Best "Dublin" tyres? 700c

CianRyan

I've started cycling to work again and in the last two weeks I've lost two tubes and 1 gatorskin. :mad:

Seeing as one tyres is now ****ed I'm going to replace both of them but jaysus, is there anything that can withstand the glass and nails of my mere Tallaght-Dundrum commute?

Currently on 25's but I'd rather go back to 23's.

Danjamin1

CianRyan wrote: »

I've started cycling to work again and in the last two weeks I've lost two tubes and 1 gatorskin. :mad:

Seeing as one tyres is now ****ed I'm going to replace both of them but jaysus, is there anything that can withstand the glass and nails of my mere Tallaght-Dundrum commute?

Currently on 25's but I'd rather go back to 23's.

My Gatorskin Hardshells are holding up well, I've had the rear one for 3 years and still have the same tube in it.

CianRyan

Danjamin1 wrote: »

My Gatorskin Hardshells are holding up well, I've had the rear one for 3 years and still have the same tube in it.

And you reckon they're twice as good seeing as they're twice the price?
Genuinely more than the tyres on my car, then again I've spent more on the bike than the car too...

Danjamin1

CianRyan wrote: »

And you reckon they're twice as good seeing as they're twice the price?
Genuinely more than the tyres on my car, then again I've spent more on the bike than the car too...

There's good deals to be had on wiggle or ribble, think I only paid about €60 for a twinpack

mr spuckler

i always say schwalbe marathon plus when this topic comes up. no punctures in years of commuting daily for either myself or mrs spuckler. this thread is worth a scan.

C3PO

I've been using 23c Schwalbe Durano Plus on the SS commuter (daily - Shankill to/from Ballsbridge) for the last 6 months - bullet proof so far!

CianRyan

Had a set of marathon plus years ago on a hardtail mountain bike that never saw the mountains.
They were good but god were they heavy!

Cheers lads, I'll probably float down to my LBS and see what's on offer some stage this week.

Wishbone Ash

CianRyan wrote: »

...Currently on 25's but I'd rather go back to 23's.

Regarding Marathon Plus - their narrowest tyre is 700/25 but it's actually much wider than a 25 - more like a 28/32 in other brands.

ED E

Specialized Armadillo. Amazing.

Fian

I use Panaracer rimbo tyres on my commuter, pick up 2/3 punctures a year. I use gatorskins on a road bike. I would go with gatorskins over rimbos.


Had an irritating puncture on Saturday on my best bike - using GPII 4000s, and started thinking about going tubeless.

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/videos/cycling-tech/can-a-tubeless-tyre-survive-a-nail-video

[spoiler: yes tubeless tyre instantly reseals itself after a nail is driven into it, and 5 thumb tacks.]

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/road-reader/schwalbe-pro-one.html

This seems to be the GP4000 of tubeless tyres.

OleRodrigo

+ 1 on Durano Plus. Never punctured with those fellas.

They are also easy to pick pieces of glass from, as its only the bigger pieces that can penetrate the outer section. Others - like conti 4000's - can get riddled with tiny pieces that can be difficult to find.

I found Marathons just a bit too rough but no biggie if the commute is relatively short. Hard to take off in the event of a puncture.

papu

Continental Gatorskins, No puncture in almost a year, where as with traditional cheapo tyres I could have multiple punctures a month. Well worth the money!

py

+1 on Gatorskin Hardshells. Got ~8000Km commuting and endurance distance on weekends on previous set before trying 4 seasons. Now back to Hardshells after only ~3000Km on the 4 seasons.

onmebike

I've got a Schwalbe Marathon (not the Plus) on the commuter and a Panaracer Ribmo on the road bike. Tyres are all a bit mismatched, but both of these do really well with regard to puncture protection. The Ribmo is quite smooth running too.

smacl

OleRodrigo wrote: »

+ 1 on Durano Plus. Never punctured with those fellas.

And another +1, only two punctures over 5 years and they roll pretty well.

magicbastarder

onmebike wrote: »

The Ribmo is quite smooth running too.

but not a tyre you *would* want to change on the side of the road. they're a demon to get off, at least on my bike anyway.

onmebike

True, but I've put on about 4000km and not a sniff of a problem yet.

Macy0161

Another vote for Marathon Plus from me. If it's a pure commuter. They're heavy, but have got me over broken glass when I've had no choice!

OleRodrigo

smacl wrote: »

And another +1, only two punctures over 5 years and they roll pretty well.

They do - surprisingly well for the level of puncture protection.Not the lightest, but that shouldn't matter for commuting.

CianRyan

Lots of lovely options! Lots to think about before dropping nearly €100 on a set of tyres!

My commuter is also my leisure bike so grip, weight and overall performance still matters.
I found an old set of 23mm Gatorskins on an old set of wheels in the shed, they've probably been sitting for about 4 years but sure look, I'll ride on them until I can fork out for a new set. Probably 2 weeks.

Hauki

Tubeless+sealant would probably be the most puncture proof solution? Comes with a price tho.

CianRyan

Hauki wrote: »

Tubeless+sealant would probably be the most puncture proof solution? Comes with a price tho.

Come with a new set of rims anyway.

All My Stars Aligned

I've been using Slime inner tuber for years now. They are absolutely fantastic. They are self sealing tubes so when you do puncture (unless it's a very big hole) the tube reseals with only some loss of pressure. You can keep cycling but just pump it up again when you get a chance. Really, I don't understand why more people don't use them.

crosstownk

I've been commuting across Dublin City for a few years now. In that time I've used only Michelin tyres - Pro4 Service Course, Pro4 Endrance and I'm currently using Michelin Power Endurance. They last about 5,000km and I do get the odd puncture every couple of months or so but I'm happy with that. Anytime I've ever gotten a puncture the culprit has always been a shard of glass. Always.

As a side note - where the fcuk does all the glass come from?

Effects

I use Schwalbe Durano Plus and they've only punctured once on me, when I hit glass in a pothole. Double whammy.

(I neglect to include two punctures on a rear tyre but I was down to the blue puncture layer after wearing out the rubber. My own fault!)

ted1

Another Durano plus fan, in fact just ordered a new one today. Much better grip than Contis.

Alanbt

Used gatorskins, marathon plus and durano and would recommend durano overall.

Not quite as bombproof as marathon but still really good puncture resistance and roll better. Gatorskins were dodgy in the wet, didn't like them at all

Weepsie

Marathon Plus. There's a reason they're used on Dublin Bikes. I had them for 18 months, and though slow and heavy, never had a puncture even when there were cuts in them that would've destroyed others.

A bit crap in wet though but garorskins are crap in wet too.

smacl

Weepsie wrote: »

A bit crap in wet though but garorskins are crap in wet too.

Main reason I went for Durano plus over gatorskins at the time, they handle well in the wet.

Macy0161

I never had an issue with them in the wet, until threads like this put it in my head!

When I only had one bike I stuck with Marathon Plus. tbh at the time an extra kilo on tyres (notwithstanding the greater effect on the wheels) wasn't much in the scheme of things compared to how much extra the rider was carrying.

Also, being so bullet proof did mean that I could be confident that I wouldn't need to stop for a puncture. Whatever about summer/ dry weather, that was a real bonus in the winter/ rain. Only I decided to turbo on the crap days last winter, a set probably would've gone on for the winter tbh!

What are the other, less puncture resistant options like for getting on and off if you do puncture? As that's one thing I will say, the marathon plus are a ballache/ have to develop the knack to getting them on or off!

Wishbone Ash

Macy0161 wrote: »

...What are the other, less puncture resistant options like for getting on and off if you do puncture? As that's one thing I will say, the marathon plus are a ballache/ have to develop the knack to getting them on or off!

Panaracer Ribmos are a lot harder to get on/off than Marathon Plus IMO.

Gatorskins and Durano Plus are more difficult than normal tyres but no great problem.

(Tyres are generally easier to work with when they have been on a while - don't always judge them on the first fitting).