Commuting tire recommendations?

[thecyclingeconomist]

@jabberwocky 32644 wrote:

Sorry, I thought you meant run the Big Apples on one of their roadish frames (since pretty much any MTB frame will clear a tire that large). Sure, almost all MTB frames will clear a tire that large, but MTBs have lots of drawbacks as commuters IME (unless your commute is fairly short or over really rough terrain). I have a touring bike (a Soma Saga) running 1.6 Marathon Supremes, and while the larger tires are indeed comfortable, they certainly aren’t as quick as the 28mm Paselas I run on the fixie (and not even close to the 23mm Pro3s I run on the road bike).

It comes down to preference, of course.

I commute 100+ a week on my frankensteiner-29er… only been Cat-6’d twice in the last 12 weeks… and they were “Elites” whose egos couldn’t handle being passed by a guy with 2.35″ balloon tires… Mwhahaha. I don’t ride a MTB… I ride a full-suspension road bike… LOL!

[vvill]

I haven’t really had bad enough experiences with any of my tires to have a preference other than price! In over 5000miles (well over half commuting) on 700x23s or 25s I’ve ridden on a pair of Vittoria Rubino 25s (2 flats – one pinch flat from hitting a small pebble, one from a bad crash in the wet), a pair of Hutchinson Fusion 23s (1 pinch flat hitting a pothole in the wet), and now I’m on one Panaracer RibMo 25 up front and one Continental Gatorskin 25 on the back (0 flats). Both those pinch flats should’ve been avoided (I didn’t pump up the tires for quite a few days beforehand). My folding bike has Schwalbe tires (Durano and Marathon Racer) and has had two also avoidable flats. Number one from being left out in the sun, and the next was the following day because the sidewall was already compromised.

I don’t see too many commuters on bikes that could fit 29×2.35s!

[mstone]

@vvill 32667 wrote:

I don’t see too many commuters on bikes that could fit 29×2.35s!

“In my day we pedaled uphill BOTH WAYS!”

[thecyclingeconomist]

@vvill 32667 wrote:

I don’t see too many commuters on bikes that could fit 29×2.35s!

If you’d read: I never said that 2.35s fit a road bike, they are the best commuter tire for my current rig and anyone out there than can handle a 26X2.0 or larger IMO. I then went on to write what I recommend for a roadie commuter, and finally I wrote what I recommend for a clincher tire on a race bike.

Maybe we don’t see too many bikes that handle 2.35s because they are on the wrong commuter bikes… :p Once you put function over form, things change dramatically… it’s taken me 15 years and dozens of personal bike builds, on top of all the builds in the shop, to come to my own take on what what really works, and what doesn’t for: commuting, fun-rides, family-rides, touring, club-rides, racing, endurance (randonneuring and brevets: see rusa.org), single-track, CX, and downhill. Each requires its own tools, and tires are simply another tool.

[vvill]

@thecyclingeconomist 32682 wrote:

If you’d read: I never said that 2.35s fit a road bike, they are the best commuter tire for my current rig and anyone out there than can handle a 26X2.0 or larger IMO. I then went on to write what I recommend for a roadie commuter, and finally I wrote what I recommend for a clincher tire on a race bike.

Maybe we don’t see too many bikes that handle 2.35s because they are on the wrong commuter bikes… :p Once you put function over form, things change dramatically… it’s taken me 15 years and dozens of personal bike builds, on top of all the builds in the shop, to come to my own take on what what really works, and what doesn’t for: commuting, fun-rides, family-rides, touring, club-rides, racing, endurance (randonneuring and brevets: see rusa.org), single-track, CX, and downhill. Each requires its own tools, and tires are simply another tool.

Yep, I read your posts. I’ve had good experiences with Vittorias as well. I was just saying there aren’t a ton of people on bikes like that.

I know what you’re saying. A bit after a year of commuting on my road bike I found myself wanting to ride a more dedicated commuter bike. Suddenly my older clunkier bikes seemed like great commuter options again. But not everyone has space/budget for a bike in every bike category. My road bike is still going to be my most efficient and lightest bike (and until recently the only one that cost more than $300 new), so there isn’t a good reason for me to buy a bike and put 2.35 tires on it. My commute is most of my riding miles and most days I enjoy a more “sporty” ride (and I have ELITE brand bottle cages). That said, I have read about Big Apples before and I’m sure they are comfortable, have relatively low rolling resistance, etc.

[thecyclingeconomist]

I definitely get the budget thing… and I guess I should keep that in my head more. I have a bicycle sickness, and have had up to 13 bikes ranging from folders to racing recumbents to commuters to my road bike; all in the garage at one time…

I had to sell 9 just to be able to downsize to 5 between my wife and I before moving here… For a single, do-it-all, I’ve now settled on my frankensteiner-29er. It’s not pretty. But it’s fast, comfortable, and I can technically ride on just about any terrain out there.

This is a picture of the ugliness that is my go-to: [ATTACH=CONFIG]1772[/ATTACH]
When the suspension is loaded, it mimics the geometry of my road bike, and having the TT bars drastically cuts the wind for 80% of my commute…

[jabberwocky]

@thecyclingeconomist 32682 wrote:

Maybe we don’t see too many bikes that handle 2.35s because they are on the wrong commuter bikes… :p Once you put function over form, things change dramatically…

I dunno, tires that large aren’t even that common on mountainbikes, where tire volume is a huge benefit. Hell, thats what I run on my DH bike, and thats a bike I do 10’+ drops on (granted, those tires are over 3 pounds apiece…)

I totally get that 23mm race tires aren’t always the best tool for commuting duties, and larger tires certainly have advantages, but I don’t think I’d ever run tires that big on a commuter unless I was trying to deliberately make my commute harder than it needed to be. :p

[thecyclingeconomist]

@jabberwocky 32699 wrote:

I dunno, tires that large aren’t even that common on mountainbikes, where tire volume is a huge benefit. Hell, thats what I run on my DH bike, and thats a bike I do 10’+ drops on (granted, those tires are over 3 pounds apiece…)

I totally get that 23mm race tires aren’t always the best tool for commuting duties, and larger tires certainly have advantages, but I don’t think I’d ever run tires that big on a commuter unless I was trying to deliberately make my commute harder than it needed to be. :p

What pedal system do you use/how tall are you? You can test ride mine, and I’ll be you’ll convert…

:p

[JorgeGortex]

Beep beep!

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/moonlander

You could ride over a SmartCar during your commute, and not flat, on one of these babies!

[jrenaut]

@jrenaut 32175 wrote:

However, I’ve replaced them today with Continental Gator Hardshells. I’m a little disappointed in 1200 miles, and my LBS doesn’t stock Specialized. So I’m trying something different. I will keep everyone posted on how they do.

After about 300 miles on the Continental Gator Hardshells, some observations.
1) No flats yet.
2) They seem to hold air better than the Armadillo Elites, but I’m thinking that has to just be coincidence, right? I’m using the same tubes – do the tires have anything to do with keeping the pressure up?
3) They’re a little slicker than the Armadillos. I imagine that means they’re faster, but it also means the rear tire is more likely to spin when I start out of the saddle.

So far, so good.

[JimK]

FYI: Amazon is running a sale on the Conti GP 4000S, about 35 percent off the list price. I have used the 700×23 a number of times. They handle well and are durable.

[Dirt]

@jabberwocky 32699 wrote:

I totally get that 23mm race tires aren’t always the best tool for commuting duties, and larger tires certainly have advantages, but I don’t think I’d ever run tires that big on a commuter unless I was trying to deliberately make my commute harder than it needed to be. :p

I live to deliberately make my commute harder than it needs to be.

[jabberwocky]

@Dirt 35457 wrote:

I live to deliberately make my commute harder than it needs to be.

Yes, I know. I was actually thinking of you when I made that statement.

[Dirt]

@jabberwocky 35458 wrote:

Yes, I know. I was actually thinking of you when I made that statement.

Awwwwww… that’s cute. I knew there was a good reason why I rode my cargo bike today.

[Author]

Posts