Commuting tire recommendations?

[jabberwocky]

I’ve been a fan of Panaracer Pasela TG tires. A good all-rounder for commuting. I generally get five thousand or so miles out of a set, they have a kevlar liner for flat resistance and are reasonably light and fast rolling.

[PrintError]

@jabberwocky 8207 wrote:

I’ve been a fan of Panaracer Pasela TG tires. A good all-rounder for commuting. I generally get five thousand or so miles out of a set, they have a kevlar liner for flat resistance and are reasonably light and fast rolling.

Funny story about those. I put about 4k on a set of those before the rear simply wore through. ZERO flats their entire lives. I saved the front since it was still usable as a spare, and “upgraded” to Gatorskins.
Within a thousand miles, my rear Gator failed at the sidewall, and I put the 4k old Pasela TG on the back. The front Gator had a pretty regular regiment of flats, but the rear Pasela was untouchable.
Until the rim exploded. I have photos somewhere, but the sidewall of my rim failed dramatically. It was worn too much and literally snapped, shredding the tube like an angry Wolverine and forcing my first ever need for a tow home. I got home, took the back tire off, and the now 9k mile old Pasela WAS UNTOUCHED!

Saved that sucker in the garage as a spare!

I chucked the Gators out of frustration and put Armadillos on, having heard endless good reviews. 4,500 miles and ZERO flats later, a Kia put my rear bike fender through the rear tire earlier this year and destroyed it. Long story short, his insurance bought me a new bike, and I put zero miles on the OEM tires. Instead, I put Armadillos on the day I got it, and they have 2k on them with, you guessed it, ZERO FLATS.

Pasela TG = DAMN GOOD TIRE, indestructible, I swear they’re made of Unobtanium lined with Kevlar.
Gatorskin = Crap. Will not recommend. Will not buy again.
Armadillo = I’m pretty sure this is what they make tank tracks out of. Good luck puncturing these suckers!

[Dirt]

I’ve never seen a tire last as long as the Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite. They’re a little slippery in the wet when they get worn down, but I literally rode a set until the rear tire was into the threads all the way around* (no rubber left) and never got a flat. They come in 700×23, 25 and 28. They are silly expensive ($65 each).

*Makes for an almost interesting story. I had these fenders that wrapped way around the tire. I always thought that when a tire got to the end of its life, it would start getting flats. I never checked under the fender because I never got flats. One day I wondered why the bike felt so slow. I flipped it and looked at the tire to see that I’d been running on cloth for a while. I can only guess how many miles I actually had on the tires. That guess would be in the 13-15,000 mile range though.

What is super annoying about these tires, is that I actually was kind of feeling like I wanted to compare some different commuting tires and bought the next set to try out. The Armadillos lasted so long that by the time I got around to replacing them, I’d already given away their replacement (about a year earlier) to someone who needed them much more than I did. That person actually wore out the tires I’d given them BEFORE my Armadillos wore out.

I actually still have them in the shop if you want to try and get a few more thousand miles on them.

[OneEighth]

If you aren’t wed to a 32 minimum, consider Vittoria Zaffiros. They are high pressure, dirt cheap ($15) and are better all around than the Gatorskins I had before—and I liked my Conti’s.
The only 32’s I’ve used again and again because I really like them are Vittoria cross tires, but they wear fairly quickly and aren’t cheap. Trying Grifos this winter.

[Riley Casey]

I bought these to make my commute / general urban riding more bullet proof and for the reflective stripe on the side.

http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=city.view

[Riley Casey]

whoops …

[pfunkallstar]

Once upon a time I loved the Michelin Krylion Carbons, but those days, like gas, have passed. The new Carbons are far too tight on the rims and the sidewall blew out on my front wheel after 500 miles. I switched over to Continental Grand Prix 4000s and they are amazing – not a single flat, easy to put on, and grip like molasses to pancakes (if that is even a saying). That said, the Armadillo Elites might actually be bullet proof.

[WillStewart]

Surprisingly (at least to me), Schwalbe has low rolling resistance balloon tires called Big Apples for $25 to $30 that absorb quite a bit of road/trail shocks without slowing one down, giving close to the effect of full suspension. I switched to them and am so pleased that I’m not looking back…

Note the reviews at MTBR.com and bikeforums.net.

[PrintError]

@Riley Casey 8237 wrote:

I bought these to make my commute / general urban riding more bullet proof and for the reflective stripe on the side.

http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=city.view

I have these on my wife’s hybrid in 26×2.1 size, they are basically indestructible steamrollers. LOVE em!

[jrenaut]

How do I know what size tires to get? I’m getting sick of the flats, and I’m thinking about upgrading to the Armadillo Elite. Currently I have 25s. I assume I can do a 23 or 28? Why might I do that? Would my fenders still fit with 28s? I’ll probably be at my LBS this week and can ask them, but I don’t think they carry Specialized, so they won’t be able to talk as much about the Armadillos.

[DismalScientist]

@jabberwocky 8207 wrote:

I’ve been a fan of Panaracer Pasela TG tires. A good all-rounder for commuting. I generally get five thousand or so miles out of a set, they have a kevlar liner for flat resistance and are reasonably light and fast rolling.

I use the non-kevlar. Of course, It’s the only inexpensive thing I can find for 27 inch rims!

[jrenaut]

So, my LBS doesn’t recommend the Armadillos. They like the Panaracer T-Serv. This does not come as a big surprise, as they have these tires on the rack, and don’t stock Specialized. But they also recommend the Gatorskins that PrintError derided so vehemently.

I hate to go in to the LBS, ask for advice, then come back in with something they recommended against, but I also never want to change a flat tire again.

[PrintError]

Solution: Check another LBS. A-1 carries the Armadillos, so does Spokes.

[jrenaut]

It’s not that I can’t get the tires, it’s just that I’ll be back to my LBS because they do free lifetime maintenance, and because they’re right on the way from home to work. And they’ll judge me for defying them.

[invisiblehand]

Panaracer Pasela TGs are my standard. If you’re really flat adverse, go with a Schwalbe Marathon or one of its variations.

Schwalbe Big Apples are awesome tires. But you need to fit at least 50 mm wide tires and if you’re commuting in all weather, you might want fenders.

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