Road Bike Tyres

[Glasgow44]

Hi again
As you know (from a posting already on here) I’m giving serious consideration to buying my first road bike. At the moment, I have a Specialized Sirrus Sport – which is great; I’ve fitted this with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres which are practically bulletproof. Can I fit these onto a road bike or is there a road bike tyre alternative which meets the same good standard of the Schwalbe Marathon Plus? (One bike shop did recommend Continental Gatorskin Hardshell 25mm – are these the same standard?) I know that some folks switch their tyres, depending on whether its summer or winter, but I would probably just keep them on all year round like I do at the moment.
The bike I have in mind (although this is not definite – I’m looking at other makes and models) is:
http://www.dalescycles.com/2016-giant-defy-2-dark-blue-black-silver-small-p11779
Thanks in advance for all your help.
J

 

[Mo1959]

I would highly recommend the Schwalbe Durano Plus for a road bike. Good puncture resistance and still roll along reasonably well and I also found them reasonably grippy whereas I have read of a few on here saying the Gatorskins could be a bit slippy in the wet.

 

[MikeW-71]

Schwalbe do a Marathon Supreme in road bike widths, though it's quite heavy from the description. Otherwise the Durano Plus has a lot of fans on here as stated above.

Gatorskins are (I think) a bit quicker, but can be slippy in the wet. They have good puncture protection, but a lot depends on where you ride. Cars do a great job of cleaning the roads for us, so as long as you stay out of the gutter, watch for obvious debris and avoid potholes, you shouldn't have lots of punctures anyway. I've had only 1 on a road bike, and only 2 in the last 3 years across all my bikes.

I really like Continentals for my road bikes though, I have GP4000S on the best bike and GP 4 Seasons on the other. They both use the same compound, which is very grippy in the wet, and have good puncture protection. Both have been excellent

PS: I love the colour of that Defy, it's gorgeous!

 

[Glasgow44]

I would highly recommend the Schwalbe Durano Plus for a road bike. Good puncture resistance and still roll along reasonably well and I also found them reasonably grippy whereas I have read of a few on here saying the Gatorskins could be a bit slippy in the wet.

Hi there

Thanks for getting back to me. There are two types of Schwalbe Durano Plus.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-plus-performance-rigid-road-tyre-1/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-plus-performance-folding-road-tyre-1/

What is the difference between the two?

 

[MikeW-71]

Folding tyres will be lighter. And fit into a small box

 

[Mo1959]

A bit lighter, and I think anyway, easier to fit.

 

[Glasgow44]

PS: I love the colour of that Defy, it's gorgeous!

Me too!

 

[Glasgow44]

Folding tyres will be lighter. And fit into a small box

Thanks for that - do the folding tyres and rigid tyres offer the same puncture protection?

 

[helston90]

I'd just leave the tyres on that come with the bike- you'll get a few thousand miles out of them if you keep them correctly inflated and free of debris, they're not renowned for being poor.

How come you'd be looking to change straight away? or why do you think as it's a road bike you'll be hounded by punctures?

 

[pclay]

I'd just leave the tyres on that come with the bike- you'll get a few thousand miles out of them if you keep them correctly inflated and free of debris, they're not renowned for being poor.

+1.

I spent the first year on the stock tires that came with Cannondale. Eventually I had to replace then because they wore out. Did about 3000 miles with no punctures. Just maintain pressure and do a weekly inspection.

 

[MikeW-71]

Thanks for that - do the folding tyres and rigid tyres offer the same puncture protection?

Yes, they do. It's only the bead that changes.

If you do go with the Giant, I know that the stock tyres on mine were worn out in 1500 miles and one puncture. The GP4000S are now up to 4000 miles and still going.

 

[mjr]

Can I fit these onto a road bike or is there a road bike tyre alternative which meets the same good standard of the Schwalbe Marathon Plus?

You can get the Marathon Plus in road-bike-friendly 25-622 http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/tour-reader/marathon-plus.html but I'd go for something a bit less hard like Durano Plus or even regular Durano or I see Lugano is now available in 25s too, which should be lovely unless you expect to be riding over particularly nasty stuff often and can't bear to stop to dig out sharps as soon as you feel the tell-tale tap-tap-tap of the road hammering through the protection on each rotation. My road bike currently has HS-159 because it's vintage, but I don't think it's been deflated yet and it's "only" K-Guard Active Line, similar to Lugano, but with more tread - the Duranos have more protection.

PS: I love the colour of that Defy, it's gorgeous!

Lovely colour, but they seem to have missed getting the seat stays to meet the top tube

 

[Glasgow44]

How come you'd be looking to change straight away? or why do you think as it's a road bike you'll be hounded by punctures?

I'm the worlds worst at fixing things and I know that if I'm at risk of getting punctures (I know puncture resistant tyres are not a guarantee but better than non puncture resistant tyres) I would be kind of person whereby the bike would lie for ages before I got round to fixing it either by myself (which I might try to attempt to do) or take it to a bike shop. I got a few punctures to begin with on my existing bike but since buying Schwalbe Marathon Plus - no punctures (same with the bike before)

I think I would just prefer to have peace of mind knowing that, although not guaranteed, there is some puncture protection there.

 

[Southside Mike]

Schwalbe do a Marathon Supreme in road bike widths, though it's quite heavy from the description. Otherwise the Durano Plus has a lot of fans on here as stated above.

Gatorskins are (I think) a bit quicker, but can be slippy in the wet. They have good puncture protection, but a lot depends on where you ride. Cars do a great job of cleaning the roads for us, so as long as you stay out of the gutter, watch for obvious debris and avoid potholes, you shouldn't have lots of punctures anyway. I've had only 1 on a road bike, and only 2 in the last 3 years across all my bikes.

I really like Continentals for my road bikes though, I have GP4000S on the best bike and GP 4 Seasons on the other. They both use the same compound, which is very grippy in the wet, and have good puncture protection. Both have been excellent

PS: I love the colour of that Defy, it's gorgeous!

+ 1 for Continental GP 4 Seasons. I have 28s on my Sirrus and 25s on a Triban.

They roll nicely and excellent grip in the wet on the odd occasion we get rain up here in Scotland.

I've yet to have a puncture with either but at least if I do getting them on and off the rims is pretty easy.

Only downside really is price

 

[Elybazza61]

Another option(when the originals wear-out) would be Michelin pro4 endurance.

Tyres are a funny thing though like saddles,what one person gets on with another might hate;for example a lot of people hate Vittoria Open Paves quoting lots of punctures and although my pair cut up a lot the rear only punctured recently and to be fair it was getting pretty worn,nicest tyre I've ridden though.The Clement Stradas that replaced them have been good so far although not as nice as the paves.