Pasela TG on the front and Schwalbe Supreme on the rear

I would also advise avoiding the Marathon Plus unless commuting in a very hostile environment if even then. I put a set on my touring bike and took them off after a few rides due to the sluggish dead feeling ride and heavy weight. They literally weigh more than twice as much as some other decent touring tires in the same size.

I am currently running 700x28 Continental Ultra Gatorskins and have been very happy with them. They are on the narrow side even for a 28, but, at your weight and planned load I think they would be ideal.

I used to run 27 x 1 1/4" Marathons on my ~1976 Fuji Special Road Racer, towing a Burley Nomad trailer, and they were pretty good on many different road surfaces but the aggressive tread made them kinda slow. And they would never even last me one season before I would start getting flats, they wore down so fast. Finally replaced them with 1 1/4" Continental Gatorskins which are amazingly grippy (on asphalt) even in the rain yet seem to have much less rolling resistance. But they are pretty thin with just about zero tread so I have no idea how long they might last. So far no punctures.

When after three years my 2005 Fuji Del Rey got a flat for the first time ever, I replaced both the original 35 Kendas with the 32 Marathon Pluses (even though the front tire showed little wear and was still unpunctured.) These Marathons have almost the same identical tread pattern as those Kendas and handle any riding surface but are also kinda slow, and took a while to break in. The first couple hundred miles or so it felt like the rear wheel was maybe drifting a bit when pulling the off-centered Nomad (despite the deep tread, the rubber compound in the Supreme is quite hard and slick). Now that the Supremes have been roughed up their grip feels better but I fear they may be wearing faster than the cheaper Kendas that came with the bike. Again, still no punctures but time will tell.

I have the Supremes on my bike and absolutely love them. Recently, I bought a set of 35s (32s) from Niagara for $26 each, on sale. It pays to check their site often. I actually have a 35 on the front, and a 40 on the rear, as I like this combination very much on my Crosstrail.

EXCELLENT flat protection, and I used to get a LOT of flats. Did I say they offer EXCELLENT flat protection??? Roll easy, grip very well, and offer no transition zone when leaned over (a very good thing)

Another side note - I also bought Schwalbe tubes, and these things hold air better than any tube I have used in the last 50+ years.

My tires lost 5# in the month of May, pumped up to 85#.

Buy the tubes at the same time - I certainly am glad I did.

Didn't realize Schwalbe made tubes as well. Thanks for the tip. My wife and I are doing a 30 day+ tour of Ireland, Wales, Scotland next year. SMP's w/Schwalbe tubes will give alot of peace of mind regarding flatting possibilities. I'll be carrying the bulk of our load so I'll have 28mm SMPs on my bike. She'll have 25mm on hers as her load will be much lighter. We're aiming for zero flats for the entire tour. We'll see how it goes.

I had the 32's and thought they were absolutely terrible. Figured 13 flats (12 of them puncture) was a bit absurd for a 3600 mile trip. Had to mount my spare at about 2500 miles with no better results. First thing I did when I got home was throw them out and the cheap tires I've been running since have been great.

How about tire noise? Currently running Bontrager H-2s 700 x 32 and they're decently quiet. But less so than the smooth tread road bike tires.

So what of the sound from the schwalbe marathons or something like these contis:Continental Tour Ride 700c) at BikeTiresDirect

Usually aggressive open trad patterns are noisier on cars and trucks. Does it hold true for bike tires?

Without contest for me, Vittoria Hypers are awesome and win the contest. They're light weight for their size, are very supple and smooth, and really are surprisingly swift for a tire of their size with puncture protection. I've used a few other tires like Gatorskins that were the same or even smaller sized than my Hypers and they weren't as nice and road like they were hard and dead feeling in comparison. The Gatorskins, for example, were 700x28. I do not exaggerate when I say that the Hypers in 35mm are much faster and smoother.

As for road noise, bike tires are just like car tires in that respect. My big knobby down-hill MTB tires sound like an off-road truck going down the road. They handle about the same. The almost slick Hypers, however... :thumb:

Well 3speed from Madison, thank you for dropping in your .02. I appreciate your opinon !

I always used to use Conti Top Tourings (I stockpiled a few when they went out of production and am now down to my last one :()

I tried the Top Contact on my commutes, but found if I did get a puncture it was a pain to remove, so I'm now running Pasela TGs on one bike.

I accept the occasional visit from the puncture fairy as long as a tyre is easy to change.

Another Conti Top Contact user here. Using 37's with no flats or problems after almost 1000 miles. They're smooth and comfortable and very stable. The only annoyance is that when I ride on packed gravel, tiny stones/pebbles seem to stay in the tread for a while.

A 32mm tire as opposed to 28mm might be a little more comfortable for loaded touring. That said, the conti contact is a good sturdy flat resistant tire. I have used them and like them. The Pasela (esp. the Kevlar bead) is light and supple but maybe not as puncture resistant but very comfortable. (Just ordered Pasela PT in 700 x 37). Schwalbe has its fans because of extreme toughness. I tried a Marathon on my rear and found it to be a little hard and sluggish as others have said.

A lot depends on your riding style. If you are a faster rider, you will appreciate a lighter more supple tire. The trade off is maybe more flats. But if you are proficient at fixing flats, that's no big deal.