[QUOTE=10 Wheels;12336521]Here is my bike with the 28's.
I weight 215 lbs, the bike 33 lbs, the gear weighted 56 lbs, I could ride it with no hands.
QUOTE]

What are those wheels, 10 Wheels. Hub, number and type of spokes, kind of rims. Curious minds....

The Mr Tuffy's definitely affect handling. But also unless they are installed correctly they will cut into your tube. I gave up on them years ago and use Spin Skins instead - pricey but effective when used to extend the life of a well-worn tire.

You might switch front to rear.

I also like the 28mm Continental Ultra Gatorskins. If the 32mm Schwalbe Marathon tires were actually Marathon Pluses I can really understand the dead feeling. They feel much "deader" than most tires in a similar size. The regular Marathons much less so.

Tire width is a personal preference. There are no right or wrong answers, just what you feel comfortable with. If 28 mm feels squirrely, go back to 32 mm. For some people, comfort doesn't even begin until the tires are 35 mm or wider. Yet I know somebody who has toured for decades on 20 mm tires.

A 300 pound load?

The tires I have on my 700c bike are 32c, but they are an actual 32, which means they
are larger than most tires claiming to be 32....

You want at least a 32, a real 32, IMHO.

The next step is what sort of tire you want.

The Contact strikes me as an odd choice, what do you want in a tire?

I do lite touring, so I can pick a tire that is big, but lively, like
my Vittoria Rando Hypers. The tire is a bit schizophrenic.
While I like it, it is a bit too eager for me. It's a really big performance tire.

So what are your top priorities in a tire.

https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...ur-hyper-33552

I am surprised at how many people are running 28's on a touring rig. I usually run 700 x 32 and that is the skinniest I would go. But I guess it all comes down to personal preference. On my last tour I road my other bike that had 26 x 2.0. Nice and wide. I actually loved it.

I put a pair of Conti Contact 700x28 on my bike once. They measured about 25mm wide, handled like crap, and they weren't even round. Thankfully, REI has an awesome return policy. Got some Vittoria Randonneur Cross 700x32 which I was VERY happy with. There IS something wrong with the tread pattern on the Contacts in that size. It's the "lightning bolt" shaped center ridge. The Vittorias have a symmetrical double center ridge that rolls nice and straight.

Just so you know you aren't the only one who has had this problem.

Conti Contact 700x28, mine measurer 28 and have been fine. I would buy them again.

Continental makes about ten different tire models with the name Contact in it. I don't know which you're referring to.

My Continental Top Contact tires have the "lightning bolt" center ridge and I've never ridden a smoother, better rolling touring tire. The Continental Top Touring 2000 tires they replaced also had the "lightning bolt" center ridge and, although not quite a smooth rolling as the Top Contact tires, they were also quite nice.

It's not the lightning bolt pattern.

I tried switching front to back, reversing tread, removing tire liners, and even put on an old pair of treadless 28s to see if for some reason my balance wasn't used to a skinnier tire. Nothing helped, the Conti still seemed very squirrely. I noticed after about 100 miles that the ridge down the center of the tire was getting the most scuffed up and obviously in more contact with the pavement. It seems like that initial ridge has worn down enough now and the tire seems to handle better.

I just mounted some 700x37c Conti Contacts (on 24mm wide Velocity rims), and they measure approx 34mm wide after being inflated to max psi for 24 hours. I was really hoping they'd be closer to 37mm rather than 35mm.

another person here who has toured only on 28s. I too prefer the lively feel (unloaded) compared to 32s, but preference notwithstanding, I have toured only in areas with paved roads, reasonably good ones, not terrible in other words, and they have worked fine. Never even had one flat over 5 three week to a month long tours (luck probably).

I could see that with rougher roads, 32s or 35 would be better for comfort. Unloaded however, I really like the responsive of a 28 compared to a 32, lighter steering etc and my experience touring does show that they are fine for that as well.

only real way to decide is to try diff tires and see what you prefer.

oh, and never had weird handling issues like you describe, lighter quicker steering, but not weird like what you say.