tire protection worth it?

[OakLeaf]

I think it depends on where you'll be riding. If there's a lot of road debris or broken glass, or if plants with tough thorns are common in your area, then you probably want the extra protection. But if your roads are kept clean, then the extra weight isn't much fun.

Same with knobbies - if you never plan to go off road, then slicks or road tread give you a lot less rolling resistance on the street. But if there's any gravel or sand roads or grass paths on your usual routes, or if they're nearby and you want to be able to navigate those surfaces, then go with knobbies.

If the feel of the wheels and tires is a big reason why you chose your bike, then you probably don't want to mess with that too much. Maybe you want to play it by ear and see how often those tires don't give you the traction or flat protection that you want.

Most things on bikes (like most things in life!) are a trade-off. You can get something that's acceptable all-around but isn't particularly great at anything - or you can get something that's really good at one thing but really awful at everything else.

PS Enjoy the new bike!!! Welcome back to riding!

[uk elephant]

BF has kevlar tires on his bike now and loves them. His are hybrid types....smooth'ish tread, but not roadbike smooth if that makes sense. Perfect for his ride down the path lined with hawthorns and blackthorns or trips into town where there is broken glass everywhere. He got them for his birthday last year and hasn't had a flat since.

We both used to have some sort of liner things in our tires, but kept getting flats from the tube getting pinched by the liner so we gave up.

[lauraelmore1033]

I don't know how courteous drivers are in your area, but around here, the shoulders and bike lanes are considered the appropriate place to throw away glass bottles( especially as we near graduation revelry time). Tuffy strips are a minimum requirement for me.
armadillo or gatorskin tires are even better.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Kevlar tires all the way.

No goop or slime. No liner strips (if the ends are misaligned or overlapped they can CAUSE flats).

Kevlar tires.

And they don't have to be knobby at all.

[coyote]

Not all kevlar tires are created equally. I had a set of tires that had a belt down the middle. I kept getting flats on the side or just off the middle. I ended up getting Armadillos which have a larger kevlar belt. That bike has not had a flat since.

That being said, if you like the tires on that bike, try the liners. It really does depend on where you live (thorns) and where you are going to ride (glass). The liners may work beautifully for you.