My instincts tell me that a wire bead tire is less likely to blow off of a rim than a folding tire, all else being equal. But does anyone know if that is indeed true? We live in an area with a lot of long steep hills. Our tandem has rim brakes front and rear with an Arai drum brake on the rear as well. We run 28 mm gatorskin tires. Total team plus bike, etc. weight is roughly 350 lbs. We've never had a problem with this set up, and safety is a higher priority for me than speed. But I'm still curious whether we would have less safety margin if we ran lighter, Kevlar bead tires like the Ultremo ZX, for instance, or Conti 4-seasons.

We have run mostly kevlar bead 28mm tires over the years with our tandem, team weight (recent -yay) 300 to (previously) 340 (not including bike). Never a problem with bead seating. Can't imagine how you would run into trouble with kevlar bead as described. We like the other advantages of the folding tire, especially on tour. I should say that folding correlates with pliable side-wall, too. And pliable side-wall yields comfort and low rolling resistance (if I get the thrust of various and sundry postings here and otherwise). I don't think safety is the deciding factor as you have presented the issues.

Been running Maxxis Re-Fuse 700x25 tires on our tandem for thousand of miles and lotsa years.
Very good results:
Easier to install/remove tires (can do it without tire tools: 80 year old pilot with strong thumbs).
We also do not use rimstrip on our Velocity Aerohead rims, but Veloplugs instead (a plastic little doodad that fits into each individal recessed hole in rim).


Have also used a Panaracer Pasela Tour Guards 700x25, but these are a bit tougher to remove/install and need to use tire tools.
We spend 3/4s of the year riding in rather hilly/mountainous Arizona and 1/4 of the year in hilly northern Utah.
We are a light team: pilot 135, stoker 103 lbs.
Just our input/experience.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

You are incorrect wth your assumption about Wire bead Vs Kevlar bead tires. My experience is wire bead tires are much more likely to blow off the rim. In my 40 years of cycling I've had just two tires blow off the rim, both were wire beads. We switched to kevlar beaded tires over 20 years ago and have not a had a single issue with them coming off the rim on any of the 6 bikes we own. I've asked around at various bike shops and they all confirmed this. I would never buy wire beaded tire for a tandem.

Seeing that I just ordered new wheels today, I'll bite. Whose tires are you having this much success with?

What wheels did you order?

Based on your advice I purchased some Schwalbe Ultremo ZX 28 mm tires and will give them a try, as always being as conservative and smart as I can on fast long descents managing rim heat from rim braking. I absolutely don't want to have to lay our tandem down if there is any way to possibly avoid it. My stoker loves riding with me, and I don't want to change that. I've always felt that the first time I would lay the bike down and cause some hurt might very well be the last time I get to ride the tandem, and I want to keep riding the tandem!

Spinergy

I'm looking for 25mm tires and read a review on these tires on Road CC:
"The rubber doesn't wear away particularly fast, it's just that there's not much of it to start with, so if you're after longevity, these ain't the tyres for you."

That killed any chance as I read tandems do wear through tyres (or tires) faster.

"I've always felt that the first time I would lay the bike down and cause some hurt might very well be the last time I get to ride the tandem, and I want to keep riding the tandem!"
+1. My thoughts exactly.

Our folding tires on our tandem usually last in the 2,000 mile range over the years.
Back tire wears a tad quicker than the front.
Also have only had 2 wire beaded tires blow/explode on our tandem but those were being tested for Avocet a couple decades ago. Needless to say we did recommend them for tandem usage!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

My preferred tire brand is Continental. for both Tandem and single bikes. For the Tandem we've run 700x25 Continental GP4000 but currently we're runninng 700X28 Grand Prix 4 Seasons becuase the GP4000 do not come in 28mm width.

The other brand that is well reviewed here and elsewhere is Schwalbe.

I whole hearted agree. Even after trying to use the big number theory that suggests since most tandems came with wire bead tires logic would suggest they would experience a disproportionate number of blow-offs compared to folding tires, the scant number of folding tire blow-offs is somewhat remarkable.

Glenn Erickson opined many years ago that he believed the wire bead may have even contributed to the blow-offs, and I tend to agree. Whether it acts as a heat sink and ulcerates the tube or weakens the bead cloth's glue I can't say for sure, but the wire beads were consistently the tires that 'blew off" under heavy heat load conditions.

Poorly seated or tire size mis-match blow-offs are a different story, as just about any tire can blow-off when cold due to a poor bead seat.

I primarily use Kelvar bead tires but have used wire bead tires in the past. Having had blowouts caused by road hazards on both I feel that the deflated tire is more likely to stay on the rim if it has a wire bead. The wire seems to give the deflated tire more structure. At least that is what I thought looking down at the deflated front tire hoping it would stay between the road and the aluminum rim. Maybe a tight fitting is what matters most. I have never seen any data on the subject.

Indeed the Ultremo ZX will wear faster but you get a much plusher ride on them. 4-seasons and Gatorskins from Conti will give you better mileage and the same with Ultremo DD and Durano from Schwalbe. Schwalbe tend to run a bit narrower than advertised but in some cases they are lighter than their Conti counterparts (Duranos are lighter than Gatorskins) - Great tires.

We get 4,000 + miles out of the Ultremo ZX on the front of our tandem and 2,500 + on the rear. I am very happy with that mileage.

wayne

That's about as good or better than we get with Gatorskins. What about pinch flats, punctures or sidewall failures?

1 puncture in something like 9,000 miles, no pinch flats, no sidewall failures.

I get about 600 miles out of my tandem tires and rarely over 1000 on my single. A lot of the mileage numbers depends on the make and brand as well as your riding habits and how heavy your team is. I go through the same tires at 225lbs way faster than my 140lb friend on our single bikes! I'm sure the same holds true on the tandem. Also, perfomance tires tend to have a better ride and handling characteristics but also wear much faster.

Exactly.

The answer to tire life is always "it depends". We're not all that heavy at 280lbs as a team, but where we live and ride you can't go 25 miles without gaining 2,500' of climbing and climbing takes a heavy toll on tire life, expecially if you use softer performance tread compounds. Add a lot of heat to the equation -- as in climbing sun-baked roads on hot days -- and tread life is further reduced. So, team weight, road surface, terrain, temperature, tire pressure and how aggressive a team rides will all factor into the equation.

Contrast Homeyba's team experience with a notional lightweight team riding Panaracer Pasela tires in Florida who don't push a pace much above 16mph: they'll likely get over 5k out of a rear tire with a nearly infinite life for the front, short of dry-rot or damage from road debris.

4,000/2,500 front/rear mileage on a set of Ultremo ZXs is very good; approx 70% of (my) road training bike mileage in summer condition. Not sure about winter miles as I switch to DDs for better yet puncture resistance. Ultremo ZX (and DD) puncture resistance should be now (2013 models) even better with the protection belt upgraded from HD Speed-Guard to Vectran-Guard.