# Fast commuter/touring tires?



## averen (Jan 1, 2008)

Hey All, 
So I'm looking to get a new set of tires for my commuter/tourer. Currently I have a set of Michelin TransCity tires that I absolutely hate. Pictured below...









The rotational tread makes the tire very squirmy in turns and I really hate the way the feel. I'm actually not riding this bike at the moment because of the tires...tragedy! Plus because of the high tread the rolling resistance is fairly high and it feels like I'm putting in a ton of effort for my speed. Of course this is getting compared to my road bike with 23mm slicks but still, it shouldn't be close to as difficult as my mountain bike!

Anyways, so I'm looking for some new tires that will work well for commuting as well as some occasionally medium/heavy loaded touring (occasionally as in 2-4 times a year for 2-7 days out). I'm around 220lb btw.

A reflective stripe is a must and I would like something around 28-32mms...or? I've looked at Panaracers, Schwalbes, and some others but I don't want to buy $100 worth of rubber and then not like them, so I'm asking here. Ideally they should be able to corner well and just "act" like a good stable and somewhat fast tire. Am I asking too much?!

Any suggestions on what would fit the bill? 

Thanks!
Jared


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

Schwalbe Marathon!


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

marathons are nice, they'd be a good choice. paselas are excellent, imo. fast for a 32c tire, corner well and are "plush". no reflective stripes for you though.

edited to add that I just looked at the specialized infinites that I use in the winter and realized they had a reflective sidewall. they're good. bit heavy but the hook up well. not particularly plush.


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

Conti City Contacts are decent, too.


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

There is the Conti GP4000 reflective, but it's only available in 700x25.


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

I commute on City Contacts also, and like them a lot. Don't know if they have reflective sidewalls, but a fiew pieces of 3M SOLAS tape on each sidewall would cure that. It sticks very well to flexible surfaces.


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## knucklesandwich (Feb 23, 2007)

Panaracer Urban Max (cheap) or Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase (more $$).
I've run these in 700x32 (and also 28 for the Bontys) and find them to be quick and can run at higher pressures, while still being durable. This is as compared to Conti Sport Contacts (felt super slow) and some Vredestein model (too many flats).


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

+1 on the paselas. No reflective strip, but they are as nice a tire as you could ever want. Especially when you can get 2 for under $40 bucks. 

Riv/panaracer ruffy-tuffys are pretty nice as well. Personally, I like the ride of the paselas better, but if yer looking for a 28, you could do a lot worse.


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## averen (Jan 1, 2008)

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll head to the LBS and get some "hands on" with the tires. 

Sounds like these are the front runners...in no particular order:
Panaracer Paselas
Schwalbe Marathons
Conti CityContacts.

One more question...for touring an I better off with wire bead or kevlar? Does it matter cost aside?

Thanks!
Jared


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## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

I like the Panaracer TServ messenger tires I had on my last bike. Flat resistant, reflective sidewall. Nice ride, handled well, bike shop said the gatorskins would be a little smoother handling but the TServ's would last 2-3 times as long.

I had the 35c, I think. I know they come in the sizes you mentioned. Only reason I don't have them on my current bike is I got a skinny tire road bike with 23c tires (and am in the process of wearing out the tires that came already on the bike! ).


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Commuting in Hawaii I used hiviz yellow reflective dots on my rims. They gave a lot of side visibility on all but a perfect perpendicular angle. I also have clear reflective tape on my fork and headtube. I have a jogger belt around my rack bag. I found that reflective sidewall tires got dirty and weren't that effective after a month or so.


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## PdxMark (Feb 3, 2004)

If looking at the Paselas, be sure to get the ones with "TourGuard," which is the kevlar belt for flat prevention. I ride Pasela TGs on one of my commuters and RuffyTuffys on one of my road bikes. Both a very durable and flat resistant and ride well. 

Agree with BigBill about reflective sidewalls. I have them on another commuter. After a bit of wet weather they are coated with grime, rendering the reflective sidewalls useless. I don't wash my bikes often, and particularly not my commuter tires, so reflective sidewalls are good in theory, but not so great if you're riding in wet weather very often.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Clarification: Schwalbe was a couple of versions of the Marathon..They are both good ......I'm using the Marathon Supreme and , after 1000 miles, I can say that it's the best large tire I've ever used... 

It's lightweight compared to the others and extremely flat resistant....It's also rated at 95psi. The 32c has a reflective sidewall....

All of this good comes at a cost...They are $60 tires.......


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## averen (Jan 1, 2008)

PdxMark said:


> Agree with BigBill about reflective sidewalls. I have them on another commuter. After a bit of wet weather they are coated with grime, rendering the reflective sidewalls useless. I don't wash my bikes often, and particularly not my commuter tires, so reflective sidewalls are good in theory, but not so great if you're riding in wet weather very often.


I haven't really had any problems with the reflective sidewalls...although they're hard to see while on the bike so maybe they're not working that well! They don't seem to get all that dirty here...but then again we haven't gotten a lot of rain either.

I'm planning on picking up some of the SOLAS tape anyways...might see about plopping some down on the rims.

Bill where do you find the clear reflective tape? Clear or black would be nice since I don't want to ugly up the frame too much!

Jared


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Dave Hickey said:


> Clarification: Schwalbe was a couple of versions of the Marathon..They are both good ......I'm using the Marathon Supreme and , after 1000 miles, I can say that it's the best large tire I've ever used...
> 
> It's lightweight compared to the others and extremely flat resistant....It's also rated at 95psi. The 32c has a reflective sidewall....
> 
> All of this good comes at a cost...They are $60 tires.......



here is a pic and as you can see, the reflective sidewalls work:thumbsup:


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## averen (Jan 1, 2008)

Dave Hickey said:


> Clarification: Schwalbe was a couple of versions of the Marathon....I'm using the Marathon Supreme and , after 1000 miles, I can say that it's the best large tire I've ever used...
> 
> It's lightweight compared to the others and extremly flat resistant....It's also rated at 95psi. The 32c has a reflective sidewall....
> 
> All of this good comes at a cost...They are $60 tires.......


I saw they have a a new version called the Marathon Racer. It uses the "racing" rubber compound so it's not as durable but has lower tread and is supposed to roll faster...since this is more a commuting bike and less a touring bike I'm contemplating these. 

Price isn't really a big issue. I just don't want to have to get a couple of sets of tires before I get something I like. $120 worth of rubber for tires that will last a year or two or even more seems like a small price to pay. I know a lot of people put 5000+ miles on a set of Marathons. I doubt the racers will have this kind of longevity...but 2.4 cents a mile seems pretty good!



> here is a pic and as you can see, the reflective sidewalls work


What size are you running? I'm guessing 32s? Also what front rack and bag is that? That seems like a better option than a handlebar bag since you can still mount lights to the bar.

Jared


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

The tires are 32c....I bought them at wallbike.com... 

The rack is a Nitto knockoff that came with the bike... The bag is the 'lil loafer from Rivendell... They sell the Nitto rack too


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## PdxMark (Feb 3, 2004)

Here's a good source for reflective tape:

http://www.identi-tape.com/reflective_gateway.htm

I recall that there was a comparison of different reflective tapes somewhere including things like their overall reflectivity and off-angle reflectivity. My vague recollection is that SOLAS is great at narrow-angle reflectivity, but not so good at the wider angles that can arise on roads. I'm looking for that comparison to see if I have it right.


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## timyak (Aug 29, 2008)

*WTB Slickasaurus*

I use the WTB Slickasaurus with the aramid belt and slime lite inner tubes. Almost no rolling resistance and no flats in 5 months (knock on wood). They don't seem to cut easily either and I ride through a plethora of crap on the side of the road here in Alabama. I ride 13 miles each way and the glass is pretty bad (not to mention the palate of roofing nails that fell off a pick up truck and was never cleaned up). They come in many sizes but I use the 700c X 28's. Good luck Yak


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## treebound (Oct 16, 2003)

Lately I've been running Serfas tires on my bikes an so far I'm liking them. Different models depending on what size I needed and what the shop had in stock. As to reflective sidewalls I'm not sure which have what. If I want reflective sidewalls I'll just stick some reflective tape between the spokes on the rims in 2-15 places ensuring it doesn't interfere with the brakes. I did this once on one bike I had years ago and hung it up in a tree on a dark street one night and gave the wheels a good spin then ran away some and lit it up with a flashlight, almost didn't need the flashlight as the effect was really effective (plus the road grime was easy to wipe off the tape pieces).

http://www.serfas.com/category.asp?CatID=9&SubCatID=17
http://www.serfas.com/category.asp?CatID=9&SubCatID=18

Just another option to consider.


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