As already said, if it aint broke.. :-)
Getting the ones with the wall to wall punctureproofing so should be at least as reliable as the current pair. It sure is hard work going back to mud on the railway after weeks of dry hard ground though, my bike is minging!!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help
Best Commuter tyre?
(71 posts)- Started 14 years ago by Smudge
- Latest reply from kaputnik
- This topic is
resolved
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Posted 14 years ago #
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"Min didn't want anything with the word marathon
Kojaks would be good for you then ;-)"
Hmm, I had been thinking about getting some slicks for my cross bike but I still have the RIE "descent of death" to contend with. And the Roseburn can be pretty bad for mud and wet leaves. I also need something that can grip slugs. Definately worth considering next time the road bike needs some though.
Posted 14 years ago # -
My commuter came with Continental Sport Contacts. They are just about the hardest tyres to put back on that I've come across. I'd like to find a tyre that's good on tarmac but also has some mud control.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Don't know what size you need but as I say I found the nimbus in 26 x 1.5 to be decent on tarmac and adequate in mud, obviously they are street tyres and they're going to be a bit, erm, interesting when the going gets slippy but even in the snow I had more problem with the mudguard becoming clogged than I did with grip... I was being awfully careful mind you!
Posted 14 years ago # -
Cyclingmollie Continental Sport Contacts.
I had them on a 20" wheeled 'bent and even Andrew at the shop had to use a lot of power to get them back on...
When the pros think they're tight then it's time to get worried... They were tough and rolled well.
Nimbus is good allrounder although I haven't fitted one for years now. Schwalbe do have some good tyres that aren't Marathons though...
Posted 14 years ago # -
I've found, as a general rule, that Japanese tyres are a looser fit on European rims than European tyres are on Japanese rims. I don't think it's simply down to a smaller diameter of the rim's inner section.
For spring, summer and autumn riding I've been using Panaracer Pasela Tourguard tyres for years with very few flats. Mostly I've used them in 32-559 but I'm also currently using a 35-622 folding version. For a bit more wet weather grip the Schwalbe Marathon Racers are good, and I've been using them in 35-622 and 40-406 sizes.
My very first non-knobbly mtb tyre was Specialized's Nimbus 2, which was great, and later I tried the Nimbus Armadillo which was a heavy hog and still not puncture-proof. I've used original Schwalbe Marathons for a time and found them a bit heavy and a bit puncture-happy, and a Michelin Wildgripper City which was the most dead-feeling tyre I ever used.
I'll be trying Schwalbe Kojaks in a few weeks' time but for now my money is still with Paselas.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Postscript: I've also been using a pair of Serfas Barista tyres on one bike. Probably 700 miles on them now, half canal trail and half tarmac, and I'm liking them a lot.
Posted 14 years ago # -
I seem to remember someone saying the armadillos wer actually lighter than the normal nimbus?
Anyway, specially for the geeks here's an interesting table: http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/tech/JL.htmPosted 14 years ago # -
Thanks Smudge. Any non-humanities graduates here can help me work out what on earth all that means? I think I'll try to find a pair of Nimbus - they seem to be popular here.
Posted 14 years ago # -
For Rolling Res. Coeff bigger numbers are bad.
Ditto for the Rolling Resistance Power Absorbed, big number bad, small number good.
Interestingly the Marathon has higher rolling resistance at higher pressure. I didn't look at the others.
Posted 14 years ago # -
wee folding bike: "For Rolling Res. Coeff bigger numbers are bad."
Does that mean that a bike with tyres with a score of 200 is going to be twice as hard to pedal than one which has a score of 100 (at a speed where wind resistance is negligable)?
Posted 14 years ago # -
No because you still have to accelerate your mass, work against gravity sort out the angular momentum of your wheels and there are frictional losses in the transmission.
However, you are correct, rolling resistance is most important al low speeds, above about 12 mph drag takes over.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Folds - how does a higher pressure tyre manage to have a greater rolling resistance? Does that not change the laws of physics? I thought some of the numbers were very small diffs between each other. I did enjoy the whole sixth year studies physics project feel about the table and the imagined wheel on a stick device used, must have taken some time to change the tyres etc.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Even more data...
http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2007/08/06-tire-rolling-resistance-test-results.html
Posted 14 years ago # -
Well... I asked a guy from Holland called Simon Koorn about this a few years ago. He does research on cycling... and skating.
Apparently as you increase the pressure you loose one of the advantages of a pneumatic tyre. They even out the small ripples in the road and mean you don't have to use energy raising your mass. If the tyre approaches being solid this doesn't happen anymore.
I think Simon's method was to pump up a tyre so that it just deformed and no more when the rider was on the bike.
I used to ride on tubs at 175 psi and sometimes a rough road would slow you down a lot. I don't know that this was all to do with rolling resistance or just being shaken about so much.
The Marathon Plus really is tough. I'm fairly sure I rode from Airdrie to the other side of Coatbridge on one with no air in it before I noticed. I've got the firm suspension block on two of my Bromptons but not the one with the Marathon Plus tyre on the back. People who have tried it found the combination quite harsh.
Jobst Brandt on the other hand says that pressure should have a better effect for the heavier tyre:
http://yarchive.net/bike/tire_pressure.html
I usually have the Marathons at 100 psi, Stelvios at 125. I haven't done any rigorous testing on this but I can feel when the pressure is getting too low.
My CSYS physics project was on measuring the speed of sound.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Another funny thing is that at a given pressure, wider tyres have lower RR than narrow ones. Mainly this is cancelled out by the fact that you run your road tyres at 100psi and your MTB ones at 25psi, but in fact if you do choose wide slicks, you can inflate them quite hard (I've had my 35mm Kojaks at 100psi on the Raptobike) and it doesn't seem any slower than a race tyre, but a lot more comfortable.
For my own interest I did a pair of 10 mile TTs, one with a 26x1.5" wheel and one with a (much lighter) 700x23c from my fixed wheel, there was basically nothing in it. What I had for breakfast could have separated the two runs (which I did a couple of weeks apart).
The problem is more that once you figure you've settled on big slicks for your go-fast bikes, hardly any have clearance for anything more than 25c anyway!
Posted 14 years ago # -
Giving myself an award for resurrecting an ancient thread.
I've used Gatorskins for years but may have now jinxed myself by jumping ship and brand loyalty to Panaracer Pasela Tourguards.
The decision was led entirely by wanting a tyre with an amber sidewall to match the general olde-fangled Brooks Saddle / Steel frame / French mudguard look of my bike.
If I regret this rash change of leaving behind what I know to be a good tyre for my commute, I shall report back and run scuttling for the safety of the German rubber gods as soon as I can.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Panaracer - don't they make televisions and VHS 'camcorders'?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Indeed they do Ross, it's the tyre producing bit of the Panasonic Keiretsu.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Giving myself an award for resurrecting an ancient thread.
And again...
Given up on the Pasela TGs after wearing through a couple of pairs on commuting. They just don't seem to be up to the task since I had an inner tube blow-out on me this morning and suffered a rash of punctures throughout the winter.
Given my vanity desiring still to have gumwall tyre I've taken a recommendation to go with Clement Sradas, which have a nice brown sidewall. Recommended by Lovelybicycle blog as a good compromise between retro appearance and puncture protection (reported to cope well on the potholed and thorn-strewn backroads of Norniron anyway).
Realistically you can see the lighter sidewall for a few weeks before it is lost to the grime of our roads... I should just go back to Gatorskins.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Re-resurrecting?
Good though as it is different from Schwalbe marathon plus
Posted 9 years ago # -
When we rode in Cuba this time last year I had a Marathon Supreme. Very nice tyre, good grip, low RR and plenty of volume. Not so vulnerable to unwanted intrusions. Alas, not an option to save anyone money!
Posted 9 years ago # -
I can answer my own question from four years ago. The better mud control tyres I bought were Specialized "The Captain" 26 x 2.0. I'm still using them though the long muddy stretch of path that required them has been tarmaced. They have never punctured (flips PF the bird).
Posted 9 years ago # -
Still using Marathon Plus.
I've got Schwalbe Winters on one Brompton but they'll be coming off in a few weeks and the Kojaks will be back on that one.
The Pashley has Marathon Plus tyres and I don't bother carrying kit to take the wheels off it but I do carry a pump… which I've never needed to use.
There are a couple of other reasons for not carrying kit.
That bike doesn't go far, Airdrie - Glasgow is the most it does. The route on the A89 follows the North Clyde line fairly closely so if I did get a flat I could fling it on the train.
Getting the back wheel off is a lengthy procedure because it has an enclosed chain and hub brake.Not carrying kit was part of the reason I missed seeing Bad Manners in October. I had cycled into town to see a bike movie in the GFT before the gig. The support band were good but played for quite a long time before announcing that Buster had broken down on the M6. I did a quick calculation and worked out that he was at least 90 mins away and there was no way I could make the last train if I stayed to see them. If I did have a technical issue I was going to be phoning the memsahib after midnight which would not have been well received.
Buster will be back and I saw Madness in December. My bike spent a couple of days locked outside the Armadillo after that one because the key broke off. Annoyed at Madness for not having a Scottish date on the Grandslam event.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Found a horrible "Chen Shin Tube Super HP" tyre that I think was £9 out of Bicycleworks as a spare tyre until the new ones arrive. Interestingly it's a 700x28, and I was convinced I could only fit 25s under the mudguards on this bike, but it went home comfortably. If I can do the same on the front I just found 3mm of extra comfort.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Recently put on 38mm Vittoria Voyager Hypers, despite stilted name, and so far they feel and seem good quality, shrugging off a big piece of glass that I noticed, and good price for two sizes on Planet X at the moment.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I really like my Continental Travel Contacts. Seem quite light, and pretty much slick except for the tread on the edge which will kick in if you start sinking into any mud. Seem like a good compromise - have had a couple of punctures each year (always hawthorns) but not enough that has made me start looking for alternatives.
Always a relief getting them on after a month or two of Marathon Winters. Counting the days...
Posted 9 years ago # -
Well the rear "Chen Shin Tube Super HP" blew out this morning going up Regent Road... Carcass was ripped and the tube got out through the hole. Here endeth the experiment with budget tyres.
You should be able to expect more than 4 months non-winter commuting, ~15 miles a day, out of even a cheapy tyre. They haven't punctured yet but to suddenly fail? No thanks. They'll be going in the bin this evening and I'll get round to putting on the Clement Strava brown-walls that I ordered a while back and have been sitting in the box of bike bits ever since.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Well since its been bumped. How do folk find Kojaks in the rain?
Posted 9 years ago # -
Kojaks on wet tarmac seem to be fine. Kojaks on wet grass are entertaining!
Kojaks on wet "safety" surfaces such as employed by Edinburgh Council will result in small skids as the offended wheel slides into the groove.
I don't think bicycles aquaplane due to their small contact surface - it can be cleared of water efficiently without tread, so the tread only matters on mud and surfaces trending to mud.
Kojaks on mud or ice are a complete non-starter. Literally.
Robert
Posted 9 years ago #
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