I recently acquired a 1995 Trek 850 mountain bike, and wanted to put some tires on that would work well for my purposes - approx. 90% road, but still able to do light trails. I settled on the Serfas Drifters, which I would never have heard of if not for their mention here on BF. While searching Amazon, I found they also make a Survivor series Drifter, with thicker rubber and more flat protection layers. I bought two size 26x1.5, for $40 each.

Mounted them last night with new tubes and went for a test ride. So far I really like them. The tires they replaced were both about 26x2.0 (I think one was 1.95 actually) and the back one was pretty well worn. The front wasn't too badly worn, but a little dry rotten. Front was some sort of Specialized, I think Crossroads. The rear was an Innova.

These are quiet. The constant 'whir' sound is gone. They roll very well on the street, and still smooth out the imperfections in the roads. They seem fast. Some reviews I've read talk about the 'suction cup effect' of the inverted tread slowing them down, but I didn't notice that. These are rated at 65 psi max, and I have them at 60. Not sure what psi those people were running. I haven't had them on anything but dry roads so far, so can't comment on any other conditions.

So, first impressions are good. Thanks to those who recommended them in other tire threads I found here on BF. I'll update when I get a chance to ride in other conditions.

Yes, do keep us updated. I ride 26x1.5 Tioga City Slickers (came stock), and am starting to look for something different.

Still no different conditions to comment on, but I've ridden them more on dry streets, and so far so good. These really do roll very well. Changing from the old semi knobbies to these transformed this bike into something that is a joy to ride. Of course, so would slicks, so I'll still have to wait and see about wet and off road conditions, but I'm not getting any of that suction cup effect that others mentioned. Maybe they were running 2.0s, or less inflation.

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I have the 26x1.5 Drifters on my hybrid running at 65psi. I haven't had any problems with them after 600+ miles. The latest incident was about a week ago when I hit some broken glass and had no problems They ride well both on and light off road. The 100psi as noted above seems excessive. You might want to check your rims every so often. It might also be causing the delamination. They are only rated for 65.

The only thing I noticed about the inverted tread design was the popping noise as I corner quickly. It sounds like Squidward from"Spongebob" fame is chasing you. I have to laugh whenever I hear it.

I definitely recommend the tire.

I run Serfas City Drifters on two bikes. 26x1.5 on the '96 Diamondback Topanga, and 26X2 on the '96 Schwinn Frontier. I like the 1.5's a lot, but truly love the 2" tires. They roll very well, and totally absorb the shock of every pothole I hit.

Sweet looking 26x2.0 tires. I have considered getting some, but was concerned that the larger 2.0 size would slow me down in my commute. Did you notice any more drag with the 26x2.0 vs the 26x1.5 tires?

No, I haven't noticed a difference. I expected to, but the 2" tires have been an unexpected surprise.

Awesome. My local shop sells them in both sizes. I currently have Continental Contact 26x1.75 tires that ride great on my 27 mile commute, but don't do so well when riding with my son on his mtn. bike. I am hoping that the Drifters give me a little better handling in the hard packed dirt trails while still rolling well enough to commute 27 miles round trip on paved roads.

Thanks for the advice.

May I point-out this tire has a bead-to-bead carcass that can--and does--handle 100psi without issue. I find I get, for me, a decent ride/roll-out/acceptable-harshness aspect at this particular pressure (I'm also using a 36-spoke doublewall rim).

The delamination is from use. I've experienced more than a few tires' treads separating from thier carcasses after entering the high-milage state (a few thousand+). It happens sometimes, sometimes not. Bide your time. When you get there you'll see, the tread will resemble freakin' Callisto. Either that or your roads are kept exceptionally clean (or mine traverse somewhere in the 7th circle). Anyway, we ride, so it's all good.

I too like the Drifter S so far (but who decided to emblem both sidewalls???).

I'm happy to see others have had good experiences with this tire. The bike I have them on doesn't get a lot of miles, but so far I've really been liking them. I've even considered getting some in 700c for my commuter hybrid when it needs tires. I ride almost exclusively on roads and gravel/chip and seal alleys, but I have had them on some grass. They have handled all that very well. I intended to try them in the snow at some point, but wussed out and didn't ride at all this winter.

If I had it to do over, I might get the 26x2.0s, instead of the 1.5s. But I would definitely buy Drifters again. For the bike these are on, I'm not sure if I'd really even need the Survivor series, but they seem to be pretty indestructible.

I bought the Serfas City Drifter tires for my Schwinn in 2012. Not a problem here. Piece of mind with the FPS. Love them. Getting the Serfas HTK Vida Hybrid tires for my 2013 Trek. I only ride on paved trails so they should last a long time.

Not according to the manufacturer:

https://www.serfas.com/products/view...-comfort-tires

I routinely weave through dense urban traffic at very high speeds and I consider running this tire at 100 psi to be reckless behavior.

Another 26x1.5 Serfas Drifter user here. I think they were around $20-$25 each from the LBS. No flats in several hundred miles of use.

I have the 26x2.0" on my single speed now. Probably a thousand miles and 2 punctures. I used these tires on a overnight bikepacking trip on forest service roads and have no complaints. They can handle off road use just fine.