I have shopped many of the tires you mention in these responses - thanks! My point was that I think tires these days are manufactured to resist flats for the most part, and that the individual riding conditions are what cause most flats. I really don't want to include flat resistance (unless it is a Kevlar tire) as a criteria when shopping for tires. I have determined that 25's are too small for my commute, but 35's are too big. I don't flat much with what I've used, and when I do it is obvious why (nail, staple, glass). Will be checking out the Vittoria Randonneur700x28.

I absolutely hate flats. I bought a cheap pair of tires for my touring bike last year, [cough] Hutchinson Globetrotter [/cough], and got a puncture from a shard of glass within the first 500 miles. It sliced right through the thick part of the tread like it was warm butter. I've since switched to Schwalbe Marathons (various versions) for my bikes and haven't had any flats over a combined distance of 18000 km. In my mind, a good tire should wear out before ever getting a flat. I hold my car tires to the same standard too.

Gatorskins for me, 110 miles/week, have about 4 flats per year.

"3 minutes, from hiss to riding again"

Damn!

Personally, I don't consider anything that doesn't have at least Kevlar/Aramid to be likely to be flat resistant, and many of the tires mentioned in this thread have something the manufacturers claim is better than Kevlar/Aramid.

I rode my Schwalbe Marathons in 700x37 for about 6000 miles before the sidewalls started to crack (still did not fail). I replaced them with Continental Top Touring 2000 tires in 700x35 and they're still going strong at about 5000 miles. Considering the condition of the streets in NYC and all kinds of debris and glass that happen to be everywhere, that should speak pretty well for these tires.

Given that all my Panaracer Paselas suffered various forms of sidewall failure, that should say something for them, but man did they ride nice!

For any person for whom the bicycle is a vehicle, particularly on a bike with internal gear hub, drum brakes, and chaincase, where flat repair is a lengthy and troublesome process, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Schwalbe's or Continental's equivalent (Top Touring 2000)

At this point, I'm also a the 1000 mile mark on my Vredestien Perfect Moiree tires (Vredestien's equivalent tire to the Schwalbe Marathon and the Conti Top Touring 2000) and they look to be holding up just as well.

Could be a long wait. In my somewhat limited experience (scouring availability on the Web and waiting for a small eternity for 4seasons) 28 is a very versatile size and not always readily available or manufactured. Some very worthy tires could use 28 in the lineup, notably gatorskins (stops at 25) or Marathons supreme (starts at 32). Add my personal thing for folders and it becomes either a stockpile situation or a long wait and white-knucked ride on booted tire...

FWIW

SF

I have 28 Gatorskins on a road bike.

Most velvety tubulars are even made with an extra layer of puncture protection in the tire casing;

I will confidently and categorically state that every road clincher 'race' tire on the market today, from Vittoria, michelin, etc, all have puncture resistant belts (PRBs) of some sort.

the question is, and the elusive balance is, how much? and how is it affecting the tires' handling?


Do NOT buy and ride the vittoria randonneurs. they ride like garden hoses. you can do MUCH better.

Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech in a 28 prehaps. a VERY FAST 28 with wet weather tire compound that holds up for summer riding. 2nd bet for a winter 28 - continental 4 season.

I like Panaracer T-Servs with the reflective sidewalls myself, but a slower tire than these first two. this comes 4 sizes, 25-35mm wide.

That's exactly what gave me my last flat in March. Probably ride 400-500 miles a month, I tend to go 8 months to a year without flats. I run Specialized Nimbus Armadillos exclusively. I've just fallen in love with them.

Vectran is one. Used by Schwalbe, Continental and probably others. NASA used for the MarsRover Mission . It's supposed to be twice as strong as Kevlar. I think it's also used in automotive airbags. It costs more too.