Originally Posted by
energyandair
I changed the old Birdy tires to Marathon Racers when I bought my NOS Birdy and the improvement was amazing. Have you tried them? I suspect that they give most of the speed of the Stelvio with puncture protection and comfort at least as good the Maxxis tires.
David
I have. They came on my partner's monocoque. I found that they give the best all around ride, but have had tons of flats (both in NY and Thailand). We threw a tire liner in them, and that worked, but kind of defeats the purpose (makes it heavier and more sluggish). I think they'd be good for an area without much glass and no thorns. Part of the problem is that they are wider, so they have a bigger contact area to pick up glass.
The original tires even held up in thorn country, but we had a flat on the Marathon Racers or the suitcase trailer almost every day. The original tires also did well off road since they are so fat and flat. Likewise, no flats on the regular Marathon tire, either. (The Kevlar lined version of the Racer.) But that tire is just as sluggish as the original Birdy Maxxis.
In CA, we experimented with a Stelvio and a tire liner, and that seemed OK. But we mostly just rode up to Tilden and back, on a route which isn't too glass laden.
The original rims are light and strong and the Stelvio is very light, so the bike accelerates like crazy with its small wheels, but I still haven't found the perfect tire for both fast rides and daily commuting. In Japan, the tire selection was better, but I didn't pick any up; I didn't know what I was doing and there was still some rubber left on the existing tires.