chefisaac

Hello all!

You know, I had to work the first half of the day today and then I thought it would be a brilliant idea to go for a bike ride even with the wind blowing at a kizzlion miles an hour. Every time I would drive by, the flags would be dancing all over the place. Still a brilliant idea I thought.

As you know, I commute to work most days and go through Camden. Camden is like a glass capital of the world. I actually think there is no glass in windows there because its all broken and on the roads. I ran Gatorskin tires and would get pissed because of the flats. I almost could gurentee a flat on my commuter bike when it would be wet out. Would piss me off. I remember buying a new gatorskin tire, rode with it for a week and when cleaning the tire out (I do this weekly) to get the glass out, I noticed a big tear in the damn new tire. Piss.

So I went to my fav bike shop and talked with the head mechanic friend and he told me to get Marathon Supreme Tires (MST). So I ordered one. They are nice looking and a bitcchh to put on. You actually have to use a strap as a third hand. No kidding! Anyway, I have ben using those for three or four months and no flats. But you can feel the heaviness and rolling resistence when you ride. On a commuter, you get used to it.

Sooo.... last Sunday was the flat from he11 week. I brought my road bike in for the spring check up and the mechanic told me afterwards that it flatted out. Well piss. So he fixed it and such, I brought it home, and on Sunday morning, loaded it in the truck for a ride, got the start and it was soft again. I could not find the hole at all or the glass or anything. I was pissed. It seemed like I replaced the tire twice on the road bike last year. So I had the brilliant idea of ordering another MST.

Got it the other day, put it on and all is well.

Until todays ride. Man, I am not sure if it was the wind or my body, or what I ate or the tire but the riding seemed really tough. Only a 22 mile flat ride on a course I have done a billion times and love. It was a hell of a lot of work.

Not sure if I should stick with the MST or go back to the Gatorskins or what. Tired of replacing tires and/or fixing flats, especially on rode rides but not sure if the rolling resistance is worth it or not. I like the peace of mind and for the commuter bike it is worth it but for my road bike, I am not sure.

PhotoJoe 

I used to use Mr Toughies in high school. I don't remember EVER getting a flat. Would that work for you?

goldfinch

Flats clearly are location, location, location. Last winter all I did was get flats. This winter I had none. What I have done on my all purpose bike is have two sets of wheels. One has those flat resistance tires that are so dang hard to get on and off. I swap wheels depending on conditions. It sure makes life easier. But if I did it with all my bikes it sure could get expensive.

TrojanHorse

+1 on Mr. Tuffy, except I used them right out of college. After you get a couple flats in a row, you're probably willing to try anything.

chefisaac

To some extent yes. Used another product like them but they do not protect against the sidewalls.

CliftonGK1

Schwalbe Marathon Plus
Continental "Plus" series; Super Sport Plus, Top Contact Plus, Country Plus (all have a puncture layer similar to the Marathon Plus)

Slightly less weighty, there's the
Panaracer T-Serv Messenger and the RiBMo
or Soma Everwear which just has a beefy 5mm outer.

IBOHUNT

Did you have them in during the recent fiasco you were having?

Mr. Beanz

The MST must be like the Armadillos I used to ride. No flats for 5000 miles but the thing felt like a tank. They were so stiff and heavy they would stand up in the center of the room by themselves.

I was in better shape so the slow feel never left me feeling like I couldn't keep up with others. Great training tire for those lonely mtn roads.

After I fell out of form I felt I needed a faster tire to get some speed. If I could get my fat butt back into shape, I'd prolly go back only cause it's a better workout and makes it easier for Gina to keep up.

If I rode with several others, I'd want a faster tire. If commuting, I would care if it was a slow roller or fast tire. I'm pretty good at managing my own MO when riding.

But if I did want a faster tire, honestly, this real funny cause I always had sucky luck with race tires but the GP4000's have been pretty good. I sued to use GP2000's years ago and they sucked. The 4000 must be a far better design. Even at my ****** weight they do well as far as flat protection.

I've had terrible luck with gatorskins and far better luck with GP4000s. I've been real happy with the tires at the probikekit prices of $36 each. No, I don't work for them, just happy with the results and tired of paying $75 at the LBS.

Not sure how many miles I'll get out of them. They table top but the indicator are still there. Since I started using the GP4000s a year ago, I've only had one or two flats.

Maybe try a GP4000 then compare it to the gatoskin protection.

I tried 25 and 23 gatorskins with no luck at all. Flat on the first freakin' ride, new tire small pebble of glass!


GP4000s $37 700x23.........700X25 $10 more.

https://www.probikekit.com/us/tyres-t...road-tyre.html

rubic

On my commuter bike, I use Mr. Tuffys along with Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tires. These have been bomb proof with glass, staples and other nasty things. I hope I didn't just jinx it....

iforgotmename

I didn't find Marathon Supremes to be heavy or flat prone. Do you ride in the traffic lane or closer to the gutter/ bike lane? Lane position helps one avoid debris as most of it accumulates on the edges.

Something to consider.

chefisaac

I think you miss read my post. I love the MST on my commuter and hope to like them on my touring bike but I do notice the weight and the rolling resistance, especially since I mounted them on my road bike. They are not at all prone to flats. They are bomb@ss tires.

iforgotmename

I did misunderstand about the flats. If you reference Schwalbe and Conti the MS comes in at 310 grams for a 700x 28 and the Gator is 360 grams for a 700 x 28. Maybe it is just a pressure issue with the 'feel".

What psi do you run the Supremes at compared to the psi of the gators?

iforgotmename

Not trying to be a pain...just trying to help BTW https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_ti...rathon_supreme https://www.conti-online.com/generato...orskin_en.html

chefisaac

Interesting. When I pick both of them up, the gator is so much lighter by feel. Interesting.

Maybe it is the rolling resistance.

digibud

I don't know if the Marathons come in a kevlar bead as well as a wire bead but if so, you might try them with a kevlar bead when you replace them. Kevlar bead tires mount much easier than wire bead. Rain causes all sorts of particles to stick to the tire and flats are much more common in rainy conditions. No question about that. Gatorskins are my go to tire for flat resistance but they don't hold a candle to the Marathon Plus or other serious tires like Armadillos. I don't know much about the serious flat proof tires but there's a real price to pay, as you know, when you get more and more flat proof. I watch the road carefully and if I think I've ridden over trash/glass I stop and do a quick brush-off with my hand. Better to do that 20 times for 30sec than a single change of tire.

Mark Stone

Continental SPORTContact, pre-slimed tubes, last flat 2006. But, then again, I don't ride through Camden lol

Jackmen

Try Tubelsss Hutchenson Intensives with 2 oz of sealant in each tire. These things are bomb proof with the sealant and very easy rolling. Don't need to switch rims, just get stans tape and stems and put them on and fill them with sealant. Can ride them at lower pressure (80-85PSI) and i find they js6t roll over things without punctures and the dealamt catches the rest. 2000 miles so far and no flats.

indyfabz

Michelin Krylons. Not the lightest road tires in the world, but pretty tough.

TrojanHorse

Did the Michelin Pro4 endurance replace the krylions? They reworked their model line up and I can't tell what's what anymore... Pro2 were good tires, Pro3 were frail so i started using GP4000s which have been easily cut so I'm thinking of going back to Pro4. I'm getting sick of replacing tires after 500 miles, even if they are only $40 each.

I might start sticking something sturdy on the back and leaving the GP4000s or something similar up front. I like the way they ride when they're able to retain air.

solrebel

Meet my buddy, Jack Brown.
https://www.rivbike.com/product-p/t100-b.htm

Also, his buddy, Ruffy Tuffy.
https://www.rivbike.com/product-p/t104.htm

Seriously though, used to get flats what seemed like every other week on my Vittorias. Got old real quick. Roads are pretty bad in my part of town, but after slapping the Jack Browns on, I haven't had a single issue. Also, ridiculously fast if you like that sort of thing.

chefisaac

How would you rate it Indy versus gatorskins and marathon supremes?

chefisaac

This is why I went with the marathon supreme tire for the back of my commuter and now also for the road bike. For the road bike, I can feel the drag but perhaps it means more of a workout. Went in some rough areas with that tire today and yesterday and it was solid.