I am curious what tires you are using and what psi do you run?

On my single, I've been running a pair of Michelin Pro2 700x23c single for a year now, which is amazing since I used to burn through Vredesteins in a month or two. Also, not 1 flat the entire time and no tread or sidewall cuts. I'm only mentioning this as background to my choice for our current tandem tires.

On the tandem with skinny Tx2 road rims, we just started using a set of new (really old stock) Michelin Pro2 700x25c. Max PSI for these foldable (no wire bead) tires is a seemingly low 7 bars (approx 102psi) stamped on the sidewalls and I think 116psi on the packaging. I'm running them at 105psi and that seems ample for us at 270lb team weight. The ride is super plush and cornering infinitely better compared to the higher max pressure Conti Gatorskins we used to have. Tires installed using only my thumbs and elbow grease.

BTW, the Michelin Pro3 700x25c can be had from Amazon for just over $32ea, shipped free. I ordered a bunch. These are one generation behind the current Pro4 version and the price reflects that. I haven't used the Pro3 yet, so we'll eventually see how that goes. Obviously these are not tires for loaded touring, and heavy loads, etc.

I had inquired about the max psi rating for the Tx2 road rims and heard back that they "don't have a PSI limit rating" - whatever that infers. I think maybe whatever the max psi a clincher tire or rims strips are rated to handle.

Is there something about Spinergy Tx2's that especially affect tire choice or psi? Lots of different factors go into tire choice (eg team weight, road surface, flat aversion, durability, riding style, etc). Which brand or type of rim is a overall usually a lesser consideration

You probably had seen this recent thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...Tire-Selection, but I thought I should point it out just in case. The injuries sounded pretty awful, and they were using the Michelin Pro Race3 in 25mm. I have no direct experience with the tires, but several folks seemed to think they were not the best choice for tandems. Not passing judgement, just wanted you to have all the info.

Ok, I wasn't looking to get into yet another great depate over which is the best tire. I'm just stating what I'm using on our Tx2 rims based on my experience with these/similar tires on my single and vs some of the other tires I've used in the past.

I skimmed that thread (again) to see all the latest postings on that topic. Frankly, I've experienced plenty of failures from Goathead thorns, glass, metal, etc using some of the "recommended" tires in that selection including the often lauded Gatorskins with which I've also had a sidewall failure, numerous "hernia" slashes requiring emergency patches (Powerbar wrappers, dollar bills, etc) and the sidewall thread failure issues. So, take it for what it's worth.

Apparently the OP crash occurred after the tread was slashed somehow. It was not a blowout or tire failure other than a puncture. Also it likely would not have mattered if he was using 25mm or 42mm tires (just to suppose) based on the puncture info. I'm not seeing any qualified references regarding the Pro3 as "not the best choice for tandems". Can you be more specific?

I'm not wanting to start a tire debate either, but we have had issues getting the bead set correctly when we install a 700x28 Panaracer RIBMO tire on our regular rims, and that tire seems a bit more finicky when installed on a Spinergy rim. I'm wonder if we are getting away with a slight bit of over-inflation on our regular rim, but can't do that on the Spinergy rim. In any case I don't see us moving out of the 700x28 realm but just wondered what others were using on their Spinergys.

Surely, I wasn't looking to debate or even be critical. Also, I probably could have chosen different words than I did -- I was trying to summarize the thread in a few words. As I mentioned, I don't have any direct experience with the tires, so since you've seen the thread, you know as much or probably more than I do.

I'll take a stab....

My perspective is that when the factors which can cause tire failure increase and the consequences of failure increase, tire choice should become more conservative to keep the overall risk equivalent.

1) Tandems are heavier, increasing loading on the tire. External forces which might be absorbed on a single (rocks, glass, etc) are more likely to cut a cord and penetrate.

2) Speeds and momentum are often higher on tandems (especially downhill, but also on flats for many teams) making flat recovery more .....interesting.... and the consequences of crashing worse (times 2).

The greater tire volume used by a tandem partially offsets factor #1. The wide variation in tire volumes used by tandems means the some teams are offsetting more of this factor than others.

We've chosen to use more damage resistant tires on our tandem to provide further margin. We like Conti 4000's on our singles, but opt for Conti 4-Seasons on the tandem. Other teams might opt for even more damage resistance and go with Conti Gatorskins.

It ultimately boils down to each teams tolerance for risk, the team just needs to have much information as possible to so they can make an informed judgement.

I think that is a good summary.

We have had a couple blow outs at 18-20 mph and they do get the heart rate up. I think sidewall damage contributed to our blowouts and probably to many others. Many seem to believe that if you are not getting pinch flats then inflation pressure is adequate. I see a lot of tandems with tires that have sidewalls bulging at an angle and exposed to road debris.

Last night while hammering out an after work ride on my single, I was thinking about this discussion and hoping my luck on the Pro2 tires held out - it did, as usual for the last year.

As I recall, the only tires we ever had repeated severe sidewall thread fraying were the 25mm Gatorskins mounted on Sweet-16 rims and typically pressured at around 130-135psi. Perhaps while that pressure seemed high enough, the tires felt rock solid and seemed to give decent handling, it may have been on the low end for a tandem team setup (according to https://www.precisiontandems.com/arttiresbymark.htm) which implies 140psi was the correct pressure.

I am curious how a chart such as the above applies to my Michelins of choice which have a max inflation of only 7bar/102psi? Oops?

At 120+ psi its the tire doesn't feel soft to me even if slightly under inflated for the load. The tire is deforming a lot but you still have that pressure giving a solid feeling. I find it interesting to have pictures taken of our tandem from the side and behind while we are riding. Check out what the picture tells you about how much the tire is deforming. It is difficult to see where the tread stops on an all black tire but on others you can see if the sidewall is exposed. Now imagine leaning the bike at speed and see if your comfortable with how the tire would contact the road.

So as to not completely highjack this thread, I'll take my posts about tire selection to the other.

Suffice to say, I am looking at which Conti's to get... likely the 4000s, maybe the 4-Season. Here's a test report, albeit posted by Conti (biased somehow?):
https://www.conti-online.com/generato...gp4000s_en.pdf


UPDATE:
Changed my mind about using Michelin Pro3 on our tandem. Went with the Conti 4-Season 25mm instead at an addnl $10/ea tire ($42/ea), but the feedback from ya'll and my further research seems to indicate these will be a good compromise btwn ride performance, durability and safety. On the plus side it seems to be a slightly beefier version of the 4000, but the downside is that comes with a bit more rolling resistence.

Tks.

We use the Continental 4Season 700x28s. We're a heavy team (bike+riders=~500). We wear out (square off) rear tires in about 800 miles, so I'm slowly refining a rotation plan (new tire on front, front moves to rear, rear gets folded up and saved). I had trouble getting new tires for a little while, so I save the old rears in case we cut enough tires to exhaust our stash of new tires. I also keep the best of the old tires in our Trunkbag, so we have an on-the-road spare.

So it sounds like you're running folders, do you feel like they have any differing wear/ride characteristics over that of wire-beaded tiers?

I have no opinion or observation one way or another. We've never tried any other tire models on this bike (our only tandem).