My tires failed badly in Jamaica one year and I had no choice but to buy what ever I could find. I could not find anything except a set of 23mm ones at a shop in Black River. I did not really want tires that thin but there was nothing else.
Turned out I could not even mount them on my rims (too tight). I took them back and my friend, the fellow who owns the shop, allowed me to do so. He then offered to order me a set and I specified 700c x 28, my preferred tire. A few days later, I rode my motorcycle back to Black River, paid my friend $26.50 US for a set of Compass tires. I bought them with a bit of triplication as they were 32mm (not sure that they would clear the stays or anything else for that matter - I ride an early eighties Bianchi there).
Well, the tires fit with the width of two human hairs between the chain stays but they did fit and I love them. These days, thanks to this experience, I go for bigger tires. Compass tires, yes but not the special one that have earned the reputation for being excellent. None the less, the cheap tires I bought in Jamaica are excellent and practically bullet proof (that NOS gumwall in the back failed after one year of riding - so much for old tires, even when new)...
Fitted to my Bianchi with a 35 spoke rear wheel...
