Tyres for a hybrid

[alasdairgf]

Just bought myself George, a Dawes Discovery 301, friends chipped in to a bike fund for my 40th, yay! Currently, George is wearing a pair of salvaged Marathon Plus 700x32 tyres from my old bike (which is going Straight To The Dump, f**king thing), which is a good start, I guess - I'm a biggish bloke (100kg or thereabout) and without some form of puncture resistant tyre, I spend ages applying patches.

So the M+ tyres are great for my commuting (sub 5 miles each way, unless I decide to go the long route), but I'm also keen to take George out off the roads on weekends and evenings. Not hairing down mountains or anything, but canal path or forestry trail type stuff. The 32mm M+'s look a bit thin for anything that wasn't tarmacced at least once in the distant past..., so the question is, am I going to want to put new shoes on George for this sort of stuff? And if so, what sort of tyre is good for both commute and trail?

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Edit: 32mm, not 35.

 

[mcshroom]

The 32mm marathons should be ok for that sort of riding. If you feel like going wider they come in wider sizes. Other good ones are Continental Travel Contacts.

 

[Alun]

Something like Conti TourRide tyres might suit George, but generally more tread means harder work on tarmac.

 

[Mark_Robson]

For the surfaces that your talking about the Schwalbe's will be fine.

 

[alasdairgf]

Hmmm, those Travel Contacts do seem like the thing... (Wiggle link). Can anyone tell me now much difference I would notice going from the 32mm M+ to the 37mm version of these? Will the slick centre balance out the wider profile on road?

Reviews say they're a bit slippy in the wet, though, not great for the commute? Perhaps I'll settle for the M+ until such a time as I can afford a rack-full of bikes for different purposes!

 

[Andy_R]

The 32mm marathons should be ok for that sort of riding. If you feel like going wider they come in wider sizes. Other good ones are Continental Travel Contacts.

+1

I put them on my bike for the c2c last year, and never bothered to take them off afterwards. regularly doing 60+ on day rides on them (road and trail), no problems in the wet (even in the soapy suds that have started turning up again).

 

[alasdairgf]

+1

For clarity, is this +1 for the Marathons, or +1 for the Travel Contacts?

 

[Andy_R]

For clarity, is this +1 for the Marathons, or +1 for the Travel Contacts?

sorry, +1 for the conti travel contacts

 

[Alembicbassman]

I've read reviews on on Contis and they don't seem as hard wearing as the Schwalbes, for a heavier rider a hard wearing compound would be better.

I'm using standard Marathon 28s on my Hybrid and have used it on towpaths and trails without issue. I paid £10 each at planet X with free delivery.