When to change tyres?

[ChrisV]

I started with slick 28s that came with my road bike, but kept getting punctures, so for winter I went bomb proof with Marathon Plus 32s.

I have to admit, they are more comfortable than the 28s, but am I losing any speed/efficiency etc? And if not, why does everyone not go bigger and more comfortable?

I was thinking about going back to 28s at some point, but would I notice the difference? And if 28s, would slicks be noticeably different from Marathon Pluses?

Or should I just go mental and go 23?

 

[shouldbeinbed]

If your rims can take 32s, 23s may be a bit too narrow to sit safely.

Tyres are individual based on how and where you ride, asking for advice is like asking someone to pick a favourite colour for you TBH. Punctures are a fact of life with any tyre and can be minimised by a bit of regular care and maintenance, keep them pumped up to deflect sharp nasties off before they get caught in a squidy tyre & work their way in and every ride or so run your eye and hand over the tyre whole surface and ensure there's no bits caught or nicks that could be a weak spot or grab grit etc. a bit of superglue can help with nicks

 

[Racing roadkill]

I've stayed on 23's on my road bike all season thus far. I use Durano plus etape's. They have the class 5 shielding, are slick in the center, have treaded bits on the side walls (so roll like a slick 23, and grip like a treaded 28), so far, they have been bombproof.

 

[byegad]

I have found Marathon and Marathon Plus to be slower than other tyres, even the 2" wide Big Apple rolls faster!
So yes you're probably losing some speed, but at the benefit of more protection, just don't fool yourself that M+ cannot be penetrated they can, and can also prove to be a right swine to remove at the road side.

 

[wam68]

Go for the 23's. The duranos already mentioned are bomb proof. I really rate them for the winter. You could go up to the 25's for a bit of extra comfort / grip and there have been some discussions which conclude that the 25's have a better rolling resistance. Just my personnel preference but I never go any higher than the 25 and haven't had any reason to change my mind despite riding on the worst country roads Ireland has to offer.

 

[Profpointy]

handy hints no 144 - wear glasses when examining tyres for splits. My 10,000 miler front tyre had a big split in it, so I ordered a couple of quite expensive nice tyres from Wiggle. When going to change said tyre, with my glasses, discovered it wasn't a split at all, but some chewing gum type goo stuck to tyre looking like a perished side-wall.
Oh, and I already had an extra tyre in my stockroom, so didn't need to order the two I didn't need in the first place. Oh well, have to get some more miles in to wear them out.

 

[potsy]

I have a store room full of old tyres, I tend to experiment with widths, different makes, slick/treaded etc.
Most of them have plenty of life left and will be refitted at some point.

I think I've only ever retired 1 or 2 tyres because they were worn out

 

[youngoldbloke]

25mm Mavic Yksion Comp on my winter bike - came with the Aksiums. 1 slow puncture since November-ish - thorn. Otherwise I stick to 23s, Yksion Pro on the 'best' bike and Lithion 2s on the other - and I'll use those bikes in the winter if its dry. So no real 'Winter' tyres, doesn't seem to make much difference, and I go out in all conditions - except ice. Also found that some '23s' are actually more like 25mm anyway if you measure them.