I bought my first road bike couple of days ago. Its a 2012 Trek 2.1. It came with 700x23c tires. I am assuming it means the tires are 23mm wide. But anyways, I commuted to work last 2 days and I noticed that most of the roads are not quite bike friendly. Some of the back roads I tried actually made me think whether I should have bought a hybrid. I am afraid that my tires are not gonna last long on these roads. Can anyone suggest some better tires for everyday commuting?

What brand and model are they? Many people, including some on this forum and myself, ride on rough roads with road tires all the time. I use 25mm Continental GP4000s. You will get a thousand different suggestions of quality puncture resistant tires though.

If you wanted a better ride quality you could try some 28mm tires, they can run at a lower pressure and thus tend to be less flat prone.

I've ridden all over Boston for years on 23c with no problems. If it is a comfort issue then move up to 28 or 32.

They are Bontrager R1. I am not too familiar with different brands associated with bike parts.


It's not a comfort issue. I ride only about 10 miles everyday.

$29 tires.

Bontrager R1 Road Sale on select sizes
Light and durable 60 tpi casing
Tread profile helps give low rolling resistance
Lightly textured tread design for excellent cornering grip in all conditions
Wire bead affordability
Includes Plus puncture protection
Covered by Bontrager's Unconditional Performance Guarantee





Just what is your concern about tires?

the OP needs to verify his frame clearances before up-sizing his tires too much because he has a road bike. for instance, my road bike's frame clearances are so tight that it won't take anything larger than a 23.

i've put thousands and thousands of miles on a couple sets of vittoria rubino pro III's (700x23) on the freeze-thaw ravaged streets of chicago over the past 3 years with only 1 flat. it's an absolutely perfect tire for road bike commuting. it's fast (not race-fast, but fast enough), durable as hell, very flat resistant, and very comfortable to ride on.

ive put almost 4k miles on 23c tires in the past year in nyc, and i have no complaints, i wouldve gotten flats on 5" tires too

youre gonna get flats on any tire, nothing is flat proof. however if you want more cushion try some fatter tires

I have had good luck with many of the Panaracer urban tires, TServs, UrbanMax, and RiBMO's. I would also recommend running 28's or 32's if your road conditions are that bad.


Can find these or UrbanMax, TServs, between $20-$30 each........

[h=2]Panaracer RiBMo PT Folding 700x28c[/h]

• All Black Tire
• 28mm ISO Width
• 559mm ISO Diameter
• 700c Diameter
• 110 psi Max
• 390 grams avg.
• Folding Bead
• Made in Japan

RiBMo PT features a Protex puncture resistance technology: delivering 2X the puncture resistance of Kevlar® belted technology. That, along with 800D polymode cord, which has 2X the strength of traditional tire cord, makes for a very durable urban tire.

I'm on my second set of Continental Gatorskins (700x23) in 6 years. In the 6 years I've been running them, I've only had one flat (ran over a piece of wood with a staple sticking straight up). I ride all kinds of surfaces, including gravel, blacktop, concrete, asphalt, etc. The Gatorskins last a long time, are nearly puncture proof, and offer good rolling resistance (they're not meant to be a race tire, but I've done some triathlons with them and passed a lot of people with racing tires ).

I started a thread yesterday that might help you. A lot of good infos on tires.

there it is:https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...n-a-19-95-tire

You will also find a difference in roll resistance with different types of tires. I've ridden with Specialized Armadillo's, they are tough as nails, but roll like crap. I've heard the same about Gatorskins, but have not tried them. I'm currently using Conti GP 4 season tires. They have the same Vectran protection as the Gatorskins without the drag.

+1.

If it were me, I'd put on the biggest tires I could (I'm guessing 28mm).

good point

Also, to all you newbies, when you see you're about to hit some rough road, get your butt off the saddle and let your legs take some shock.

It's not much of a concern, I was just wondering what kind of tires do people prefer for everyday commuting.

That was helpful.

Yes! I am still trying to get a hang of it.