Best Commuter Tires?

[WindingRoad]

So does anyone have any experience with the Continental Touring Plus tires? I am looking at the 700 x 32's with the reflex sidewall? Any idea how they stack up to the Schwalbe Marathons?

[WindingRoad]

Bump. Gonna order tires in the next week so I wanted as many ideas as I can get. I'd love to get the Gatorskin Ultra with extra flat protection but apparently they are backordered. Was thinking about regular gatorskins, Carletta seemed to like them AND she is in Philly and I will be again soon too. I like the fact that the gatorskins aren't uber heavy like some of the others I've been contemplating. These ARE for a commuter bike though so I'm not basing my decision on weight.

[Melalvai]

Any input on snow tires? I don't have disc brakes so the zip-tie trick won't work. I'm thinking about getting studded tires.

[Thorn]

Any input on snow tires? I don't have disc brakes so the zip-tie trick won't work. I'm thinking about getting studded tires.

Everything you wanted (and, maybe didn't) want to know and then some....

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

I'm currently riding Kenda Klondike while waiting for my Schwalbe (I ride mountain bike). Very heavy. Very sluggish. But, they don't slip on the ice.

[WindingRoad]

So after much thought I opted to go with the Vittoria Randonneur Hyper's in a 700 x 35 with reflective sidewalls. Surprisingly these are considerably lighter than my current Bontragers which are 700 x 32's and they are WAY lighter than the Schwalbe Marathons. I'm hoping they play well with my rims in case I do have a flat. Thanks Knotted for reminding me about these.

[WindingRoad]

Just finished mounting those new Vittorias and they seem to play well with my rims :-) They look great too! Love the reflective sidewalls.

[tzvia]

WindingRoad-
Been looking at tires myself, keep us posted on those HYPERS. Part of me just wants them, as they are half the weight of the 35c regular Randonneurs I am riding. But my worry is how flat resistant they are. Do they feel really thin like a wide version of a lightweight road tire?? I could drop a pound for the cost of two tires, which is really tempting, but patching flats is not so tempting... Do they feel substantial?

[WindingRoad]

Tzvia - They seem very beefy on the bead, more so than the hard cases I was running before. The hardcases were OK but these seem really nice too. Time will tell I guess. I did have a small area of my front tire slip off the rim this morning while riding? I saw it happening so I just stopped and popped it back in. No problems after that. I think I didn't quite have the tire all the way in the bead. My rims are a little finicky I'm discovering. I bought the 35's and they are VERY plush, I'm quite pleased with the ride quality.

[tzvia]

Well I just have to post a follow up. I had ordered the Vittoria Randonneur Hyper's online after an unsuccessful search of the lBSs and have been riding on them for about a month.

OMG. They are 35c like the regular Randos the bike came with, but they were 300gr less weight each. And they are wider. They look more like 40c. The ride quality is excellent. I've been running them pumped to 85 and they really roll smoothly and help with the chatter over our crappy roads. These are impressive tires. In back, I used a slime-light tube; they are not very heavy and can help seal the goatheads I always seem to get stuck in the tires.

Losing 1.3 lbs with just a tire swap and having them turn out to be really good riding tires without breaking the bank is a home-run!

[WindingRoad]

That's funny I noticed they seemed wider than a typical 35 too In fact I have 45 mm fenders and I have only a small gap of clearance on each side. Super happy they fit though.

I went zooming down a hill today about 35 MPH on them and ducked into a sharp turn at the bottom, with bags, and they corner sooooo nice. I just love those tires, I hope they don't find glass or metal anytime soon. The weight savings was impressive I agree

[Catrin]

WR, you've seen my Continental Travel Contact tires, what do you think of them as commuting tires? They are fantastic for my country roads with gravely intersections. As you know BGI is having their sale this weekend so I am putting together a list. They seem quite robust, but you are more familiar with the condition of the roads between my area and downtown than I am at this point...

[WindingRoad]

I wouldn't change those at all, those are great tires. If you are commuting, chances are they are gonna take some hard hits, like metal and glass. Not always the best to put on brand spanking new tires just to abuse them like that. If they have a really good deal at BGI on tires you 'might' want to invest in a replacement set but again you may want to see how you like commuting first? The grip on the edges of your tires I think you'll really appreciate and you can take it down the towpath and really blow through it fast (which is fun ).

One other thing I just thought of though, if you do end up using the Towpath consistently get into the habit of getting that grit out of your gears when you get home. It will eat up your drivetrain if you don't clean it. Ask the guys in service at BGI how they know when someone commutes on the Towpath, they will likely grin from ear to ear.