surak

I don't have experience with many different tires, but I know they can feel very different depending on terrain and conditions. Seattle's roads are not... good, and half the year they are damp. For those who ride in the area, do you have a trusty set of tires for some/all the typical conditions? I'm considering getting a road bike next year, but wonder if I need something with decent tire clearance to handle all the potholes and cracked pavement. FWIW, my bikes currently use 700x37 (Conti Contact), 700x35 (some puncture-resistant Kenda), and 26"x1.75" (Schwalbe Delta Cruiser) tires, but they don't feel particularly fast nor comfy.

Aubergine 

I also live in Seattle, and I agree that a wider tire helps. I typically use 32mm tires on my road bikes and those work fine for me, but I want to try 35s once I wear out a set.

I use different tires depending on their use. For riding pleasure I love Compass tires, but Panaracer Paselas are a good (less expensive) choice. I use Gatorskins for durability. They are not as pleasant to ride but tend to shrug off debris better than the Compass and Pasela tires do.

surak

Good to know that I'm not being overly paranoid with widths, thanks.

I actually have a pair of 32mm folding bead Gatorskins that I bought on a coworker's recommendation, but haven't put on anything. Looked up the weight difference between them and Contact, wow bigger than I expected. I ride through some gravel littered with assorted fallen tree matter, would the Gatorskins be able to handle that, or should I stick with the treaded Contact?

Aubergine 

Yes, the Gatorskins should be fine with gravel and smushed up tree bits. :-)

Seattle Forrest

I never had a problem on 23 mm Grand Prix 4000. But then I don't consider occasional flats a problem. I'm riding 28 mm tires (IRC Formula Pro Tubeless) now on rims that stretch them out to about 32 mm. Much more comfortable, better grip too.

I've always used a smooth tire (like Gatorskin, but not Gatorskin, ever) on dirt and gravel, same size as on pavement. We don't have that much deep, pea-sized gravel here, where you need bigger tires. We mostly have dirt roads, with all kinds of stuff in/on them. Wider is better on gravel but 28 mm is sufficient.

woodway

I ride plenty of potholed and cracked pavement year round on 700x25 GP4000s II. Work fine for me. Good wet grip. My next set I'll probably switch to 28's for a little better comfort.

surak

Nice, good to know. By the way, are folks riding aluminum, cf, steel, ti frames/forks? I'm wondering about the tradeoff for a sub $1k road/gravel/cross N+1: should I target more tire clearance or upgraded material? I'm too chicken to go fast around here, but do want to be comfortable while going faster and farther than what I can do on my commuter.

Aubergine 

All my bikes are steel. For what it’s worth, good wheels and tires will make more of a difference in your comfort and speed than anything else.

Oh wait. I do have one carbon fork in the batch. :-)

Seattle Forrest

Mine personally is carbon. But I say more clearance. If you can't have both, then wider tires will make more difference in comfort, and also in safety.

woodway

Mine is a Ti Cross Bike with a carbon fork. Upgraded material AND more clearance. I get to have my cake and eat it too!

surak

On my self-imposed (but not yet spouse-approved ) budget, there are definitely options for more tire clearance, but I have no idea what to look for in good wheels. Is there even such a thing as good wheels on a ~$1k bike? In this bucket are typically wheels that I look up and find few, if any, comments that would make it possible to compare.

Haha, I can afford to have my cake and eat it too, but then I would feel the guilt of spending well beyond what value I'd extract from my purchase. I'm realistic and know that no purchase is going to make me go from a recreational cyclist to a die-hard.

Aubergine 

Well, think of it this way. Wheels are made up of hubs, rims, spokes, tubes, and tires. Given what you are looking for - durable yet comfortable and speedy commuting and city riding - you would want to find a wheel made with a decent hub that is compatible with your existing bike. For example, if your bike has Shimano you can look for a wheel made with a good Shimano hub or a compatible hub from a good maker, such as Phil Wood or White Industries. (Those can be expensive so they are just examples; there are others.) Then look for a rim that is fairly wide - at least 19 mm - so they can easily fit wider tires. Some of the brands that people here like are Velocity, H+Son, and Mavic, but again there are more.

I will be honest and report that although I have some really nice wheels, I also have several sets of wheels that I built using old hubs that I had lying around. The hubs were cheap but sturdy parts back in their day, nothing special. They ride well, as nicely as my modern wheels. Their deficiency is going to be durability. I sometimes cannot adjust the bearings as well as I would like, leading to a bit of slop. But with the rims (usually Velocity Aero or Aeroheat) and Compass tires, they are delightful.

fietsbob

Compass Tires are 'fast' , but you sacrifice puncture resistance to get there.

surak

I put the 32mm Gatorskins on my Onyx this weekend and had a chance to try them out on Monday. Noticed some loss of grip around a traffic circle, no doubt exacerbated by riding over a manhole. I pumped them well below the max pressure, just a tad over the 15% drop chart, so I don't think I overinflated the rear. Upside is that they are noticeably faster than the 37mm Contacts on flat surfaces. Thinking about trying out 28mm GP 4000s II, maybe the reflex ones. Planet Cyclery has them for $37.95, which seems like an OK price. But would I be going in the wrong direction, tire width-wise?

zacster

When I lived in Seattle I rode a steel Davidson, and used 700x19 tires. Talk about rough. But that's all we knew back then, in the 80s. Now I live in NYC and ride 700x23 GP4000s on my road bike and 26x1 1/8 Gatorskins on my commuter. Some would want wider tires but I don't see the point. I don't get flats and I'm plenty happy.

Dfrost 

I’ve been using Compass EL or the predecessor Grand Bois tires exclusively for the last decade or so and love them. No puncture issues riding all over Seattle and surrounding areas for my wife and me. We typically get about 6000 miles out of a tire (3K in front, then another 3K when I move it to the rear), but I haven’t yet spent enough time on the 38’s, which I expect will be much longer, with even fewer punctures thanks to the low pressure.

The old and rough concrete slabs throughout the city, and the chip seal in rural areas, feel much nicer with wide tires - 28, 32, or for something really plush, 38x650B, all at appropriately lower pressures. And I’d recommend using wider rims - 22mm or greater - to maximize the benefit.

Paselas and Gravelkings are decent if the cost of Compass puts you off, but life is too short to spend it on cheap tires.

surak

Still riding the 32mm Gatorskins because I didn't end up biting on any of the GP4000IIs deals last month (though I regret not pulling the trigger on the 28mm reflexes that BTD had for $34). After inflating them a bit more, I'm now quite satisfied with the ride. I have to navigate around pedestrians and curvy roads/sidewalks in my neighborhood and on my company's campus, so I'm not going fast enough for rolling resistance to be an issue. In fact, after pumping up the tires I noticed that I have to use my brakes a lot more just to slow down from coasting, otherwise it feels like I would keep going and going. So ultimately a marked improvement over the 37mm Contacts.

Where do people buy their Compass tires? I noticed they're actually headquartered in Ballard. Wish I could pop in and buy from them directly.

HTupolev

Usually on the Compass website.

khill

I've been super impressed with these. I have about 400 miles on mine with zero issues, about 60/40 pavement/gravel. Very adjustable with tire pressure.

Mavic Yksion Elite Allroad Tire

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...oad-tire?fltr=

davei1980

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need "tread" or lugged tires to get good traction on wet pavement. Bike tires, unlike cars, do not hydroplane.

The difference you will notice in wider tires is comfort due to the increased contact patch and lower tire pressure.

jonpear6

I commute on a bike with Compass Rat Trap Pass tires (26x2.3). My wife commutes on Compass Barlow Pass EL tires (700x38). In the three year of using Compass tires, we've had one flat between the two of us. And it was a pinch flat from letting tire pressure get too low.


We swear by these tires and have them on every bike in the family - 7 total. We buy them from Kathleen @ Freerange Cycles in Fremont. They're a great shop.

bassestkkm

I had continental All weather 25 on my road bike until the wet weather came. Then I had a pretty big crash where I cracked and shattered my from wheel and fork. I decided to be more careful and I got a more commuter oriented bike with 35s on them and have been a lot happier and less squirrely on the road. I'll continue on the Road bike once the weather clears up a little.

yamsyamsyams

I commuted 3 years in/out of Seattle roads and the BGT, on 23mm GP4kii's. No issues.

However in the 2-3 weeks of ice in Dec/Jan I do slow down quite a bit on descents and am way more vigilant on city streets. It's really just about balancing when turning, no issues going in a straight line.