commuter tire recommendations please...

[sailorboy]

Looking forward to getting my kirk commuter in soon and thinking about tires for everyday riding (not aggressive cornering) to work, but not big widebodied touring tires either.

In the category of 25mm or so, I have narrowed my choices to a conti gatorskin folding model and the grand bois "cerf" (26mm) model.

Anyone who has significant experience with these tires care to chime in?

also, looking for a tube recommendation. I don't know if its coincidence or what, but I've had 3 flats in about a 3 week period (I normally don't flat that much in a year) and I think they were all vittoria tubes with Vitt evo cx tires. On at least one of them, the hole was pretty much facing the rim, away from the tire casing, and they were ksyrium wheels, so no spoke holes were involved. Are these bad tubes and tires, or am I just likely riding on crappier roads now? (moved recently) what gives?

[markie]

The evo CX tires are notoriously fragile.

For commuting I like 28mm Panaracer paselas in the folding version.

I live in a town with bad roads and a lot of broken glass. I commute and ride a lot of miles. The paselas are great for these conditions and I rarely get flats.

[bigbill]

I commute on Gatorskin Ultras wire bead in 25mm. I had a set of the folding on my Pegoretti all last year and I wore them to the casing with no flats. This included rides in Hawaii, Italy, Montenegro, Maryland, San Diego, and finally the Seattle area. When I took them off the rim to replace them with some 4 Seasons, they litterally wadded up in a ball. Amazing tires.

I ride to a shipyard so I have Mr Tuffys since I have to ride through industrial areas. Little pieces of wire will really ruin your day. I didn't notice any difference in weight. I have had one flat this year from a large thorn that penetrated the tire and tuffy.

[stackie]

I've been using Rivendell Roly-Poly's for my commute. No problems. Knock on wood, but I don't ride through much debris.

I do like the ride of the Roly-Poly's and that is pretty important to me as my commute is absolutely gorgeous and constitutes many of my weekly miles.

Jon

[Blue Jays]

Panaracer/Rivendell Roly-Poly tires in 700 x 27 size were recommended to me by the designer of the fendered steel bicycle I'm currently building.

[palincss]

Looking forward to getting my kirk commuter in soon and thinking about tires for everyday riding (not aggressive cornering) to work, but not big widebodied touring tires either.

In the category of 25mm or so, I have narrowed my choices to a conti gatorskin folding model and the grand bois "cerf" (26mm) model.

Anyone who has significant experience with these tires care to chime in?

I've never used the GB 25mm, but I have the 30mm on my Velo Orange. My experience is right in line with everyone else's: it's a light, fast tire with great road feel and limited puncture resistance. If you run over a little piece of glass, you almost certainly will get a puncture. It's a fairly thin tread, too, and in most cases 2,000 miles would be a good service life.

For most of us, "commuting" means lots of miles and riding some fairly dodgy urban streets; flats are something to be avoided -- not necessarily at all, costs, but certainly at the cost of giving up a little speed and suppleness. Besides, at fifty bucks each for a tire that will wear out in 2,000 miles, a Grand Bois is both too rich and too thin for commuting, don't you think?

I used Panaracer Pacelas for some years on my commuter. They're not as "combat ready" as some tires, but plenty rugged enough for my commute. They're available in a 700x25. Another tire with truly impressive wear was the Michelin Axial Carbon. I got 4,000 miles on my back tire - something I'm still marvelling at. In all that time, I only ever got one flat, from a huge construction staple that might well have punctured a motorcycle tire.

I'd also question using a tire that narrow for a commuter. I like my commuting tires to be 35 - 38mm wide. That gives you plenty of latitude to deal with pavement issues, especially when riding in the dark. And yes, I understand that most road bikes haven't got the clearance for anything wider than a 25mm tire -- which only reinforces my belief that what we think of here as a road bike is generally a poor choice for a commuting bike.

Generally, I think the best commuters look like either city bikes (e.g., the Breezer) or loaded touring bikes (e.g., Kogswell P/R, Surley LHT, Bruce Gordon BLT, etc.). I base my opinion on 28 years of almost daily commuting from Alexandria to downtown Washington DC.

[palincss]

Panaracer/Rivendell Roly-Poly tires in 700 x 27 size were recommended to me by the designer of the fendered steel bicycle I'm currently building.

The Rolly Poly is a very nice tire, and I've used them for over 10,000 miles, but I think most commuters would be better served by the belted Ruffy Tuffy, which is more puncture resistant and has twice as thick a tread (and lasts twice as long). It gives up only a little bit in terms of ride quality and speed, and costs only a couple of bucks more then the RP.

[sailorboy]

Thanks everyone, there's a lot of good info here.

I'm inclined to agree with palincss here in terms of going with a more worry-free tire like the gatorskin or tuffy. I guess the romantic side of me liked the idea of having those gum sidewalls and the matching french blue label of the GBs to go on my terraplane, but sitting beside the road with traffic whizzing by at 0600 waiting for the patch glue to cure doesn't sound that romantic.

I also kind of wanted something to make this bike feel more like a road bike since I won't have to carry much more than a rack-top bag and hope to ride nearly as fast as my road rides. +1 on the comments about the commute making up most of my mileage for the forseeable future, hence I want it to feel like a ride and not a commute.

I'm guessing the gatorskins will still feel pretty racy.

[dwightskin]

The Conti Gatorskins should be good.

Pasela's are great puncture resistance, nice riding and a remarkable value (often around $20).

Bontrager Race Lite HD is another possibility.

Really, I would put the widest tire that will fit on your frame for commuting. Don't stop at 25mm if a 28 or 32mm would fit. Those wider tires still feel racy. AND you don't have to worry about pinch flats if your tire pressure drops because you didn't pump up your tires every day. I've had my Pasela's (32mm) drop down to 45psi with no pinch and still pretty decent handling.

[markie]

liked the idea of having those gum sidewalls

I also kind of wanted something to make this bike feel more like a road bike since I won't have to carry much more than a rack-top bag and hope to ride nearly as fast as my road rides. +1 on the comments about the commute making up most of my mileage for the forseeable future, hence I want it to feel like a ride and not a commute.


The panaracer paselas have a tan sidewall and the smaller versions <28mm roll nice and quick.

[Ken Robb]

I have successfully ridden 700x32 Paselas which measured about 28mm wide and 700x28 that measured 25mm but both were taller than most, Ruffy-Tuffy that is about 27.5, and 700x28 which measured 25.5mm UltraGatorskins. All were flat-proof for me and handled fine for the conservative cornering I do. Nashbar often has very cheap prices on Paselas ($12.95 for wire bead). The latest Paselas are reported to be wider than earlier versions.

I would caution owners of bikes with marginally tight clearances to consider the height of the mounted tires as well as the width because I have had bikes where the critical dimension was space between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fork.

[palincss]

I would caution owners of bikes with marginally tight clearances to consider the height of the mounted tires as well as the width because I have had bikes where the critical dimension was space between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fork.

On my Spectrum Ti, the critical dimension is at the rear brake bridge. The rear pads are at the top of the slot.

[staggerwing]

My current favorite is the Conti Gatorskin in 28x700. Not quite as silky smooth as the 25x700 Michelin Prorace2's that I have on another ride, but better than the Panaracer T-Servs (also 28x700) that preceded them. From what I have been told, the T-Serv is basically a blackwall Pasela Tourguard. Tread is identical.

FWIW, I'm right at the Clyde boundary (200lbs) and run the Gatorskins at 95-100psi Front, and 100-105psi rear. I've tried a little harder, but it didn't feel any faster, and was detrimental to ride quality. I typically run 'em 10-20 miles daily through the rough streets of urban Cincinnati.

I would have to put a caliper to them to confirm, but the 28 Gatorskins don't appear any larger than the 25 ProRace2's.

[Fixed]

The Conti Gatorskins should be good.

Pasela's are great puncture resistance, nice riding and a remarkable value (often around $20).

Bontrager Race Lite HD is another possibility.

Really, I would put the widest tire that will fit on your frame for commuting. Don't stop at 25mm if a 28 or 32mm would fit. Those wider tires still feel racy. AND you don't have to worry about pinch flats if your tire pressure drops because you didn't pump up your tires every day. I've had my Pasela's (32mm) drop down to 45psi with no pinch and still pretty decent handling.
he said it all imho
cheers

[Michael Maddox]

I'll chime in with a "me too."

I loves me some Gatorskins. I have a pair of tied and soldered 36-spoke wheels with 28mm 'skins on them for my Kirk.

They corner well, they're cushy enough, and they take a beatin'.

Highly recommended, even in wire bead. Who needs a light commuter?

[sc53]

Riv's Ruffy Tuffys (700 x 27) have been great on my CSI, and they have gum sidewalls. Decals are green and yellow, I think, however, not blue...Still, a very nice tire as others have noted. No flats at all in 2 yrs.

[caleb]

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/xmas05/vittoria-pave.jpg

[KevinK]

I have been using Serfas Seca 700x28c tires ($18 at REI) on my Bruce Gordon Hikari commuter. I find that they ride similar to a good road tire, are fairly light and quite resistant to flats. They will go to 120psi, but I keep them at about 105psi. I use a tuff strip in my rear tire as additional protection. My commute is 11.5 miles each way rain or shine, and I've tried quite a few different tires. So far the Serfas tires have been the most reliable while providing a really nice ride.

http://www.rei.com/product/724618

My experience with Gatorskins has not been great. I used them on my fixed gear and I have suffered cuts on the sidewalls. One was repairable, one wasn't.


Kevin

[Ken Robb]

I think cuts on sidewalls are pretty much just bad luck. I can't imagine how a manufacturer could make sidewalls cut-proof and not ride like steel hoops.