Old School Tires

[pooks]

My husband has a question. He wants to know why he could ride his old Schwinn when he was a kid, take it on trails and on long, long rides (20-30 miles, which seemed long at the time) and never have a flat, and the new tires seem to get them so easily.

What changed?

And can you still get those old tires?

[KnottedYet]

Most likely tire width.

And yes, you can! I have 38mm "Country Ride" tires on my Kona. Nary a problem. Love 'em!

[Jacki]

My husband has a question. He wants to know why he could ride his old Schwinn when he was a kid, take it on trails and on long, long rides (20-30 miles, which seemed long at the time) and never have a flat, and the new tires seem to get them so easily.

What changed?

And can you still get those old tires?

I bought my road bike about a year ago and had several flats in no time. I was really frustrated because the previous 10 years i had been riding a mountain bike with no flats at all. But this past April, I found a really durable road tire - Continental's Ultra Gatorskin - It's a little more expensive, but well worth it. So far i've gone about 300 miles with it and no flats. - Jacki

[SadieKate]

The tires he had were probably very high durometer and thick as heck providing a lot of resistance to debris but also a less comfortable ride. They probably weighed a lot also.

High performance tires depend on supple casing, low durometer (so they stick to the road) and low weight. You sacrifice durability. Plain and simple.

What's the saying about bicycle stuff? You can have two out of three nut not all three: light, durable and cheap.