Tire-d of flat-ness of ARBR?

[Jon]

Get out on the road and find some hills! %^)

The roads where I ride often have debris,-- broken glass most
commonly, but also auto tire treads, with their tiny wires of
pneumatic death-threat.

I've taken to using "cheap" tires even though they might offer
somewhat less protection against puncture from road debris.
This after a couple of sidewall gashes ruined "expensive" tires.
The cheaper tires may be more susceptible to trivial puncture,
e.g., from sand burrs, or they may not ride as fast. But
for everyday riding, those are trade-offs I prefer to seeing
a $50+ tire made unusable in less than a couple of hundred
miles.

For touring, I do choose more durable, more expensive tires.
I guess I see the trade-offs there as different.

Durability isn't the only issue. There's weight and rolling
resistance. And thread or slick or stickiness, width,
pressure...

So what tires are you riding and why?

I've got cheap Kenda Koncepts on the Volae, 650cx23.
Moderately priced Continental Top Touring tires on the
Tour Easy (700cx28 width on the back and 406-37 on
the front). And a Kenda and a Maxsis(?) on the BikeE,
both wide thread.

Jon

 

[Tom Sherman]

Jon Meinecke wrote:
> Get out on the road and find some hills! %^)
>
This is hard for people in areas like East Central Illinois.

> The roads where I ride often have debris,-- broken glass most
> commonly, but also auto tire treads, with their tiny wires of
> pneumatic death-threat.
>
Colloquially known as "Michelin wires".

> I've taken to using "cheap" tires even though they might offer
> somewhat less protection against puncture from road debris.
> This after a couple of sidewall gashes ruined "expensive" tires.
> The cheaper tires may be more susceptible to trivial puncture,
> e.g., from sand burrs, or they may not ride as fast. But
> for everyday riding, those are trade-offs I prefer to seeing
> a $50+ tire made unusable in less than a couple of hundred
> miles.
>
If you want an expensive tire with fragile sidewalls, the Continental GP
fits the bill.

> For touring, I do choose more durable, more expensive tires.
> I guess I see the trade-offs there as different.
>
> Durability isn't the only issue. There's weight and rolling
> resistance. And thread or slick or stickiness, width,
> pressure...
>
> So what tires are you riding and why?
>
NOS, Japanese Comp Pools or Avocet Fasgrip slicks (44-406) for regular
road riding on the bikes.

Fast, but slippery and fragile 35-305 Primo Comet on the front of one
Sunset, and 40-305 Kenda Kwest on the other.

53-406 Maxxis Hookworm tires on Dragonflyer, which are more like light
duty motorcycle tires.

> I've got cheap Kenda Koncepts on the Volae, 650cx23.
> Moderately priced Continental Top Touring tires on the
> Tour Easy (700cx28 width on the back and 406-37 on
> the front). And a Kenda and a Maxsis(?) on the BikeE,
> both wide thread.
>
Maxxis?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

 

[Jon]

"Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote
> Jon Meinecke wrote:
>> Get out on the road and find some hills! %^)
>>
> This is hard for people in areas like East Central Illinois.

Hills are not too hard to find here. Nothing really long,
though. But we confirmed by short bike tour a couple
of years ago that south central Oklahoma isn't flat.

> If you want an expensive tire with fragile sidewalls, the
> Continental GP fits the bill.

There are a number, e.g., Schwalbe Stelvio front tire for
my Tour Easy.

> NOS, Japanese Comp Pools or Avocet Fasgrip slicks
> (44-406) for regular road riding on the bikes.
>
> Fast, but slippery and fragile 35-305 Primo Comet on the
> front of one Sunset, and 40-305 Kenda Kwest on the other.

I had a bad experience with Primo Comet on the front of my
Tour Easy: lateral traction loss. Not my tire of choice.

> 53-406 Maxxis Hookworm tires on Dragonflyer, which are
> more like light duty motorcycle tires.
>
>> I've got cheap Kenda Koncepts on the Volae, 650cx23.
>> Moderately priced Continental Top Touring tires on the
>> Tour Easy (700cx28 width on the back and 406-37 on
>> the front). And a Kenda and a Maxsis(?) on the BikeE,
>> both wide thread.
>>
> Maxxis?

Yes and no. I misremembered the BikeE front tire, thinking it
was a Maxxis. I checked and I'm currently running a Primo
V-Monster 40-305(?) on the BikeE. The BikeE has the fewest
miles, fewest flats, fewest sets of tires... I've never had a flat tire
on the road on the rear (non quick release) of the BikeE.

I used to have two sets of tires for the Tour Easy,-- one set high
pressure, narrow, slick,-- the other set medium width. Since
getting my Volae, I don't bother with narrow tires for the TE.
The touring tires stay on it fulll time. Previouslyy I had the
Kenda West that's on the back of the BikeE now on the
front of the TE.

The Volae has about 1/3rd the miles of the Tour Easy, but
subjectively, seems to have slightly high number of flats per
mile. I liked the Conti (Gator skins?) that were on the bike
when I bought it, but for several years, Kenda Koncepts
23x650c were available regularly on sale for around US$12,
sometime even less.

Jon

 

[Tom Sherman]

Jon Meinecke wrote:
> "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote
>> Jon Meinecke wrote:
>>> Get out on the road and find some hills! %^)
>>>
>> This is hard for people in areas like East Central Illinois.
>
> Hills are not too hard to find here. Nothing really long,
> though. But we confirmed by short bike tour a couple
> of years ago that south central Oklahoma isn't flat.
>
>> If you want an expensive tire with fragile sidewalls, the
>> Continental GP fits the bill.
>
> There are a number, e.g., Schwalbe Stelvio front tire for
> my Tour Easy.
>
The Stelvio is fragile, but the threads on the Conti sidewalls seem to
break if you look at them the wrong way.

>> NOS, Japanese Comp Pools or Avocet Fasgrip slicks
>> (44-406) for regular road riding on the bikes.
>>
>> Fast, but slippery and fragile 35-305 Primo Comet on the
>> front of one Sunset, and 40-305 Kenda Kwest on the other.
>
> I had a bad experience with Primo Comet on the front of my
> Tour Easy: lateral traction loss. Not my tire of choice.
>
Not much in the ISO 305-mm size that will fit under a long-reach
side-pull caliper.

>> 53-406 Maxxis Hookworm tires on Dragonflyer, which are
>> more like light duty motorcycle tires.
>>
>>> I've got cheap Kenda Koncepts on the Volae, 650cx23.
>>> Moderately priced Continental Top Touring tires on the
>>> Tour Easy (700cx28 width on the back and 406-37 on
>>> the front). And a Kenda and a Maxsis(?) on the BikeE,
>>> both wide thread.
>>>
>> Maxxis?
>
> Yes and no. I misremembered the BikeE front tire, thinking it
> was a Maxxis. I checked and I'm currently running a Primo
> V-Monster 40-305(?) on the BikeE. The BikeE has the fewest
> miles, fewest flats, fewest sets of tires... I've never had a flat tire
> on the road on the rear (non quick release) of the BikeE.[...]
>
The Primo V-Monster is an underrated tire. Very low rolling resistance
for a medium pressure tire with tread, and decent in moderate off-road
conditions. The ISO 406 size does "sing" at higher speeds on pavement.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

 

[Jon]

"Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote
> Jon Meinecke wrote:
>> "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote
>>>
>>> If you want an expensive tire with fragile sidewalls, the
>>> Continental GP fits the bill.
>>
>> There are a number, e.g., Schwalbe Stelvio front tire for
>> my Tour Easy.
>>
> The Stelvio is fragile, but the threads on the Conti sidewalls seem to
> break if you look at them the wrong way.

Sidewalls contribute to rolling resistance. Someplace there
was a good description on the factors for rolling resistance.

>> I had a bad experience with Primo Comet on the front of my
>> Tour Easy: lateral traction loss. Not my tire of choice.
>>
> Not much in the ISO 305-mm size that will fit under a long-reach
> side-pull caliper.

Mine was the 406, of course. The road rash scar is not too
visible 7 years or so later...

> The Primo V-Monster is an underrated tire. Very low rolling
> resistance for a medium pressure tire with tread, and decent
> in moderate off-road conditions. The ISO 406 size does
> "sing" at higher speeds on pavement.

I came across a (dated) spreadsheet ranking of rolling resistance
for recumbent tires (www.hadland.me.uk/rolrec10a.pdf). The
V-monster is in the mid-range of this survey that includes more
narrow and higher pressure tires.

The 305 V-Monster on the BikeE meets my needs. I roll it
with 70-80 psi. The 406 Kenda Kwest on the rear is rated
up to 100 psi, and I normally keep it around 95 psi.

Speaking of inflation, the Cane Creek(?) air shock on the
BikeE is holding up better than some other people report.
Mine still holds 180+ psi for months. That bike is 10 years
old, and is mainly for short errands now. But the tires and
geometry make it the best of my three bikes for rough trail
riding. I remember just after I got my Tour Easy, riding
on rocky road that posed no major challenge for the BikeE.
That ride took that road off my preferred routes list.

Jon