[jimfizz]

Looking for a bit of advice… I recently upgraded to a Cannondale Topstone 105 (very pleased with the bike!) which is shod with WTB Riddler TCS Light (700 x 37c) tyres. I’m finding the tyres not to be as puncture resistant as I would like for my daily commutes, which is 15km each way over the usual crappy roads, with a bit of towpath thrown in.

Looking at changing the tyres for the Schwalbe Marathon Plus Smartguard Rigid Road Tyre…

Topic

[fixit]

Continental speed ride
Continental speed ride foldable. Gravelish and roadish but with a vey good rolling.I have been using the 35mm 3dition of it called cyclo-cross speed but Then I started using the 42 ish version (38 in reality), huge diference in absorption, about the same rolling. The bottom line is that they last more than 3000km.

[Shades]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus (rigid

Schwalbe Marathon Plus (rigid) weigh a ton and I’ve found them a bit ‘skittish’ in the wet and on cold ‘greasy’ roads (really hard rubber); changed to Marathon Supremes 32″ which are folding (lighter) with better grip (commuting bike).  Resisted for many years but now switch to a winter tyre, Continental Top Contact Winter II 36″ (folding), to cope with frosty roads; seem pretty good and I run them down at 55-60 psi to have plenty of grip (videos of people riding them in snow!).  I’d use both on tow paths; they weren’t cheap though (not as widely used as other tyres), even bought on the web, but decent rubber does cost.  The Rolling Resistance (Google it) has some good rolling/puncture stats on tyres.

[JMcL_Ireland]

I’ve been using Panaracer

I’ve been using Panaracer Gravelking 32c for about the past year. They roll nicely and while they’re definitely not puncture proof, I’ve only racked up 2 or 3 in that time. They’re slightly sketchy if cornering at speed in the wet, but are great on towpaths (providing they’re not covered in mud). 

[mike the bike]

Agreed.  The Marathon

Agreed.  The Marathon Greenguard is the best compromise between weight, performance and protection on the market.  So says my lady and she hates breaking her nails fixing flats so her advice should be followed without question.  Works for me, anyhow.

[Simon E]

EddyBerckx wrote:

EddyBerckx wrote:

There must be a nicer riding alternative you can try? There are a lot of gravel tyres out now and if you run tubeless (works much better with wide, lower pressure tyres like you have) you’ll have the puncture protection plus a lovely to ride on tyre.

Agree, Marathon Plus is an extremely heavy and stiff tyre.

The standard Marathon Greenguard is a fine tyre IMHO, it’s cheap and available in a huge range of sizes. Some other possible options in this recent discussion:

https://road.cc/content/forum/270413-gravelkings-just-me

[EddyBerckx]

Marathon plus are the nearest

Marathon plus are the nearest you’ll get to a puncture proof tyre and are often used on shorter commutes and on london’s santander bikes.

They are howver…very heavy, shockingly hard to get on and off and are not known for good grip in the wet (not an issue unless you’re hammering it around corners).

I had the 28mm ones on a bike quite a few years ago and while I had only one puncture in 6 months…they sucked all the joy out of cycling for me and once I tried something else, I vowed never to go back (this was for a longer distance commute, done at a reasonable pace, they should be fine for easier paced commutes).

As I say only one puncture over a winters riding…that was on a tyre with 900 miles on it and if I wasn’t within walking distance of  home it would’ve been a costly cab ride. It’s somewhat dependant on your wheelset but my god…they are horrible to change, especially by the roadside. Take away the comfort of a warm shed and add rain, cold and wind…yeah you get the picture.

There must be a nicer riding alternative you can try? There are a lot of gravel tyres out now and if you run tubeless (works much better with wide, lower pressure tyres like you have) you’ll have the puncture protection plus a lovely to ride on tyre.

Personally I’d go for the G-one speed: https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-g-one-speed-tl-easy-evolution-folding-gravel-tyre-700c-98628.html – it comes in 35mm  and 38mm widths

[Tom_77]

I have those tyres on my

I have those tyres on my commuting bike, never had a puncture.

If the towpath bits of your commute involve mud then you probably want the tour version rather than the road.

For commuting I’d go for 38c, maybe wider if your bike will take it.

[Author]

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