Well, the rear Gatorskin got a flat after barely a week in service. That's irritating. Standing on a dark street corner working my mini-pump at 5 am and then it started to rain. I have to go down to the bike parking today to patch the tube. Maybe it is just bad luck and the tires will go a year without another flat. But I think I will put some sealant in the tubes after all. I ride to work every day and my tolerance for getting to work late with dirty hands is not high. I am okay with 2-3 flats a year, but get to 5-6 as I was doing before, and I'm unhappy.

Do you know what caused the flat? Just curious.

Not yet, will look when I fix the flat later today.

The last couple tires I've bought for my commuters have been Continental Tour Rides. They seem to be a good balance between performance and price. Got a couple thousand miles on the rear of one of my bikes and it still has good tread left. Only have about 250 miles on the tire on my other commuter but it's performing well on that bike too.

If you don't mind, let us know what you find.
I commuted on 23mm gators for the last two years and had 3 flats in 8000 miles. One from a roofing nail, one from piece of wire and one pinch because of underinflation due to a faulty gauge.

Since I'm also in the market for new rubber, can you suggest a good 700x32C option? I'm currently thinking Gatorskin or Panaracer T-Serv.

Another recommendation for the Continental GP 4 Seasons, but I recommended going up to 28mm size if you have the clearance. If you have to commute on city streets or really any roads that are not in good shape, the 28mm will add some comfort without adding in any significant way to rolling resistance. I weigh 160 lbs., wear a pack that adds another 5-7 lbs. and the bike itself is around 21 lbs., and I inflate the rear to 80 psi and the front to 75 psi. I don't get pinch flats at that pressure but I do get a pretty comfortable ride.

I purchased mine this summer after flatting a couple of times using another brand, they have roughly 1200 miles on them, I have yet to flat and they are showing minimal wear. I ride on some pretty beat up urban roads around the Boston area and the tires have so far proven to be very durable. I've found them very easy to mount, something well worth considering as a commuter.

As for price, if you go into your LBS, expect to spend $125-$150 for a pair, but they can be found on Amazon for example for around $90-$95 per pair.

Both are good tires, depends on what you value more. The TServ seems to get the edge in traction(especially when wet) but the Gatorskin will last longer. If you frequently ride in the rain I would pick the TServ, mostly dry then Gatorskins. One more note, 700x32 TServs measured 31.5mm wide while the Gatorskins measure 29.5mm wide on the same rims(Mavic M236).

+1 for the Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

Last fall, I bought a pair of 700x32 to replace some slightly knobby, worn out Kenda's. What a HUGE difference they made in the comfort of the ride, and I actually gained about 1-2 MPH, probably because they have a much slicker tread, and less rolling resistance. But they are heavy, 850g EACH. I've put 2100 miles on them so far, and they still look almost brand new, and haven't had a flat yet (knock on melamine covered particle board).

Small triangular piece of glass, penetrated the thickest part of the tread at roughly the center of the tire. Tube was pierced such that it would go soft after a mile, not right away. Maybe sealant would have stopped that.

I commute on Schwalbe Marathon Plus's 700C25s - they don't meet all of your points, but a fair #
They wear like iron - I tend to get over 15000 miles on a set of tires, and rarely have a flat during the life of the tire.
They roll pretty well
They are not bad in the wet so long as they still have some decent tread on them (first 12,000 miles or so)
They have reflective side walls

As far as the bad goes, they are very hard to mount.
My LBS has to special order them for me - but since you are in Portland, you can probably find them off the rack!
They are not cheap, unless you consider per mile costs.

I'm surprised, I probably picked enough glass out of my Gators to make a six-pack but they never made it through. Guess I didn't meet the right piece of glass. Not that it would have made a difference but what tubes do you use?

Not sure, whatever my LBS carries. Rubena? Your basic cheap butyl tube. Been patched 4x before, which probably doesn't matter.

I don't know how long the piece of glass had been in there. Perhaps if I inspected my tires regularly it would help. But this time of year, it is usually dark and raining when I ride, so my motivation to fuss with a dirty, wet bike is low.

[MENTION=354978]Riveting[/MENTION] and [MENTION=53806]sauerwald[/MENTION] write amazing endorsements for the Marathon Plus. I guess I should try the, one day. Maybe I can get over the weight.

I hear you, my commuter gets pretty neglected in the colder months as well. I usually take a quick look at my tires when it is on the stand for whatever reason. Inevitably, I will pick out 8-10 bits of glass that are imbeded in the rubber.

I don't think I get enough flats to justify the extra weight-might be worth it for some though.

Any Schwalbe tire with the name Marathon before it.

A tire that handles well in the wet should have no tread and a rubber that can maintain grip while cornering (e.g. a soft rubber or two compound carcass).

It's not just the flat protection that interests me. In fact, I don't care about that much, odd as that may seem. But 15,000 miles from the Marathon Plus amazes me, and it does end up being a good value. The downside of a long lasting tire is that I can't change tires as frequently and see what different tires are like. Half joking there.

I read your post and thought "Paselas" before I got that far. Not reflecting and average for traction in the wet. But decent rolling and few flats. They have served me well over the winters of Portland. I run 28s on my winter geared and fixed bikes, changing to CX tires when ice/snow hits. My old Mooney has 32s on it, allowing me to ride gravel in style. 25s on my good fixie. I rode 55 miles yesterday on those 25s with 92 psi front, 96 rear on wet roads. Felt really good.

My good wet road tires are Vittoria Open Paves, great grip but quite prone to cuts. (I glue dacron sailcloth casing patches on with the old "bad" contant cement. Makes for permanent repairs that last the life of the tire. Still, when I don't need the performance or grip, I ride the Paselas and save a lot of hassle.)

Ben

I do enjoy trying different tires out to see what works best for me in terms of road feel, flat protection and speed. I have several bikes and most of them are running different types and sizes so I can get a better idea of what I like best.

Paselas are great, one of the best if not THE best tire for the money.

How about 60 mi RT? My commutes will be racing the clock, and setting some personal bests next season, else I might as well just take the car. I did some half/commutes this year (30 mi RT) and loved it. A smooth, secure, fast-feeling tire is really high priority for me, but frequent flatting, especially at midnight, isn't something I relish. Tire weight probably only matters on acceleration, and in some cases hills, right?

Unless you're chasing seconds, yeah, weight doesn't really matter. All else being equal. (Which it generally isn't.)

I use Conti "Touring Plus" on one bike and Conti "Gatorskins" on the other. The Gatorskins give an excellent ride and are the folding type (25 & 28mm, front-rear).

The everyday-bike has 37 & 42mm Touring Plus with reflex sidewalls. I installed them after having a run-in with a patch of goatheads with the OEM tires (Kendas, I think). The OEM tires were thinner, lighter and gave a somewhat smoother ride, but --- the Touring Plus is not likely to let any goatheads get through. I believe the touring Contis are roughly equivalent to the Schwalbe Marathon Plus in purpose, design, life and reliability. I favor Continental tires because I've used them for over fifty years as tubulars, on motorcycles and now again as clinchers. I never had a problem with Contis and don't expect any either.

I have a somewhat special affection for the company because of the quality of their tires together with their testing, dedication and engineering capabilities. I spent some time, years ago, at the Continental factory in Hannover, the Contidrom test track and in the company of their motorcycle test engineers and lead tire designer Manfred Kunz. If they are now as they were then, I can believe that no tire company tries harder to make excellent tires --- those guys really liked and believed in what they were doing. However, this is mostly a personal attachment and I do not mean to discount other tire makers.

Of-Topic Story:
Conti's test engineers challenged/gently taunted me to ride one of their test bikes up onto the 200 km/h line around the Contidrom. I figured that if they could do it all day then I should be able to for a few laps. I choose their BMW R90S as that's what I had at home. There were two painted lines around the bowl; the lower, if taken at 120 (150?) required no steering input due to the bank of the track. The upper line required 200 km/h (124 mph) for neutral steering.
The bank on the steepest part of the track together with the 200 km/h velocity resulted in a 2g downward load on the bike and its rider, which just bottomed the suspension of the R90S.
At 200 km/h, the bank of the track appears to be a wall that you are continually running into. The surface of the track was rather rough; it was made of concrete pieces that remained usefully smooth in spite of the German winters. So, while I was crouched over the bars under 2gs and looking at the wall-with-a-line-on-it, I was getting the crap beat out of me by the rigid bike and rough surface.

I can still relive every moment of those dozen or so laps. It was the scariest thing I ever did! Though it did put me on a first name basis with the engineering test riders ;o)

Joe

Well shoot I didn't see this thread before I posted my tire recommendation thread this morning. Has anyone gotten more than 4K miles on Grand Prix 4 Seasons tires? That's all I got before I started getting several flats on my rear tire. Great tires but I can't justify spending over $100/pair every single year.

I don't track my tires' miles, but gee, 4,000 miles sounds good to me. Maybe I'll start tracking. The result will be that I'll probably stop using Panaracers. I like the ride and the purchase price, but maybe they're not a great value. I don't mind the puncture vulnerability; I seem to have good luck with flats, and I'm an ace at roadside repairs.

Also would recommend. If you can fit a 700x28, go for it. No better commuter tire in this size.

Not good when they barely last a year. My car's tires are not cheap, but I still only buy them every 3 years (probably longer now that I'm bike commuting more).

i have a city bike , Jamis Coda Sport-with 700 x 32C tires now and am thinking of switching to 700 x 35C tires for a little softer ride? am not worried about speed! mostky ride on city streets and paved paths? Does switching to a larger tire make sense?