I seem to have run myself into a bit of a conundrum. I bought the new schwalbe road cruiser green compound tires for my district, which is entirely used to ride on pavement and sidewalk (no place to ride on road surface on bell road unless I wish for death) and they seem to be flatting fairly frequently, as in once or more a week. I would like to move to a tire with more flat protection but schwalbe doesn't make anything in 32mm with a decent guard rating outside of the marathon plus. Thinking of moving to the marathon GT because this bike almost never sees off road but the smallest it comes in is 35mm. Would I lose much in the way of How nimble my bike feels moving up 3mm? They will still fit under my fenders, I have a good quarter inch at the lowest point.

I moved from 26x1.5 (35-559) to 26x1.25 (32-559) Panaracer T-Serv on one of my bikes. 32 is lighter and much faster to accelerate.

I suspect the extra tire material for flat protection will affect road feel more than the move from 32 to 35mm although you will be able to run 35s at lower pressure which can compensate for some of that.

A 3mm bump on a 15 lb racing bike would be felt. A 3mm bump on a steel frame bike with fenders will be virtually undetectable. I went from 32 to 35 Marathon Supremes on my steel bike. Heck, they don't even look wider.

The difference in tire construction will affect the ride more than the difference in width. Weekly flats are insane. I don't know how you tolerate that. My suggestion is to invest in the Marathon plusses. Have them on my commuting bike and haven't flatted in over a year (3,000 + miles).

honestly considering them as well, just had good luck with the GT Tour on my vaya so far, which is the same basic construction as the GT. 1 month of riding on it, about 450 miles and no flats so far and that's cutting through a field twice a day daily

For nimbleness, weight might be a more important factor than size.

Tire construction makes a big difference. I hardly spend any time on tires smaller than 38mm these days, and I'm loving it.

I have to admit, despite the vaya being 38lb of bike, when I put the GT Tour 38s on it really changed the entire ride. Feels faster and more nimble than when it had the stock WTB Nano 700x40 tires

Two rather general comments. 1st, a flat a week? What's causing them? If it is one thing over and over again, addressing that specific cause might work much better than just putting a tire on with enough armor to stop everything (and probably leave you with much better riding rubber).

2nd, 3mm is peanuts. Yes, you can feel it but after a mile or two, you forget IF you are comparing different sizes of the same tire. Different tires, even the same size, can be VERY different.

Ben

I'm voting more armor because I'm picking up goats heads all the time from I presume in the cracks in the sidewalk along bell road. Not much I can do to rectify that situation

Casing supple ride goes up with tire cost, even if not wider, that can make a difference more than being 3mm wider.

No, 3mm isn't something you feel. You will feel it if one tire is light and supple and one is heavier with stiffer sidewalls. Quality/construction of tire make a bigger difference than 3mm in size. I have tires sizes from 23 -60 mm in 2-3mm size increments. Even racing, 2-3mm is nothing noticeable.

I went tubless for my commuting bike - no more flats. Pinch flats are impossible and puncture flats are immediately sealed.

Goatheads suck, man, I feel for you.

Pick up some Stans or other tubeless MTB sealant, get tubes with removable cores, and put sealant in your tubes. A goathead can be plucked out and reseal from sealant with a couple revs. AND I've seen advice, don't even bother plucking them out. Just let them stay in there and sealant do its work. A really big obnoxious one clip it off maybe but leave the thorn in?

OR get some Mr Tuffy or other tire liners and use whatever tires you want.

This is important information. The majority of punctures I get are from glass or bits of metal. Many nice rolling tires will resist that kind of thing. Goat heads are a different level. They are the reason that tires like the Marathon Plus exist.

You could try tubes with sealant (either pre-filled or added to tubes with removable valve cores). I don't encounter goat heads often enough to know how well that would work. If not, I think you're going to need slow and heavy tires.

That's why I'm looking at the gt. With the 3mm section and the Kevlar or whatever band I think it'll hold out against the goats heads. I may end up just getting the pluses, but I have gotten goats heads in my marathon GT Tours a few times and no flats... No sealant either. The district on the other hand has 4oz of sealant in each tire and it slows the flats down but its not enough