BikeWonder

Hello,

I'm hoping to get some feedback on some tires I've recently bought for my vintage MTB drop bar conversion. It's a 1987 Bianchi Grizzly. I bought some Schwalbe City Jet tires from ChainReaction a while back for some commuting. I really like how they ride and look. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to take them on tour? The tour I have planned will be from Calgary to Vancouver this summer over the course of a couple of weeks. The bike is solid and sound, but my only concern are if the tires will do well for the distance, which is about 980km.

For the type of riding I am doing, I won't be going on trails or anything. It'll mostly be paved roads. My touring setup will be light, about 20lb rear and 15 in the front. Maybe I can accommodate more. I weigh about 170lbs. The bike weighs 25lb without the racks or panniers. The wheels are both 36h to Fox hubs and rims, double walled.

What do you think? Will the tires do well or should I spend the extra money on some marathons?

djb

they should be fine. Use common sense and look where you are going --to be blunt about it--dont run over glass and stuff. If and when you do run over glass, stop immediately, turn tires and use your finger to check disloge any shards---this 1 min job goes a long way to avoiding flats, and wwwaaaaay more time changing a tube .

remember, most of us started touring on tires probably not as good as these, and I never had flats back in the day.

ps, are they in very good shape, ie not worn, how many kms on them so far?

djb

ps, important to keep pressures at the right amount, ie dont let them get low
what size are the tires btw?

BikeWonder

The tires are brand new. I just installed them. They are 26 x 1.90.

djb

re pressures, I have tires about the same size on one of my bikes, weigh 30lbs less than you but have carried about 50lbs of stuff, and have run about 45r 42r, you can try a bit higher and see how it feels.

Tourist in MSN

I have no experience with those specific tires, however my generic answer is if I have any concern about tires I bring a spare. Some trips I had a spare, some I did not carry a spare. My trip this summer will have a spare because part of the trip will be far from any place to buy a new tire.

When I carry a spare, it is not a great high mileage robust spare that will last forever. Instead it is the exact opposite, one that is very light weight, small in volume in my pack, and good enough to get me to a bike shop where I can buy a better tire. The tire I am bringing this summer is 430 grams in weight, the lightest 26 inch folding tire I have.

Will I need a spare this summer? Probably not, but I will not have to worry about it.

I also carry some Tyvek from post office envelopes that I can use as a tire boot if necessary.

stardognine

fietsbob

If wanting security in your tire choice , buy 3, and bring that extra..

As a Spare, to take care of any potential tire casing failure..

Bonzo Banana

I've had both Schwalbe City Jets and Marathons and I'm a heavy rider and had the side walls perish before the main tread. Wasn't super impressed, have had better service out of much cheaper tyres but as said previously I am a heavy rider, one was worse than the other, I think it was the City Jets that were worse but neither were that great for me.

Love that bike by the way, something about mountain bike drop bar conversions I find very appealing. I'm planning to do one myself but with a more basic bike I managed to win on ebay for 99p, a Raleigh Gritstone. It's a heavy, heavy duty frame with what Raleigh called 'energiser' stays which I guess are extra thick with minimal flexing for power delivery. Probably the complete opposite in frame design but will make a very strong everyday, touring style bike with 26" wheels. The drivetrain is freehub Altus based and pretty decent for back in 1994/5. I'm thinking of doing the frame in a bloodwood finish, like a fake wood finish but in red, I'll do a test first to see if I like the effect.

boomhauer

you could keep your tires, since they are new and add some tire liners.
I'm a believer in them. They do a good job keeping out the tiny tire wires that get embedded.
I hate fixing flats.....
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Tuffy-Bicy...042&th=1&psc=1

djb

this sounds very much like a classic "too low pressure for too long" issue.

CraigMBA

I bought a set of 26x1.75 Marathons, have about a hundred miles on them, and hate them. This is the hardest rolling tire I've ever pedaled. At 70 PSI, I swear it takes double the effort to pedal at 12mph that it would on my 29x2.35 Nobby Nics.

I understand everyone loving these tires for durablity, but I'm not a fan if I can't ride em. I bought a set of Conti Travel Contacts to try, but if I was OP, I'd add liners, take a folding bead tire as a spare, and ride what you have.

Nice looking bike!

djb

which marathons btw?
The regular marathons are fine, Ive ridden them for years on a few bikes and run them about 40psi on 1.5's and maybe 45-50 max on 35mm, so 70psi on 1.75 seems rather high, unless you are very heavy I guess.

re liners--I've never used them, don't know anyone who uses them, and have read how they have caused abrasion issues with tubes sometimes.
as for a spare tire, I don't see the need unless one is riding on very sketchy sharp rock areas, and I've not carried a spare on the vast majority of my trips, but make sure my tires are in excellent shape before a trip.

CraigMBA

Marathon Plus HS 440.

I was only running the pressures up that high to get them to roll easier.

djb

ah, I've never used the Plus versions. They are well known to be a much more rigid tire, so less comfortable and slower.
how much do you weigh?
Its a common misconception of higher pressure = easier rolling. People generally think a harsh ride = fast, but its not the case (again, within reason)
yes, true to a point, and yes on perfect roads, but again, it depends on your weight.

CraigMBA

260.

Agreed.

I run 70psi on my 700c x 25mm. The tire never got harsh riding but it never got easy to ride either. I have some old Armadillos on another vintage mountain bike and its about 25% of the effort to ride at the same speed.

I thought I was crazy but I found this chart:

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews

djb

260, disregard my numbers then.

I find that hard to believe you run 25s at 70. Heck I don't think I ride my 28s that low and I'm 140.

Darth Lefty 

djb

Happy Feet

They will be fine. You wouldn't believe the tires (and bike) I took on my first tour which was coincidentally, Calgary to Vancouver via Rogers Pass (Hwy 1), the Okanagan Valley and then the Crowsnest (Hwy 3).

Which route are you thinking of?

CraigMBA

I used to work for a tire company. Inflation pressure is derived from wheel weight, more load needs more pressure. I found a chart for tandems many years ago, bought two bathroom scales, and that was the number I came up with. Maybe 8000 miles on many sets of GP4000's. If you start damaging tires or rims, you need to add pressure. Of course I can't find the chart now!

djb

yup, I had no idea that you were nearly twice my weight. Even fully loaded up for an extended trip carrying extra spares, extra water, food, etc, my bike and tires probably don't have to carry much more than 185-200lbs max (me and load) so thats why I responded to the 70psi.

the marathon plus tires are also rather heavy, so combined with the rotational weight, you have a very stuff main part of the tire due to the anti puncture strip of stuff, and the sidewalls are tough also, so it all combines to a rather slow feeling tire compared to others.

I find a lot of people have this irrational fear of A-getting a flat, and B-that fixing a flat is a life ending experience, hence the popularity of a tire like the Plus.

and to go back to what I first wrote to this fellow, heck I toured on inferior tires for ages, and just plain didnt have any problems, so obsessing about a "perfect" tire is overblown in my opinion--again, using common sense and reason for what is a reasonable tire, and frankly just being observant and not running over junk.

CraigMBA

I never toured on my 25mm bike, before anyone gets the wrong idea.

The Marathon Plus are so hard to ride (unloaded) I wasn't convinced I'd make it to the train station loaded before I abandoned. I don't have a power meter on the touring bike (what touring bike does) but the level of effort it took to get to 12mph..... was not fun.

BikeWonder

Based on what I am reading, it looks like I will save for a Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tire.
I've also been considering a Compass RatTrap Pass for touring and speed, but maybe the Supreme will be a better choice for longevity.

djb

if you haven't seen my second part review of Supreme tires, take a look.
I've been happily impressed with them.

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1164947-schwalbe-supreme26x2-followup-2-roughly6000kms.html