A couple of weeks ago I purchased a lightly used Jamis Commuter 1 Xms with less than 100 km on it.
Because the bike didn't come with a rear rack (which has been ordered and am awaiting it), I've used it only for small distance rides and so far the bike itself is running pretty good.

Since this morning's commute didn't involve in carrying anything larger than my wallet and cellphone, i decided to take the Jamis out for the 10+ mile commute and a mile out of my home, it started to drizzle. The minute the pavement was wet, the tires lost all traction and started to slip pretty bad and even though it continued to rain clearing up the initial muck on the surface, the bike kept on slipping dangerously.

I've been commuting for the past two years and have ridden countless times in rain, storms and even the odd snowfall and I have never had tires slip and slide like this. The tires themselves are new (bike was bought in 2013 and constructed in mid-2012), and I've double and triple check the pressure, wear and even for factory defects.

So... unless it's some really bad batch, I would suggest to avoid purchasing the CST Marathon/Tour 700x32 tires at all costs, unless you live somewhere where it never rains!

CST tires in general aren't something I'd recommend myself. Had a dozen of those with weak carcass construction come on brand new bikes. After being built up and inflated - the tire sidewalls ripped within a few hours while the bikes were stored and of course the tubes exploded

Better in the store than on the road I guess - but not confidence inspiring at all. Particularly since those were all hybrid tires and not high pressure road tires.

A new low in QC - something that looks like a tire, feels like a tire, and claims to be a tire - but does't behave like a tire at all. Available now on brand new bikes everywhere.

The funny thing about them is that they perform pretty good in the dry, they also seem to absorb the bumps nicely too (I'm a clyde at 270 lbs). It's the rain (or water) that they ABSOLUTELY hate! Just came back from work with the roads partially wet and the tires behaved like I was cycling on ice.

Oh well, will be looking to change them asap with a better quality commuter tire.

CST tires are genuine POOP!

They seem to use old designs, which might explain why they ride well. The materials are probably substandard, which would explain your experience. I had one that was hard to install because it would normally have a flat spot. It took a lot of coaxing to make it round every time I mounted and inflated it. I gave up before it wore out. It wasn't worth the trouble.

CST (Cheng Shin Tire) makes a whole range of tires, from the cheapest to some that are actually raced on by pros. The high end CST go by the Maxxis brand name, but made by the same company.

They also make car tires, also sold under the Maxxis name . . . but I haven't tried any of those.

So yes, agreed, stay away from the low end CST's for commuting (I use Hutchinson Intensives for commuting 700 x 25; work well for me!)

Rick / OCRR

Funny Rick, I have Maxxis Overdrives on my tourer and they are absolutely fantastic tires... but they're probably not made in the same factory as the ones I mentioned above!

'Tired' , had me thinking .. Fatigue..

Seems like this pun's intended! lol...
Actually, I was "tired" from trying to keep the "tires" on the tarmac!

I like them, too. They roll well, pretty flat resistant, and I think they are a good value. Maxxis Overdrives are rarely, if ever, mentioned here.......

Maxxis tires are pretty good, and so are some CST. All Nashbar and Performance (Forte) branded tires are Cheng Shin. A majority of owners of these tires give positive feedback. I've ridden about eight different tire models made by CST and only one was defective.

I think there are different designs for the Overdrive. I have the ones designed with this tread, and they're fairly noisy, but ride really well, once the "new" is worn off the tread. (They were a bit squirmy on uneven surfaces before that.)


Overdrives also come in this tread style now, and I have no experience with how they ride, though the tread looks much more road friendly.


It would be interesting to know which style of Overdrives you are using.

I'm using the older (top) design Overdrive MaxxProtect 700x40 (622-42), and have had them on my ex-commuter/now tourer for a little less than a year with more than 1500 miles on them with 0 flats. They're quite heavy and have more rolling resistance than the previous Michelin Pilot City 700x38 (622-38), but they also handle much better on dry and wet tarmac.

Just don't make the same mistake I did and pair them with Michelin ProtekMax inner tubes which weight a ton! The ProtekMax tube in my front tire finally died after 2000 mile when the Presta valve flange area burst apart causing a blowout. When I changed the inner tube and put in a spare good quality non-sealing tube, I noticed a major difference in the way the Overdrive performed. It feels much lighter and faster, and I also *believe* that the ride is a bit softer too, although it could be my idea.

Some are also made by Panaracer, using the Forte brand.

The bike I bought a month ago have CST Traveller 700x35c installed on it..

I also had one experience here in Raincouver where I had to use the brake to stop on a red light, and my hybrid bike just skidded like it was the fixie bike on "Premium Rush"..

I sincerely hope that your Traveler is a better version than my Marathon/Tour... otherwise buy a portable camera and sell your footage for Premium Rush II!

Thankfully tires are cheap in North America; I've been looking for 700x32 tires in the local market and can't find anything worth spending on, and the width of the rear chain-stay on the Commuter 1 probably won't fit anything larger than 32 mm

Just saw this thread, and my experience is different. I have CST Traveller 700x37 on my hybrid. At 10000kms I had only 3 flats so far, and the front is still at about 75% of original thread depth, rear at 50%. Pretty good for cheap tires IMO.

Hard to imagine any tire worse than the Armadillo, but you may have a winner.

I had some Serfas tires that were incredibly heavy, slow, and flatted easily, so they rank near the worst in my book.

In the summer you can expect traction problems because of road oils. Not saying the tires in the OP didn't contribute.

Forgot I had bookmarked this thread! [MENTION=35181]Reynolds[/MENTION], I never had a flat while using the original CSTs and have long since changed them with Maxxis Detonators which are by far the best bicycle tires I've ever had (dry and wet traction and resistance wise), but are absolutely the worst tires concerning punctures with an average of 1-2 a month! I know it's a PITA to patch tubes, but IMHO the tradeoff of excellent handling is worth the inconvinience.

Well they make Maxxis. So if you think Maxxis are poop then I guess

the worst commuter tire I have ridden on was chosen for me by the guy at the shop I got my first 'real' bike at, it was some kind of michelin and had deep grooves that would fill with gravel, broken glass, whatever.