garryg

I have done a bit of research on old threads but was wondering if any of you have experience touring on these tires.Generally i see some reticence to run them for fear of more flats. I have been running them on my LHT for local rides and a six day tour last year. I love the ride and have had only one flat. I am planning to ride the Pacific Coast of Washington and Oregon this summer and wondering if i should leave the Rat Trap Pass tires on or switch to set of Shwalbe Marathon Plus tires i have.

djb

while I cannot respond to personal experience with these tires, while on tour with similarish slicks, I've found it really helps that when I cannot avoid riding over glass debris from seeing it too late, right away I take the 1 minute to stop and super quickly brush both tires to dislodge the very occasional small shard that gets stuck in the tire. Worth it as I figure it saves much more time hoping it doesnt get stuck in and work its way through the tread, causing a flat later.
May sound crazy to you, and I generally see and avoid stuff, but the very occasional time that I know that I've ridden right through stuff because I was looking elsewhere, taking the minute wasnt a big deal. Ive ridden through areas with often lots of glass on the road side, but I only had to stop and do this a few times a week , so its not like Im stopping constantly during the day.

I often have the habit too of checking over my tires at a break when on tour, again just taking 30 seconds and running the side of a finger or my glove lightly over each rotating tire.
I like going fast downhill, so I feel its better to at least check for cuts etc once in a while.

like you, I love the ride of a nice feeling tire, so accept a bit more attention on my part as an acceptable compromise to hopefully avoid flats.
The worst roadside culprit are those impossible to see teeny car tire wires.

re the Pacific Coast, while I did it a long long time ago, I certainly don't recall roadside glass etc debris being any worse than anywhere else, and I had no flats from the top of Oregon down to past San Fransisco, and that was on tires from nearly 30 years ago, but lets face it, getting flats can come just as much from plain old bad luck, just as not noticing what one rides over.

guess this comes down to you assessing what risk you want to take.

trailmix

Talk about going from one extreme to the other!

On one hand, the Rat Traps will provide an excellent ride with increased risk of flats and the Marathon Plus will greatly reduce the flat risk at the expense of feeling like you are riding on wooden wheels. @djb is right, how much risk of flats are you willing to accept for a faster, more comfortable ride?

Personally, I have found Pasela PT or T Serv to be a good compromise of ride and flat protection.

jadmt

I have been swapping between RTP, Naches pass and T-servs and I actually prefer the T-servs and the RTP my least favorite. been doing a lot of 50+ mile rides and they just feel better and when you get a flat (I have flatted on all 3) much easier to change and get pumped up. the RTP are easy to get off and on without tools but a pain to get the bead set right and takes a lot of pumping. just my experience.

jonwvara

I have toured a fair amount on Rat Trap Pass tires on my LHT 26. Nothing epic--longest trip was from Savannah to Memphis a few years ago. Also rode the Erie Canal and the Vermont Super 8, which has a lot of bad road and non-road. I liked the RTPs a lot. I wore them out without ever getting a flat. I thought the ride quality was very good. Maybe that had to do with the mystical Compass Tire "suppleness". When I retired them, I replaced them with set of 26-inch Paselas that are a little narrower, but still pretty wide--45mm or so, I think. I can't say that I noticed any change in ride quality. I'll probably keep using the Paselas from here on, given that you can buy a pair of them for the price of one Compass tire.

Teamdarb

I have both pre tubeless and the current version. Both have been extralight. My gripe then and still is based on constant usage over varied terrain and weather....they do not have enought tread thickness. The sidewall was never an issue or getting flats. Yeah yeah, I know what RH states about width leading to long life. In my use case- absolutely not true. For example I am 200 miles from turning over 13,000 miles since Jan 1, 2023 and 3 going on 4 replacement chains. Do not expect those tires to go the distance if you are always outside riding them. For an across the USA tour one way, I say go for it. To do the perimeter, nope- unless you are rich.

djb

So you're saying that in 5 months you've ridden 21,000 kms, 140k per day for 5 months and you're not happy because the tires are worn out?
You're a hard crowd.

Teamdarb

Naw, you are saying that.

djb

Did you put 13,000 miles since January on one set of these tires?

pdlamb

Or to extend that question, how many miles DID the tires last? And how many miles do you, Teamdarb, normally get from a set of tires?

Teamdarb

Good questions. Rear mounted RTP in my use are at best estimate 2500 or less miles. Basically I was replacing the chain and a single tire at the same time. That got expensive. Tandem randonneurs run the tire as well, not sure how many mile they get. No way the rear tire is making it thru an entire brevet season.

staehpj1

If you value a supple sidewall and a generally responsive ride feel forget the Marathon Plus. Similarly if you mind an extra couple pounds forget the Plus. It is a great tire for a rider who wants to avoid flats at all costs and doesn't care about weight or supple ride feel.

I don't recall that section of the coast being bad for flats, but if in doubt and you decide to go for something a bit more robust, there is miles of room between the RTP and the MP. You could choose something less extreme in between if worried and willing to buy new tires. If it was me, I'd sell or give away the MP. In fact that is exactly that is what I did a few decades ago when I tried some MPs. I disliked them enough to take them off after a couple hundred miles and eventually sold them.

Edit to add in the interest of full disclosure that I have no experience with the RTP and my comments are based on impressions of performance tires in general

esasjl

I've not used RTPs for touring but like them a lot for all-road use. I replaced my last set with Humptys which are just as good on hard surfaces and much better on soft ground. I've not had puncture issues with either (Butyl, latex and TPU tubes).
https://www.renehersecycles.com/what-is-brake-support/ gives some info that doesn't seem unreasonable.

I also like Marathon Supremes (26 x 2.0) but I think these are now not very available.

djb

that gives a good rough idea, and its reasonable to expect that it would be less for someone touring carrying more weight on the bike.

jadmt

I know I am quite a bit heavier than Teamdrab ~70-75lbs and we have similar bikes and I only have about 2500 miles since jan 1 so my tires are getting a chance to cool off between rides looking at my rear rtp tire with ~900 miles it is worn less than my naches pass with roughly the same miles all have done exactly the same routes as I literally have only been riding three main routes on all my rides. the tservs have worn about the same as the naches. I know it is all anecdotal but for my weight maybe the RTP do wear better. I do like the way the narrower tires feel better tho. I am running them all at the firm psi for actual width per the RH website calculator.

Teamdarb

Tires were ran on a different bike with a longer wheelbase.

djb

you guys or gals certainly are banging out the miles, hats off.
I would personally find that wear a bit too much for me, but then I havent ridden these tires so in the end, what do I know. The closest type tires I know well are the now defunct Schwalbe supreme, I really like how they ride and roll--and last even over rough surfaces. I'm a lightweight, so that combined with the supremes tread and all that, I've gotten really impressive mileage out of them, even touring with four panniers etc.

re the RH tire pressure calculator, its been a few years since Ive looked at it, but in years past (at least 5 years maybe?) it always seemed to suggest a bit too low for my liking, specifically the front, as I like hard cornering and didnt like the feel of their suggested pressures, so upped them up a bit. But I realize that often just a small amount of pressure change makes a big difference in how a tire feels. Over the last few seasons fatbiking in snow, this shows up big time with sometimes just 1 psi difference or even .5 of a psi.

ThermionicScott 

I haven't installed RTPs on a bike yet, but I'm a big fan of that construction for commuting, club rides, and light touring. (Panaracer Pari-Moto, RH Naches Pass, RH Loup Loup Pass.) Even the Pari-Motos have given satisfactory tread life. If you're wearing a very narrow strip down the center and getting disappointing mileage, chances are good you're using too much pressure. I'd go down a size if you really need the tires to feel firm.

str

flats come and go, one never knows beforehand when .... don't you feel the difference between these two tires? not for money I would ride a Schalbe concrete feeling tire.

garryg

i do not feel the difference,i have never mounted the shwalbes on my rims

Polaris OBark

I run the 700C version (55mm Rene Herse something or other, maybe Antelope Hill?) and they have been great, except for the toe overlap. They are robust tires, and RH says that the tiny file-mark tread wears smooth at about the half-way point of their lifetime. I rather suspect that you are changing them too frequently.