After around 30 miles commuting on my new bike, I got a front puncture and so decided to invest in more suitable tyres for commuting the 20-odd miles per day through London. My bike has Mavic Aksium 700c rims and currently has 35mm Conti cyclocross tyres. Any recommendations for replacements?

I've sort of narrowed my choices down to Continental Gator Hardshell and Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I already have the latter on my folder and know they're very heavy but don't roll too badly. The Gators are available up to 28mm width whereas I can get the Marathons in 32mm or 35mm and I must admit, I'm keen to have wider tyres for more grip and comfort so +1 to the Marathons, but the 32mm tyre weighs 800 grams and the 28mm tyre 740 grams. Compare this with the 28mm Gator Hardshell which weighs just 390 grams, almost half the weight of the Schwalbes and probably faster but supposedly just as durable.

Is there much difference in ride quality and comfort between a 28mm and 32mm section tyre? Going from my current 35mm tyre to a 28mm Gator will mean a 20% reduction in width and thus tyre contact surface.

Any advice on tyre choice much appreciated.

I cannot really comment on the Marathon Plus or Hardshells. The Marathon Plus tires seem to have a very good reputation around here.

I currently run Continental Gatorskins and have been loving my ride. Not a single flat in 750 miles (and this is with 700X23).

You might want to consider the Panaracer Pasela. I just put them on my touring bike and they seem to ride and roll very well.

I have these on my commuter.. they work great so far. Roll great, no flats yet.

I've liked Marathons and Michelin Cities.

Let me preface this by saying I HATE FLATS! Sorry, didn't mean to yell, but I've been doing this since '87 and have had my bike up-side-down on the side of the road hundreds of times...well, at least dozens.

That being said, don't be fooled. It's the mass of the SMPs that gives them the durability. The Gatorskins may be harder, I don't know but I do know I've gotten 15,000 miles out of a pair of SMPs w/one flat and one slow leak. In May I will have had them for 3 years. Commuting, utility and touring miles. All loaded or partially loaded. Always w/at least a rack and panniers. Mine are 28mm which I think is a good meeting point of performance and reliability.

Prior to selecting SMPs as my overall tire of choice I rode on Nu-Teck airless for 2 years. The decrease in rolling resistance was amazing from my perspective.

Btw, I've got a fg as well on which I've got well over 3,000 miles of flat free service from a set of 25mm SMPs. Not to mention a recreational rb w/2,000 flat free recreational miles as well. At this point I don't think it's a matter of luck and rural living. They're just pretty damn good tires.

I'm using Gatorskin Hard Shell 700x25c. Better traction than 35mm cyclocross tyre that I used before.
I am very satisfied with it.

Coniti Four Seasons. Excellent flat protection, and much better wet weather grip and handling than the GatorSkin. They are light too.

I've found that there is a huge difference in speed going from 32mm to 28mm, but no major difference in grip. YMMV.

Also, Schwalbe has come out with the Marathon Supreme in 28mm. I haven't tried them so I can't comment, but my wife loves her 32mm on her commuter.

A work colleague has recommended the Four Seasons in the 28mm and as you mention, they're lighter than the Gators.

The Supremes look good but are quite pricey, so I may try the Conti Four Seasons.

Cheers

This question has never come up before on BF...ever .

there's a huge range of tires for your purpose below the heavy Plus type tires. The cyclo-cross tires are definately not commuter/road tires. You appear to have a preference for 32mm tires so look for them. Pasela TG and T-serv Protex have been flat resistant for me in two years and very nice handling. Haven't had the same luck with Vittoria Randonneur Pro. According to Conti they make the Gatorskin in 32mm. If you want durability I'd be surprised the Four Seasons have that over the heavier tires. I haven't used the Sport Contact in 700c sizes but in 26"x1.6" size it's been pretty flat resistant and fast.

The max width for the Gatorskins I've seen is 28mm on the UK website. The Four Seasons are more expensive than the Gators so maybe they have lighter but just as strong anti-puncture materials, well, at least I hope so because I've just ordered a pair of the 4 seasons from Wiggle.

I like 35mm marathon extremes but I have some offroad in my commute. If they make 35mm marathon supremes I would try those. They are pricy but boy are they reliable.

This.

I just bought a set of Conti 4 Seasons for my commuter, and I'm just smitten with them. They're the most fun to ride on of any tire this side of a full on racing slick. Conti claims the 700x28 folding model weighs just 250 grams. It feels like it.

That said, to answer your actual question, you definitely will feel the difference between the SMPs and the Gators. I haven't used the Hardshells. I have used the regular Gatorskins. They roll nicely, but I found that the flat protection is decreased after about 2000 miles (I expect that to be true of the 4 Seasons too, FWIW.) I also fully expect the SMPs are more puncture resistant than the Gators, but it's the difference between excellent and amazing.

Ultimately, you need to decide how much the feel of the ride is worth to you versus flat avoidance and durability.

They make them. I have a set of 35mm (closer to 37mm in reality) Supremes on my bike. I LOVE the ride I get with them, they're very grippy. I've had 3 flats in about 6000 miles, so if you need 0 flats, go with the SMPs. But this is a great tire. I'll buy it again when I want to replace these.

Continental Grand Prix Four Seasons are my favorite all around tire.

Having said that, I'm running Continental City Contact 32s at the moment.

Bike Radar put it well: "it's tougher than most tyres that are faster than it and faster than most (sp) that are tougher than it."

I like the thicker, stiffer, tire for carrying a commuting load what with the atrocious road conditions we have around here currently.

SMPs are certainly a solid choice but very heavy.