My bike is a 2011 Jamis Bosanova with 28mm Vittoria Randonneur Cross tires. I am not sure how wide of a tire my bike can handle, but I believe it will go up to 35mm with fenders. I’m a bigger rider (250 lbs on a good day), and the bike has disc brakes, if those are relevant. I am looking for advice on new tires to serve 3 purposes:

1. Comfort. I’m just curious how much more comfortable my ride might be with wider tires without sacrificing too much speed/ease of pedaling.

2. Winter commuting. I have just begun to commute to work 8 miles each way near Washington DC. I would like to continue to commute by bike as many days as possible through the winter. I expect to ride through a lot of rain, several days below freezing, and perhaps some light snow. I won’t do anything too heroic by riding through heavy snow, but I may need to ride on days when pavement was wet during the day but freezes by the time I head home in the dark.

3. Tour from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. In the spring, I plan on riding from Pittsburgh to Washington DC on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and the C&O Towpath. I believe the GAP is relatively smooth but the Towpath can get bumpy and muddy. I’ve read recommendations for tire widths of at least 35mm, but I’m not sure what type of tire might be best.

So, a couple of specific questions:

Can one tire do all of the above, or should I consider multiple sets of tires? (I do plan to use the 28mm tires I have for commuting in the nicer weather.)

Should I plan on buying another wheelset or rely on swapping tires as needed?

Thanks in advance for any and all help you provide

More expensive high thread count casings give you a supple 'comfortable' ride But they are puncture prone..

the features that increase puncture resistance are stiffening up the ride and making the tire heavier..

so, realistically, no one tire conquers them all , in all categories..

ice on the road makes studded tires a thing..





....

What do you want? Price, speed, puncture protection, smooth ride, durability, forgiving, weight?

Bigger tires can be a lot faster than small tires - the one exception being weight. for example, I have a 60mm tire that has less rollling resistance than any of my 23-28mm race tires. Go figure. The down side is weight - heavier tires are just slow to accelerate. Still, at 15mph, they are hard to beat speed/effort wise.

So, if you are not concerned about weight, get the biggest tire you can fit on your frame. 35mm is a nice side (and yes, it is easier to put large tires on a bike with disk brakes, since you don't have to worry about caliper clearance).

Tread does slow a tire down a lot on the road, so I like slicks or semi-slicks for commuting

I have gone down fast and hard with ZERO warning on black ice. Really, stay home or get studded tires. Something simple like a sprained ankle (or worse) just isn't worth it.

I like having a second set of wheels. Nashbar has some well priced stuff. Then again, I also like tubeless at 35mm or wider.


I've seen people get really nice race tires and then whine that they are not good tires for touring.

Personally I don't like your tires since they are so darn heavy, and are small for a 28mm. They are heavy, slow, and have a lot of rolling resistance. I threw mine away.

Higher thread count is not more puncture prone in my experience. There are too many other factors to consider.

Personally I like supple, smooth riding, light fast tires. You may want something different (especially for touring)

I don't do specific brand recommendations but suggest you look for the widest ride that clears.

After that the other properties, ie. flat resistance, weight, low rolling resistance according to your preferences.

This bike review says your frame can do 38mm with fenders. 32-35 is the sweet spot for commuters IME. If you like your existing tires you could just get the wider versions - if you want knobs or studs for snow you might need a little more room under your fenders.

Review: Jamis Bossanova | Bicycle Times Magazine

Thanks all for your feedback. After some research and a conversation with my local bike shop, I decided to go with 35mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. The rep said that the Marathon Plus tires will work fine for commuting, even in wet conditions if I exercise some common sense and caution. He also recently did the ride on the C&O Towpath on 28mm tires. He said he wouldn't recommend trying the ride on 28s, but thought that the 35mm Marathon Plus tires would handle that ride just fine.

Thanks again, and I can't wait to give these a try!

Schwalbe makes excellent tires - hard to go wrong. The plus tires are a little heavy for my needs and I don't really need that much puncture protection.

but if there is ice on the ground, leave the bike at home. You'll go down fast and hard.

Except I think the Pluses are the one (schwalbe) tire that is mostly likely to be described as 'rides like rocks'. More money gets you lighter/suppler, still often with very good flat resistance.

Any other options to the Marathon Plus that I might want to consider? I guess my priorities are, in some sort of order:

1. Availability in 700x35 size
2. Flat resistance
3. Tread that will allow commuting as close to year round as possible
4. Tread that will allow use on C&O Towpath (packed limestone with muddy patches)
5. Rolling resistance
6. Weight

There are very many versions of Schwalbe Marathon, most have their own tread. Supreme is generally considered the 'best' (lightest, supplest, most expensive), but that tread profile might not work for you off road.

I had Supremes for a couple years, when they started wearing out (after about 10,000 mi) I replaced them with Mondials. They look cool, with a more aggressive tread pattern, and are a lot cheaper. There's also a Marathon Cross which you might look into.

But if your lowest priority is really weight, maybe the Plus will do you just fine. It's probably the best tire for flat resistance short of solid tires.

FWIW, I have run continental tour rides year round, 700x37, but they always measure small on my rim (34-35mm) and never got a flat. They'd do well on the tow path due to the tread, and I never felt like they slowed me down on the road.

Just saw this post. I have a 2014 Bosanova and run 35mm Schwalbe Marathons. They just fit (had to flip the rear fender stay to keep them from rubbing.) There's no way I would have gotten 38s on but the 35s are wonderful, especially after those lousy Vittoria stock tires.

I run Gatorskins on my Cannondale tandem and love those for 50-100mi country rides on good pavement, but for my in-town Bosanova the Marathons give me much more versatility when I have a bit of off road or gravel riding.

I don't find the ride on M+ tires to be particularly rough. They are on the heavy side (and I'm pushing 3 of them on my velo) but around here, I'd rather be a little slower than have to fix a flat nearly every ride, especially with all the construction going on right now....shrapnel everywhere.

I am disappointed, I clicked on this thread thinking I was going to be receiving advice on tires. Turns out it was someone ASKING for advice.

I have been using the Continental Urban GP 35-622 model with brown skinwall for the past 2 years on my touring rig. Thread still looks good, even after 2000+ km, they have a thin breaker layer and have black reflective stripes on the side. Originally designed for Schindelhauer and they use them on all of their commuter bikes.
Brown/Black skinwall version

I just ordered Rene Herse 700x32's for my commuter after they were recommended to me in another thread. Coming from the stock 700x28's I'm hoping to see an improvement and a little less stress on my shoulder.