schwalbe tires vs gatorskin or hardshell
 

I'm currently running 25 mm schwalbe durano plus tires on my commuter, with around 1300 miles on it so far. The texas roads suck pretty bad. I'm actually really worried about those wire things. My duranos have a thick wall, but they seem pretty susceptible to those wires. I'm pretty sure I have at least 2 lodged in there in the rear tire right now. They're just not poking the tube right now. My commute is 20 miles each way, and I don't want to be fixing a flat on the highway. I've seen mixed reviews about conti hardshell and gatorskin. Some say they never flat with them. Some say they're not as good as the gp4000's. I'm only looking to replace the rear tire, because that's where 90% of my flats happen.

What say you?

The Schwalbe Durano Plus is a very tough tire. The Gatorskin is also a long wearing tire with very reliable flat protection. The two tires are equivalent in most ways.

To increase the level of flat protection, consider:http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_ti.../marathon_plus

How often to you flat with the Schwalbe Durano Plus?

I dunno maybe 3 a month?

Yes, that is more than normal and a real issue for anyone.

I would go for a extreme flat-resistant tire like the Schwable Marathon Plus.

I'm going to move this to commuting to increase the number of comments.

Michelin A3 Protek tubes are heavy and expensive but I think the tradeoff is worth it. It is a heavier tube, with some design elements that improve puncture resistance. Also, there is sealant. I don't know if any tire is going to resist metal wire staples.

I don't want to jinx myself by bragging about how many miles I've gone flat free but . . . I like them.

what kind of weight / mileage / etc... are you expecting? max width?

I'd say check into the continental gp 4 seasons or the new bontrager all weather tires.

Marathon plus? I'd rather walk.

Gatorskins have been blessed for me, but I'm mostly worried about thorns. I'd take the GP4000s, or the Gators if I wanted s stiffer tire, add tuffy liners or similar anti-flat liner.

I'll be running 25's on my rear, because most of my flats were actually pinch flats, which is weird, because I'm 165 lbs, and I run at least 115 on the rear.

I have a pair of gp4000s 23mm on my racing bike. They've been great to me so far

Also, 3 a month might have been an exaggeration. It's just that time has been going really fast. But I'd say maybe once or twice a month, I'd either get a pinch flat for no apparent reason, or wake up one morning to find my rear tire completely flat. I don't ride to work everyday, but I do usually get at least 100 miles in a week.

I use the 25mm Conti GP 4 season's with tuffy liners, they have performed in the aggressive streets of NYC better than the gators. I never liked the marathon dp's, they are painfully slow and heavy....

I've toured on the Scwalbe Marathon, and the Continental Gatorskins. Probably 6,000 miles each of touring on my bike and my wife"s bike with the Marathon tires with a total of 6 flats. I have much more experience with the Gatorskins, don't know the number of flats/ miles ridden. The tour I do have numbers for was a 3700 mile cross country ride where we had a total of 13 flats with 28 mm Continentals. Several of those were in "goat head" country, and we rode through several large cities. We were also riding on pretty worn tires by the end of the trip. But we have ridden the Ultra Gatorskins a lot over the last 10 years, and after this summer's ride my wife won't let me put anything else on her touring rig.

Recently I switched from the Marathons back to 32 mm Gatorskins. On a receent 1200 mile ride I had 2 pinch flats, which were probably my fault for letting my front tire's pressure get too low. I like the feel of the Continentals over the Shwalbe tires, not to mention the weight difference. I would have gone to the 32 mm Gatorskins earlier, but the 32 mm tires were not available in the U.S. until recently.

This is purly my perception, but I think the Marathon tires are a little better for flat protection. However, i'm willing to change a few tubes once in awhile for the handling and weight saving I perceive getting with the Continentals.

Yeah, there's always a trade-off when it comes to puncture protection. My current 3 commuters have:

1) Bontrager Race-Lite Hard Case
2) Continental City Ride
3) Schwalbe Marathon Plus

and so far 1) and 3) have never once had a flat; however the Continentals are so much nicer to ride on than the others (but have had 4 flats in the last 4 months). Hard to describe but the Marathons feel like riding on solid rubber with no air, and the Bontragers feel really sketchy on gravel, mud etc. The City Rides are just right.

It's a tough call. I plan on swapping the Contis out for the dark season because I really don't want to replace tubes in the dark. They'll be back in the spring!

Marathon Plus:love::thumb:

I know I am going to get some flak for this but... I see a lot of good reviews on gatorskins, I suspect Conti. is shelling to some extent. They are good but not as good at the rave reviews indicate. Even with the gatorskin hardshells, the PRB (puncture resistant belt) is only shoulder to shoulder of the tread. In other words, there is no sidewall protection. If you are getting flats 3 times a month, I would seriously look at the marathon Plus for full protection. Another tire to look at is the Panaracer Ribmo, it is bead to bead protection as well.

I've got 28mm Gatorskins on my commuter. After 7400 miles, I've had one flat. That was caused by a goathead through the sidewall. The ride is great, but they feel really slippery in the rain.
A friend who commutes loves his new Marathons. He says they feel more "solid" than the factory Kendas they replaced.

115psi and getting pinch flats? Just out of curiosity, spectastic, how rough are you on your equipment as you ride? Are you sure they are pinch flats, and not caused by something else? My friend was getting tons of flats and we couldn't figure out why. I suspect it was the plastic rim strip or a burr on the inside of the rim. Some of his flats were caused by improper mounting. He was pinching the tube under the bead. I had to show him how to inspect the bead area before fully inflating the tire.

i push in the tire every time I mount it, to make sure the tube isn't caught between it and the rim. I'm not terribly hard on my equipment. But I still get snake bite leaks. I haven't gotten them so much lately though.

Looks like there's a lot of love for the marathon plus. how much better are they against flats from the durano plus?

Consider using this http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=340640

Before changing tires I would change the rim tape. if you have a rubber or plastic strip replace it with Velox fond de jante. Also I would suggest inspecting your tires once a week and picking out the glass, flint, wire etc with a straightened paper clip. I do this on the theory that with today's quality tires it takes several days for the sharps to work their way through the tire, so I remove them before they cause a flat. Just wear eye protection because they can fly back at you.

If it matters - I use gater skins and am very happy with them.

Someone earlier said the Supremes look like a good tire but they didn't want to give up flat protection. I have them (40mm wide) and they ride great and I have yet to get a flat (I think about 1500 miles - also no noticeable wear). They are pricey, but I saw some on ebay recently for about $58 (they usually are above $70). Free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schwalbe-Mar...item5d41ef6dec

I would just get some tire liners. From experience, even the best tire can't beat an old tire with a tire liner.

I'd like to stay in the 25-28 mm range.

Also, I had just inspected my rear tire - the schwalbe durano plus. There are a lot of cuts on it, one in particular, is maybe 1/2 in long, running along one of the threads. It had a small rock stuck in it, so the gash is pretty deep....... I think I'm going to use this thing for the trainer from now on...

sorry I didn't come up with all this information earlier... But which tire will better handle these gnarly texas roads?


P.S. the marathon plus is 580 g?? WOW those must be some hefty tires.

There are two basic types of protection against punctures. One is to have a thin, flexible but hard to cut fabric-based layer (Kevlar/Aramid, Vectran, etc.) that basically "catches" objects as they come through the tread. The other is to have a thick, hard layer of solid material embedded in the tire that attempts to block punctures. The fabric approach is very good against relatively large objects like chunks of glass, but it fails against things with a very fine point like the wire you mentioned. The solid material approach is more consistent but it's heavier and doesn't roll as well.

The Durano Plus and the Marathon Plus both use the solid material approach, but the layer of material is significantly thicker in the Marathon Plus. This will make it much more puncture resistant, but at the cost of extra weight and rolling resistance.

thanks for the info. From what you're saying the gatorskin uses the fabric based method that's good against glass and other sharp objects. On the other hand, the durano is good against wires, which it hasn't been able to stop, evidently. Meanwhile, Marathon Plus is just a big tank that rolls through everything with ease, but it weighs nearly twice as much as other road tires.

Yeah, that's the way I would characterize it.

Take a look at the Serfas Seca Survivor. I used to use the gatorskins almost exclusively until their cost become prohibitive. The Seca Survivors have been fantastic during the last 6 months. At around $30 each online they are a great deal. Overall, these are great tires.