Best tyres for commuting?

[Runjikol]

I just wanted to add a point about the kevlar and rain.

In the rain little bits of glass stick to the tires and are therefore give more opportunity to puncture the tire.

With the gatorskins, I found that glass would pierce the kevlar and a tiny bit would be left underneath the belt, which would then look un-pierced/undamaged leaving the tiny bit of glass virtually impossible to find, particularly in the dark and rain, but ready to puncture your new/repaired tube again.

YMMV of course.

Something you might find helpful: if you use metal tyre levers, run the spoon/lever end around the inside of the tyre a few times to dislodge any fragments still in there. I learned to do this after using my thumb and finding the glass sliver the hard way: with blood and pain.

[tallywhacker]

I think I am on my 4th year on the same set of Armadillos. the first couple of years I only used them in winter but they are my year round tyre now. Just starting to show a bit of wear. I definately remember having at least 2 punctures with them

[mikesbytes]

I'm going to buy 4 of those Rubino's that are $25 each on T7

[tinhorn]

26x1.95 Duro City Cavaliers (AT) $15 each from velogear

big improvement from my knobies on my MTB commuter.

[mikesbytes]

I'm going to buy 4 of those Rubino's that are $25 each on T7

Sold out

[gavinr]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I've decided to go with a set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus's. (I liked the sound of the Durano Plus's too, but they're not available in 28 width.) I'll let you know how I get on with them (once I've tracked down the best price deal).

[mikedufty]

Just had my first puncture since starting using continental contacts. This was a city contact 26x1.5, had a crescent shaped very sharp sliver of metal make it's way right through. 15,000 tyre kilometres altogether on a couple of different model contacts before the first puncture, although this particular tyre has only done 1250km. I was previously getting a glass puncture every 1000km or so with specialized armadillos, and every couple of hundred with cheap road tyres on my commute.

[martinjs]

Running 700 x 28C Vittoria Randonneur and have 6,766 km on both front and back of my Felt Flat bar with no punctures so far (touch wood) Front tire looks good for quite a few more k's but I think the back one may need replacing in the next 1000k's or so.

Martin

[hiflange]

My riding is all commute/errand/work/visits.
I ride on roads, paths, anywhere that looks stable enough for skinny 700C's. And in all weather.
I've had Ultra Gatorskins on two bikes and never had a flat with them. Had plenty on other tyres and plenty of flats to go with them, always glass from memory. Flats are a drag.
Occasionally as I feel the back or front let go through some mushy leaves (Daglish Station) or a sand drift (Leighton Beach) I wish for a bit more grip. Mostly I'm happy to have the reasonably slick surface, I really don't fancy punting anything too knobbly into the Freo Doctor come summer.

Rob

[1st XV]

+1 for Bontrager Rac Lite Kevlar. No dramas for 6+months now.... (i just jinxed myself, didnt i?)

[Zynster]

Gatorskins 700C x 23 + 1600km commuting to Brisbane CBD = zero punctures.

[simonn]

Gatorskins 700C x 23 + 1600km commuting to Brisbane CBD = zero punctures.

How often do you ride in the rain?

[Zynster]

Gatorskins 700C x 23 + 1600km commuting to Brisbane CBD = zero punctures.

How often do you ride in the rain?

I ride on wet roads fairly often, but have rarely been caught in a downpour.

[ad91on]

I can definately say you do NOT want continetal ultra sports - these came on my bike and i was getting about 4 flats a week.

Once i'd saved up some money i got some gatorskins. I had one flat in the whole 4000km i rode on those tires, and that was only after i rode through a puddle of glass.

Running schwalbe stelvios now - they're fantastic. Had two flats in the first two weeks i think, and today i discovered i'd lost over 50psi of pressure from morning to afternoon so i'll change that tube, but other than that for the performance of these tires they're worth a few extra punctures over gatorskins.

But if you're serious about no punctures, go for gatorskins in my opinion!

[rkelsen]

I'm going to buy 4 of those Rubino's that are $25 each on T7

Sold out

They're cheaper than that on Wiggle... delivered to your door!

[x8pg2qr]

I have a MTB for commuting. My method was to go to the LBS to ask for some slicks. Then chose one of what they had hanging around, and asked them to put it on for me for a fee.

(wince).

My next purchase will be one of these recommended ones. Maybe by then I will have enough courage to do it myself.

[Thoglette]

Interesting how we have such a variety of opinions on this question

Perhaps, but they are all from the same church. Something with puncture resistance. And maybe some puncture resistance. Did I mention puncture resistance is popular?

No one has recommended Vittoria Corsa Evo CX or Tufo S22 or even Conti GP4000 with Black Chili.

The only variation on the theme is on the periphery of performance: wet grass performance; whether 32mm tyres on 19mm rims are really suitable for high speed descents, etc etc.

[Aushiker]

No one has recommended <snip> even Conti GP4000 with Black Chili.

G'day

I did:

humbs up for the Continental GP4000/GP4000S. These are fitted to Froggie which is more of a dry weather ride and spends more time on the road than paths. I am getting around 4,000 km from them and the puncture rate is around 2,000 km + between punctures.

Andrew

[xavdav]

I'm just about to buy a pair of MICHELIN Erilium 2 700x23 tyres for commuting.

They appear to be reasonably cheap and have a kevlar ply which supposedly makes them more puncture resistant. I'll post a report after I've ridden on them for a while.

Has any one tried them?

I got a pair and the rear one lasted less than 20 kg on the M4/M7 major cut right in the middle of the thread, big enough tohave the tube popping out above 100 psi. You can have the front one if you want.

[sogood]

No one has recommended ... Conti GP4000 with Black Chili.

I could not feel the difference b/n 'GP4000 with Black Chili' and 'GP4000S'. Yet again, they both are around $50 a pop on PBK with a few bucks difference b/n them. So neither of them can be considered to be budget priced.

[Aushiker]

G'day

Probikekithave good prices on Continental tyres at the moment.

Regards
Andrew

[mikesbytes]

G'day

Probikekithave good prices on Continental tyres at the moment.

Regards
Andrew

don't forget to apply the discount code AUS5

[Tale]

I commute on either of two bikes/sets of tyres:

- Continental City Contacts on my touring bike. These are semislicks that roll well and can take a lot of punishment. No kevlar, but they're so beefy they don't puncture. I like them. I've been through five or six sets of tyres on the tourer, and Continentals have always been the best. Conti Top Touring 2000s were also good tyres, slimmer than the City Contacts, but you MUST keep them properly inflated. Good Contis last a long time - I've worn three sets of Contis right down to the lining, even done hundreds of kilometres with the lining showing on parts of the tyre before I replaced them (had one blowout on a tyre worn through to the lining, patched the hole from the inside with a tyre patch and some tape, shifted that tyre to the front and did another 1000km).

- Bontrager Race Lites with kevlar on my road bike. This is my second set (had them on my tourer a couple of years ago) and they roll very well and are puncture-proof. They don't last as long as Contis, but it's almost worth it because they roll better than any Conti tyre I've tried. But another disadvantage is they have absolutely no resistance to help you brake, so they are very skiddy tyres in an emergency. When they wear out, strips of the black coating (is that the kevlar?) start coming off and you need to replace them fast.

I'd back up what ad91on said about Continental Ultra Sports - worst tyre I've ever had. They came stock on my road bike too. I had punctures on the first and second ride, went straight out and bought the Bontrager Race Lites to replace them, never had a puncture since. Have now used the Conti Ultra Sports on a trainer for a few 40-minute sessions and they seem to be wearing fast.

[Thoglette]

No one has recommended <snip> even Conti GP4000 with Black Chili.

I did:

Jeez, there's one in every crowd, checking the bloody facts and expecting me to get them right

Back on topic, as a certified tight ass I use whatever is left over in the back of the shed. I did spring for some Serfas Seca FPS which are now just about worn out after perhaps 5000km, (I guess). Only one puncture, compared to the monthly gdammit with the lovely silk things I had on before.

[Fletcher]

Just changed tyres on my Avanti Blade last night. The Kenda Craptastics that came with it were showing wear on the rear and 3 punctures in six weeks convinced me to upgrade. They also did not feel very safe at 50km/h+.
After some dithering I bought a pair of Continental Sport Contacts (would have bought the Armadillos but I wasn't 100% sure my Big W pump would handle 110psi). They feel much, much better.