Had a bit of a search and now I have tyre overload.
I am looking for a set of tyres to commute to work/grind on. Most of my commute will be bitumen with some gravel shoulders - which I will be on when the trucks try to squeeze past (only about 2km).
I don’t like paying more then $50 for a tyre - will be doing lots of online searching.
700c 28-32 so I can fit fenders one day.
I was looking for the same thing this week. These are what I was looking at:
Panaracer Ribmo 28c. 370g. $40 at Stanmore Cycles.
Vittoria Randonneur 28c. 500g. $45 at Stanmore Cycles.
Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 28c. 310g. $57 on Wiggle.
Contintental Gatorskin 28c. 320g. $34 on ChainReaction.
I’ve only used the Gatorskins before - slippery when wet. Went with the Panaracers this time round.
Resist nomad tyres!
I can heartily recommend both the Vittoria Hyper Randos and the Schwalbe Kojaks. They’re both fat and fast, and can easily handle a bit of gravel.
The Hypers start at 32c, but the Kojaks go down to 28c and maybe smaller. I’ve been using the Kojaks in a 35 for the last couple of weeks, and they’re bloody unreal, in the wet or the dry.
Gatorskins probably have the best puncture protection, but you lose a little in wet weather grip. That said, I only had a couple of punctures on the hypers in almost 2 years on west sydney roads, and only really once they wore down a fair way.
I have used Schwalbe Marathon Cross for rough gravel touring and lite trails but they are 38’s, they are nice and grippy, no punctures but the rear has worn quite badly (I think cos of all the road riding between dirt/gravel).
I have just got a set of the folding Marathon supremes in 35c for road touring and a little path action, they are pretty nice on road, haven’t taken them off thou.
I have also used Schwalbe cx comps they are 35c too but cheap ($15-18 online plus shipping) but worked fine as a gravel grinder/commuter/path tyre.
Dunno how’d they go fully loaded?
What about schwalbe marathon mondial or extreme?
If you can fit in a 35c with a mud guard it opens up a lot more. . .
(and I’m not sponsored/work for schwalbe)
Awesome - thanks guys
At the moment I am leaning towards the Vittoria Randonneur Hypers in 32.
I am sure Schwalbe might have what I am after, but they have too many variations and I can’t be arsed trying to work out whats best.
I think the latest Schwalbe Kojaks are worth a shot, especially if you’re mostly on tarmac. Resist Nomads in 45 (actual ~40mm) are also good. If you need a little tread, Vittoria Randonneurs have a CX version with some edge knobs.
Also found at xHXCx shows.
I think the Kojaks might be a tad wide - I am kind of pushing it with 32’s and fenders.
Kojaks are available in 28c and 32c as well. Keep in mind that the 32c Hypers are pretty fat: you might be best off with 32c Kojaks. (32c hypers are almost as wide as 35c Kojaks…)
To sum up: get the Kojaks in 32c.
Marathon Racer - 30mm?
Marathon Supreme - 28mm?
Edit: Jono, Kojaks are only listed at 35mm now. Might be the old models that came in 28/32.
Here’s a rundown on Schwalbe tyres from the cantankerous Peter White
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/schwalbe.asp
Really? I can’t find any Kojaks in 32c for sale anywhere and the Schwalbe website doesn’t list them.
I’ve run Resist Nomads in a 35mm (more like 32mm) for the past 3 or so months and I’m very very happy with them.
No punctures (knock on wood), grippy in both wet and dry conditions and look pretty good also.
If I can fit them with mud guards, I’ll put the 45mm ones on when these wear out.
OK, I see the Marathon Supreme are available in both 28 & 32.
Are these guys sizing pretty close to the real tyre width?
35mm Schwalbe Kojak on a 19mm Open 4 CD rim measures 31mm.
35mm Resist Nomad on a 20mm Open Pro measures 31mm.
Soz. When I was looking at the 35s I found reference to other sizes, and there were some 28s on ebay the other week that someone on here picked up.
Looks like the 35s should be okay for brad on a standard width road rim. They look a bit wider on my A319/719s, I really should get the calipers out.
oh yeah, I have some Marathon racers in 30 too, they are good, fast (well in relative terms), fine for crushed grit bike paths/rail trail type stuff.
Though I have heard from mates that they wear quickly for how much they cost (~5000km before getting a bit tired).
Cool Kajaks are back on the short list. They will be going on some type of mavic boxed road rim.