Another tyre thread

Khannie

Well folks....today my morning was ruined by a puncture. I'd say I've had > 1 per month over the last while. Something's not right so I'm changing tyre in the hope that something more puncture resistant will handle the roads of North Dublin better for me.

I currently have 700x23 conti gp 4000s's. Having searched in here, I am considering 700x25 Schwalbe Marathon Plus's (with smart guard....ooooooh!) for my commute (33K each way). I think they'll be better for the winter anyway. They're £29 each sterling on chain reaction. Anyone know if they're cheaper anywhere else?

Also, do I need new tubes to go with these new larger tyres?

Lemag

Check your rim for anything sharp and inflate the tube somewhat before fitting the tyre. You should also check inside and outside the tyre between punctures and brush the outside of the tyre every now and then. My current GP4000 (no 's') have about 1000km on them and only 1 rear puncture.

Khannie wrote: »

Also, do I need new tubes to go with these new larger tyres?

The tubes ought to be 700x25C or greater.

Beasty

Continental Gatorskins will give better puncture protection at the expense of some loss of grip unfortunately (I will resist the temptation to relay my own puncture record given what happened following your previous thread on the subject Khannie, but if it happens again, I may re-register as T.B.C. from England;))

Khannie

Lemag wrote: »

Check your rim for anything sharp and inflate the tube somewhat before fitting the tyre. You should also check inside and outside the tyre between punctures and brush the outside of the tyre every now and then. My current GP4000 (no 's') have about 1000km on them and only 1 rear puncture.The tubes ought to be 700x25C or greater.

I've had a thread before about my ridonculous rate of puncturing. I keep my tyre pressure good (90-100 on the front, ~100+ on the rear), I've been cleaning the tyres of debris (did it only last night), cycling away from the kerb to keep clear of the rubbish. I think the roads are just crap tbh. No way I can reasonably continue with this rate of puncturing though.

Khannie

Beasty wrote: »

Continental Gatorskins will give better puncture protection at the expense of some loss of grip unfortunately (I will resist the temptation to relay my own puncture record given what happened following your previous thread on the subject Khannie, but if it happens again, I may re-register as T.B.C. from England;))

Thanks TBC

Two things put me off the gatorskins:

1) There was one lad in a previous thread saying he'd had lots of punctures with them
2) The loss of grip in the run up to the winter would concern me a bit

edit: they are quite a bit cheaper though.....and the cheapo in me likes that.

carthoris

Beasty wrote: »

Continental Gatorskins will give better puncture protection at the expense of some loss of grip unfortunately

... but at a lighter weight than the Marathon Plus.

Gatorskins - €30~ in my LBS, instant delivery time.

Beasty

Khannie wrote: »

1) There was one lad in a previous thread saying he'd had lots of punctures with them

never had a problem (doh! - done it again:mad:)

Khannie wrote: »

2) The loss of grip in the run up to the winter would concern me a bit

Went through the 2008/9 and 2009/10 winters on them (until I broke my wrist coming down on ice one evening in late Feb 2010 - I blame myself rather than the tyres though!)

gizajob

I'd also recommend the gatorskins, 32k route round trip each day, I've had them about six months no punctures on my commuter bike. they take abuse from our pothole glass infested cycle lanes very well so far.... checked, wiped and inflated if needs be.... regularly

Dermot Illogical

My recommendation is Ribmo. I know I'll be sorry for saying this (tempting fate and all that), but they not puncturing on me. I think I've one puncture in about 4,000km on them.

Tonyandthewhale

I second panaracer rimbo's. I've got a set of 35mm panaracer rimbo's on my touring bike that have done at least 2500km at this stage with no punctures. I also had them on my old road bike (23mm) and found I could get 1000km easy between punctures, could get 4-5000km out of them before they needed changing as well. The mammy also uses 23mm panaracer's and as far as I know she's only had one puncture since she got her last set in April with a 30km round trip commute every day.

I like gatorskin as well, girlfriend has 23mm tyres on her road bike for the last month and a half and 1000km in she's only had one puncture which was down to under-inflation, they are still somewhat lacking in grip though.

I've heard good things about marathons but they're supposed to be very heavy and don't roll as well as the gatorskin or rimbo so I reckon the rimbo's the best all round tyre.

Seaswimmer

Khannie wrote: »

Well folks....today my morning was ruined by a puncture. I'd say I've had > 1 per month over the last while. Something's not right so I'm changing tyre in the hope that something more puncture resistant will handle the roads of North Dublin better for me.

I currently have 700x23 conti gp 4000s's. Having searched in here, I am considering 700x25 Schwalbe Marathon Plus's (with smart guard....ooooooh!) for my commute (33K each way). I think they'll be better for the winter anyway. They're £29 each sterling on chain reaction. Anyone know if they're cheaper anywhere else?

Also, do I need new tubes to go with these new larger tyres?

+1 for gatorskins especially the new hardshell ones.

I had Marathon Plus 25's but they felt and looked more like a 28. I sold them to someone on here after about 200km. Also if your mudguards have a close clearance you may be in trouble trying to fit them.

Lumen

Directions For Internet-Centric Tyre Purchasing.

- Buy tyre A based on user reviews, consultation of runes, sheeps intestines, or name connotations ("Utremaracer DuraSlick Plus").
- Post on the internet about its awesome puncture protection and wet grip.
- If and when you crash, buy softer tyre B. Post on the internet about how tyre A is slippery in the wet/has exploding sidewalls, but tyre B is much better.
- If and when you puncture, buy harder tyre C. Post on the internet about how tyres A or B were too slippery/too weak/too puncture prone, but tyre C is much better.
- Repeat.

tomasrojo

carthoris wrote: »

... but at a lighter weight than the Marathon Plus.

Gatorskins - €30~ in my LBS, instant delivery time.

What LBS is that?

(My postman is a dolt and a shirker; I've given up on as many online purchases as I can.)

Paul Kiernan

Planet-X are doing some good deals on Schwalbe tyres at the moment. I like the Stelvios in 25c at £19.90.

carthoris

tomasrojo wrote: »

What LBS is that?

(My postman is a dolt and a shirker; I've given up on as many online purchases as I can.)

Staggs in Lucan.

I got a puncture that morning due to a massive hole in the tyre due to wear. A new tyre was required so I popped in when passing to see if they had gatorskins (or similar).

Check the price of course as I got a few other things so I might be a euro or two out.

aquanaut

Gonna be testing out conti 4seasons on Saturday, hope theyre somewhere between gatorskins and 4000s - will let you know how they hold up

Holyboy

I think cycle ways are selling marathon plus tyres for 30 eurons, but dont shout at me if im wrong:)

twinsen

What tyre would be the best for winter? For rain and slippery roads?

Khannie

Holyboy wrote: »

I think cycle ways are selling marathon plus tyres for 30 eurons, but dont shout at me if im wrong:)

They are, but the smallest width they have are 700x32's. A bit too big for me. Thanks for the heads up though.

GinjaNinja

Hi, am a regular commuter with the Khannie man, the slippery suckers puncture ridden of what are called tyres i have at the moment are also very annoying.

So there are no ++ on marathon plus, only gatorskins,
hmmm, i might bite the bullet and get eh marathon's and post back, grip then puncture are key for me. i never feel safe in wet on current tyres.

rp

Khannie wrote: »

They are, but the smallest width they have are 700x32's. A bit too big for me. Thanks for the heads up though.

Schwalbe make marathon/marathon plus in 700c25 now, but still only wired.
Only 18.90 plus postage from StarBike: https://www.starbike.com/php/product_info.php?lang=en&pid=15502
I (recommend these guys : very good customer service)

rp

GinjaNinja wrote: »

So there are no ++ on marathon plus, only gatorskins,
hmmm, i might bite the bullet and get eh marathon's and post back, grip then puncture are key for me. i never feel safe in wet on current tyres.

My wife got three puncture-free years out of a set of Marathon pluses, until a shard of an over-cooked disc brake punctured the rear last week: nothing would have protected against that.

Khannie

I'm sold. Getting the marathon plus in the next few days.

Rew

I've Gatorskins, punctured them a few times, first few were pinch flats from under inflating them about about 10-15 psi. Last one dont know what happened but there was a huge bang, the tier was off the rim (tough to do considering there a very tight fit on my rims) and the tube was in ribbons with a 15cm piece missing!

The only grip issue iv had was coming over a worn manhole cover on Grattan bridge as I was tuning right. Back tier came over it and slid, luckily it was only small and gripped on the tarmac again so I dint go flying.

Wishbone Ash

Rew wrote: »

The only grip issue iv had was coming over a worn manhole cover on Grattan bridge as I was tuning right. Back tier came over it and slid, luckily it was only small and gripped on the tarmac again so I dint go flying.

I have 3,000kms up on a pair on Gatorskins without puncture but I find them seriously compromised in the wet. This morning the streets/roads seemed particularly greasy and I felt the rear tyre losing it on several occasions but managed to stay on board.

I had a pair of Swalbe Marathon Plus's on my previously bike and put up 5,000kms without a puncture and I felt they offered more grip also.

tomasrojo

I find gatorskins ok in the wet. It was Armadillos that gave me most trouble.