Originally Posted by
slvoid
I've got the schwalbe marathon supreme's. They're kinda in between the marathon's and the plus's. So far so good through maybe 2000 miles in NYC.
However, if you want 100% protection and you're not worried about the most supple ride or the most efficient ride, try solid rubber tires. I know someone who tried a 700x23 solid rubber tire and said it was about 90% of what a regular pneumatic tire was under normal non-race conditions. 0% of flatting. Not sure if they come in 27" size though.
I would go for the schwalbe's because in my experience, and my gf's, and a coworkers, for some reason, the armadillo sidewalls get chewed up really fast. The schwalbe's with a nice thick liner plus thorn resistant tubes would be the best option. At this point, don't worry about efficiency. It's like asking for a car that can go off road, take 3ft drops, and yet still corner at 3g's.
From reading the forums, I've heard nothing but bad things about solid rubber tires. They don't cushion anywhere near as well, they can roll off the wheel while you're turning, they're very hard on the wheel itself because they absorb so much less impact (see the first point) - I've just never heard anything good from anyone who's actually tried them.
I find it difficult to believe they're 90% as good, in general. I mean seriously, if they were that good, *every* store would carry them. People would be recommending them all the time for commuters. Every single thread asking for suggestions about flat resistant tires would have someone saying "well if you're not racing, flatproof solid rubber tires are the way to go!!"
I mean, think about it - a tire that it isn't even possible to have go flat? How awesome would that be! Have you seen how many people comment about getting a commuter bike that's very cheap, and "saving the race bike for the weekend"? These people would LOVE a genuinely flat-proof tire.
Yet...none of that has happened. I can't come to any other conclusion than that there must be some big, huge drawbacks to solid rubber tires that are so terrible, it's not even worth the complete protection from flats. I mean - some serious, serious issues.