tire effect.

It's half the puzzle. Drum tests will always say more pressure in a given tire is faster, because the tire distends less. Heine says less pressure is faster than rolling resistance tests alone would imply, because it provides suspension.
Most recently https://janheine.wordpress.com/2016/...ses-confirmed/

FWIW, I like fat tires and I cannot lie

Marathon Plus v. Vittoria Rando Pro
 

I've used the marathon plus and the Vittoria rando pro. Both are exceptionally flat resistant. I put 3100 miles on my first set of Vittoria's without a single flat, and that is on very rough, glass-strewn city streets. I had no trouble with side wall cuts. I'm on my second set now -- 400 miles in and no flats. I think they ride pretty well too, not cushy, but definitely comfortable. I briefly used a set of Vittoria Voyager Hypers and was amazed at how fast they were, but after six flats in 1600 miles, I ditched them.

The Schwalbe marathon pluses are on my IGH Dutch bike where a flat would be a major pain in the backside! They have about 3000 miles on them and look like new. They don't even show any tread wear. Pumped up to 85 psi they are pretty harsh to ride, but get more comfortable as the pressure falls closer to 70 or lower. I had to take them off once and found them *very* hard to get back on. Once I put the Kool Stop tire bead jack on them, though, they went on okay. They good thing is that you are so unlikely to get a flat and they last so long, that you don't have to worry about installing them too often.

Cannot believe that these have not been mentioned. Continental City Ride. Like $20-25 per tire at the LBS. Offers enough of what the OP wants. I have them on two of my bikes and they have been great so far. That is only the flash of my cellphone lighting up the highly reflective sidewalls. No issue taking that bike up to the mid 20mph range on those tires either.

http://i.imgur.com/BzZfRcl.jpg

I have the older Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 700x40 where the tread looks like crescent moon. Still, the tread is minimal and it would be wrong to think of them as anything other than a fat slick.

The tread is very puncture resistant against stuff like glass. I've had three flats, 2 from screws, and one from hitting a big pointy rock off roading. Yes, they're slick, but if you are careful, you can go on dirt with them. Maybe 10 000 miles on my tires so far and still going.

Installation is easy, dunno who says it is difficult to mount. Maybe the newer ones are different because they are tubeless ready. Pretty sure I just put them on my with bare hands without much issue.

The Marathon Supreme is expensive. Light and durable can both be cheap, but together it is expensive. The 40mm size is about half the weight of the Marathon Plus. I look at it as buying time because I've had so few flats on these tires. The Marathon Supreme has all Schwalbe's newest or best technologies so avant garde can be expensive too. In a prior iteration of this tire I think there were ceramic bits in the protection layer that blunts glass to prevent flats but this technology was not sustainable due to lack of suppliers for the ceramic stuff.

I think the Vittoria Randonneur Pro may be discontinued since I don't see them on the website any longer. If you get Randonneurs, ensure to get the pro version with folding bead and higher thread per inch.

I've heard good things about Panaracer Ribmo and Tserv though I have not used those myself.

Check out the Schwalbe delta cruiser. I have been very happy with mine, I think they meet most of your criteria, no problems getting them on/off and they are inexpensive. I also had the panaracer tservs and they were light, easy to mount and roll well but I didn't find them as comfortable.

YMMV, I guess. I took my Delta Cruisers off and traded them for the Voyager Hypers like the ones that Giant Doofus didn't like. I couldn't believe how much better they rode: lighter, faster, smoother. I have a heart bug, and favor low rolling resistance.

I thought Randonneur Pros and Voyager Hypers were the same tire, just a name change in there? Or I'm confused...wouldn;t be the first time.

Voyager Hyper used to be Rando Hyper. Rando Pro is the folding version of the Rando. That's what I think I know, anyhow, but it's all just based on reading the Internet.

Interwebs don't lie, I'm sure you're right. :rolleyes:

Hmm, reminds of of conti touring tires I used to have. Schwalbe page is weird; what size is 40-635? Otherwise widest is 37?

English, Dutch, Chinese, Indian Rod-brake roadsters
(Also marked F10, F25, 700 B)
Tire Sizing Systems

While not quite as bomb-proof as the Marathon Supreme, the Marathon Original is pretty darn durable at a fraction of the cost. I've been using them for years without any flats. No trouble mounting them either.

Also, buy your tires from the UK as they're way cheaper there: wiggle.com | Schwalbe Marathon Original GreenGuard Rigid Road City Tire | Hybrid & Touring Tires

Good luck!

Totally different tires. The Hyper is a smooth, fast road tire. The Rando pro is a folding version of the Rando, with a higher TPI count. The rando pro has a much deeper tread than the Voyager hyper and also has a much thicker layer of rubber (hence,the much better puncture protection).