Originally Posted by
bikeinxs
Turns out a have a really short memory. Searching this forum I see that last year I complained about my Rene Herse tires wearing out in 1200 km. For the price maybe the Gravel Kings aren't so bad after all. Still open to other suggestions.
Tires are a consumable. Good reason to always mount new tires before a 1200. We run 28-32 mm Conti 4000 or 5000. They are fast and seem durable enough. I had 1400 miles on a 4000IIs 28mm rear tire before I took it off. It had a good bit of rubber still on it, but had become cut up on the winter road debris we get here. I've had a 28mm 5000 on the front for 200 miles, still has the mold flashing here and there. A 28mm 4000IIs, which was on the front for a couple thousand miles, now has 200 miles on the rear and has a small center flat. I've tried many different brands and models and these are the best tires I've run so far. Good handling, fast, decent flat protection, and as durable as any I've tried. My big issue with tandem tires is road cuts. We have a lot of glass and flints on the roads and shoulders here. Our local sweeping budgets are evidently very small. These Contis are the most cut resistant I've tried in the past couple years.
YMMV depending on your combined watts.