tires for fencing in traffic
 

I'm in the market for new tires for my commuter. It's as much a road and sport touring bike as it is a commuter so I've narrowed my choices down to some narrower, sportier tires with low rolling resistance. Puncture resistance is an obvious priority, but beyond that, I'm looking for something quick and light. Here are my top 3 choices currently:

1) Schwalbe Marathon Racer - 30 mm
2) Continental Grand Prix 4-Season - 28mm
3) Continental Ultra Gatorskin - 28mm

Does anyone have any experience with these three tires? Or any other good suggestions? I'm particularly interested in what those people riding road bikes are using for commuting.

I am a dyed in the wool gatorskin guy now. I got about 800 miles out of the Schwalbes before they started flatting on me. The gatorskins give me about 2000 usually. Everytime a LBS owner has steered me towards other flat resistant tires (with the exception of the Armidillo) I have ended up regretting it.

Armadillo All Condition 25's when commuting on my cross bike. The all conditions are the closest to a slick.
I used to use Armadillo Nimbus 28's but new rims necessitated a narrower tire.

Heres an interesting link, of a test of a few tires. Too bad they picked crappy tires to compare to the dillo's. I'd have liked to have seen a dillo vs gator vs schwalbe

http://biomech.me.unr.edu/wang/abstracts/puncture.htm

My vote is the Armadillo 28's.
Tough as nails, low resistance, good comfort.

Conti's all the way for me. Commuter/beater has Ultra Gator Skins, full-on road bike has 4-Season. Tried Armadillos, but the Conti's have just about the same puncture resistance with better ride quality.

I only have experience on Conti's so I don't really have a frame of reference. My buddy from the LBS claims that Conti's do have superior ride quality to the armadillos. I've actually seen/heard this from a few different people.

A couple of options are to have separate tire/wheel combos for fun riding and commuting. A minute or two to swap them. Tougher tires for winter use. My 700x38 Armadillos are definately over-kill.

Bontrager Xlite Race 28mm foldable (measured 26 mm wide). They are light (kevlar bead) and belted. I also put Mr Tuffy strips in them. The Silica versions of these have even lower rolling resistance, but may not grip in the wet, and are v pricey. Light tires also give more nimble handling, because of smaller gyroscopic forces when initiating a turn.

I've tried the Armadillos and the Gatorskins but not the Marathons. Armadillos are pretty bullet-proof but I haven't gotten any flats on the Gatorskins for that matter. I think the Conti's have better rolling resistance and a nicer ride quality.

Conti Grand Prix Four Season.

for traffic signal sprints and dancing with cars, grip and cornering is more important than low rolling resistance IMO.

for flat resistant, high performance tires, look at the Gatorskins (wire bead), the Conti Four Seasons or 4000s are very nice tires(folders)..... Bonti Race Lites- dual compounds are grippier in the corners, Vittoria Rubino ProTech II, Vittoria 'the green ones" I forget the nomenclature,(Open Corsa Evo CX?) but they are PBP and Roubaix cobble tested. also "Panaracer T-Serv for Messenger" is robust. micro treaded so not a strict slick, but a great street tire.

I can't recommend any of the Michelin tires but they must make a high performance, flat resistant tire (maybe)

Some of the Specialized folding tires are supple and flat resistant, but I am not convinced Chen Shin (specialized tire vendor for most of their tires) makes very grippy rubber compounds.

Specialized Armadillo 23s I don't mind the rough ride and I got a reflective strip on the sidewall. I would go more 28 though with a slick setup. I put in a thorn resistant tube which makes the ride rougher. I am in love never looses air and I don't loose control trying to avoid glass anymore.

As far as dry traffic. I like better rolling resistance. Since I do alot of stopping and starting spinning the the crank is alot eaiser IMO. In the few days of rain here I have had no problems with slipping and stopping and it sheds water easily.

Why do you recommend the wire bead Gatorskins? Is there something more sturdy about a wire-bead tire when it's on the wheel?

Or am I just being daft, and Gatorskins only come in wire bead?

Gatorskins come in wire bead for all sizes and folding and wire bead for the 23's.

I think the conti 4 season or 4000 - with Vectran plies (Vectran - a Fabric tested on Mars. Seriously!) are much more supple tires than the gatorskins. but the wire bead gatorskins are about half the price. if you're buying a folding continental though, just buy a 4000 or the 4 seasons.

i just wany to pipe in here and say amongst the messengers round here the bontrager racelite hardcase tires seem to be a popular choice.

i'd try em but my shop don't sell trek...

my michlein pro race tires already have a decent gash in the rubber (not all the way into the casing though) from one of my first encounters with a decent patch o glass. so maybe not those...