TandemWien

Dear all,
we are just building up our new tandem bike here in Austria/Europe and we are looking for tandem tires 28" / 50mm - 55mm.
We are predominantly riding on asphalt. If not on asphalt it will be gravel.

What tires would you suggest?
Does anybody have experience with René Herse ANtilope Hill endurence plus?

Many thanks for your effort in advance.

Gerhard (Vienna, Austria)

JulesCW 

The Antelope Hill tire size is 29" x 2.2" otherwise known as 700 x 55. The actual rim diameter under ERTO standards is 622mm. Tire/tyre sizing nomenclature is a complete mess with little sense. A good guide to the tire sizing madness is https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

I've not used the Antelope hill, but have used Compass, now Rene Herse tires on single bikes and on tandem -- generally in the standard casing, and like them a lot. They roll very well -- might not be as puncture resistant as something like a Schwalbe Marathon, but much nicer ride, IMHO, and we've not experienced abnormal flats on our tandem.

TandemWien

Dear Jules!

Many thanks for your most useful reply!
We totally agree: the nomenclature for bicycle tires is the opposite of clrear - choosing a tire therefor the selction of a fitting tire has a lot of witchcraft in it.......

Many thanks especially on the comment on the René Herse tires.
We have been riding the Schwalbe Marthon for years - as they changed the profile more to fit a tractor more than a bicycle we changed to Continental Conatc travel (a semi-slick), but this one is out of production.
According to your experience we will go on with the René Herse tires as those have a suitable width (my wife an me have a weigth of approx 170 kg) and look what model will be fitting.
A main argument is the weight as we can spare approx. 0,4 kg per tire compared to Schwalbe or Continental and Panaracer produces only narrow tires if we go for an acceptable profile.

Have a great time,

Gerhard​​​​​​​

honcho

The somewhat new Schwalbe Marathon Efficiency has a low reported rolling resistance. It is available in a 28" (622mm diameter / 700c) 50mm width. We ride Schwalbe Marathon Supremes (now discontinued) on our tandem and have been happy with them. Schwalbe uses the Marathon nomenclature for many different models and some Marathon models are faster than others

TandemWien

Dear Honcho!
Many thanks for your suggestion!
We have been riding with different models of the Schwalbe Marathon for a long time without any problem and switched to the Continetal Contact Travel, which is a semi slick, as the Schwalbe tires did not roll well anymore and they are heavy. Unfortunately the Contact Travel is out of production.

The mentioned Marathon Efficiency with more than 0.8 kg might be an alternative to lighter ones. At least the Marathon tires are most reliable to our experience also.

scycheng

The best tire for you depends on where you are going to ride. When we started tandeming, we used the widest Continental Top Touring available in 700c (37mm if I remember correctly). We used that for many years for touring on paved roads. Once we decided to ride along Canal du Midi and had way too many pinched flats even though the tires were pumped up to 110% of the recommended maximum pressure. We had so many pinched flats, that I ran out of spare tubes and almost ran out of patches.

Soon after that we had our tandem rebuilt for other reasons. We switched 26" wheels so we can reliably ride on gravel roads. The tires we have used since then are Schwalbe Kojak (26"x2") for pavement and gravel. I don't think they are available any more but that is the width I would use if you are thinking about riding on surfaces like gravel roads or canal paths.

I bought a Schwalbe Marathon and Continental Travel Contact before but find them too heavy for touring on civilized roads. If you are thinking of an expedition then the heavier tires are fine. 26" tires are readily available globally and that would be my preference.

socalrider

We have had customers use the Continental Terra Speed which has a lightly aggressive tread pattern and is available in 35/40/45mm width.

It is a nice mixture that is perfect for road and light gravel roads

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...e?fltr=&sg=500

fooferdoggie 

We finally dumped the marathon tire rides hard and they are slow but they do prevent flats. we went tubeless and this guy is a great tire compared to the marathon. . Schwalbe Marathon Almotion

TandemWien

Dear all!
Many thanks for your preciuos comments.
According to what you wrote we most probably will proceed with a 2-way tactic:
we will give the René Herse a try while trying to have the Gatorskin or Gator Hardshell available on short notice.
The disadvantage of the Conti Gators is the high pressure they need leeding to a low stoker comfort......

Kind regards and a great start into the new season!
Gerhard

jmitchelltfo

I've run the Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge in the endurance casing with hookless rim and I would only recommend anything with that supple casing if the total weight of bike and riders is under 120 kg. I've heard that the endurance plus is still supple and prone to debeading/burping compared to a more robust tire.

The marathon Almotion has a tubeless varient that I would suggest if you want decent ride quality along with a durable tire.

If you have set your mind on the Rene Herse tires, I would suggest a DIY rim insert (or something similar to Cush Core) made with closed cell foam backer rod. That will help with bead retention on a tire with a soft/supple casing.

RoulezTandem

We use 26x2 Schwalbe Marathons, and flat resistant inserts at 85psi on our custom built coupled steel etandem. Gvw is 400#.
Strictly rail trails max 15 mph. Rear panniers and mid motor plus gear very heavy. Bike without gear is balanced with bafang and battery under captain.
One catastrophic blowout where tyre centre shredded, no clear reason. Otherwise they handle bedrock and large gravel just fine after thirty 10 to 40 mile trail rides.