Since I resumed cycling a couple of years ago after a 20-year gap, I've had mixed feelings about a lot of the developments that have taken place in my absence, though I don't want to go into all of them here.
But I am seriously impressed by how much better tyres are these days, especially in terms of superior compounds. On my touring bike, I've just swapped out a pair of 32mm Marathon Greenguards for same sized Gatorskins for the summer (as most of the previously softer surfaces I ride on have dried and hardened).
I've only done a little under 600 miles on the Marathons, but the raised molding line along the centre of them still hasn't worn down. In the old days, that line would be gone after only a few rides.
I think that's remarkable, and it suggests they'll last a good few thousand miles - where I used to bank on roughly around 2,000 miles for a pair of tyres.
It also brings me to a sobering thought. I'm riding at a pace of around 2,000 miles per year, which is spread mainly across five different pairs of tyres (on different bikes). And I have another 3 pairs of tyres in stock that I bought when I saw them at irresistible bargain prices.
I'm 60 shortly, and it suggests that, barring catastrophic tyre failure, I've probably bought my very last tyres.
But I am seriously impressed by how much better tyres are these days, especially in terms of superior compounds. On my touring bike, I've just swapped out a pair of 32mm Marathon Greenguards for same sized Gatorskins for the summer (as most of the previously softer surfaces I ride on have dried and hardened).
I've only done a little under 600 miles on the Marathons, but the raised molding line along the centre of them still hasn't worn down. In the old days, that line would be gone after only a few rides.
I think that's remarkable, and it suggests they'll last a good few thousand miles - where I used to bank on roughly around 2,000 miles for a pair of tyres.
It also brings me to a sobering thought. I'm riding at a pace of around 2,000 miles per year, which is spread mainly across five different pairs of tyres (on different bikes). And I have another 3 pairs of tyres in stock that I bought when I saw them at irresistible bargain prices.
I'm 60 shortly, and it suggests that, barring catastrophic tyre failure, I've probably bought my very last tyres.
