Best tyres for commuting

[flapajack]

Hi everyone

I need some help with choosing tyres for commuting on a MTB

I started commuting to work last week with a one day a week trip 37/8 miles round trip with some hills. Repeated again yesterday and already feeling much better. The journey is mainly on road/cycle paths with some off-road sections (but not too rough). I have a (non-electric) Dawes MTB with 26" wheels and Schwalbe Landcruiser (26x1.95) touring tyres and wonder whether it will make the journey easier with a more road-biased tyres. The journey has teen 1:30 outbound and 1:50 return yesterday and I was hoping to bring this down a bit (even before I get fitter). My plan is to ride twice a week with east in between.

Does anyone have any information on whether having more road-biased tyres would help and any advice as to what tyres would be better suited?

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Flapajack,

Unless you enjoy repairing punctures Schwalbe Marathon Plus are they way to go, either the Tour version, the standard Plus or Energizer Plus.

 

[KirstinS]

An alternative to marthaon plus that is my personal favourite is the continental travel contact. They roll faster and grip much better in the wet IMHO

I run a conti on the front tyre and a marathon plus on rear.

I'm about 5000 miles on both without issue. I cycle on usual potholes, glass filled roads

However, others have had punctures and sidewall failures with the conti . They are string IMHO but not quite up to m+ standard in terms of puncture proof

For me I find m+ terrifying in the wet corners and since I commute daily come what may this is important !

Hence my two tyre approach

 

[flapajack]

Does the marathon plus also make a difference when rolling?

 

[flapajack]

An alternative to marthaon plus that is my personal favourite is the continental travel contact. They roll faster and grip much better in the wet IMHO

Heh heh, I don't plan to ride at all if there is any expectation of rain... Having strong wind is already a potential "not today" factor but I definitely do not want to have to entertain rain as well. Will take alternative form of transport instead.

 

[Emo Rider]

Does the marathon plus also make a difference when rolling?

The Marathon plus has a very stiff sidewall and cord structure. They also have a max inflation rating of 85 psi. I run 90 psi with no problems. I feel these factors greatly reduce rolling resistance.

 

[Emo Rider]

An alternative to marthaon plus that is my personal favourite is the continental travel contact. They roll faster and grip much better in the wet IMHO

I run a conti on the front tyre and a marathon plus on rear.

I'm about 5000 miles on both without issue. I cycle on usual potholes, glass filled roads

However, others have had punctures and sidewall failures with the conti . They are string IMHO but not quite up to m+ standard in terms of puncture proof

For me I find m+ terrifying in the wet corners and since I commute daily come what may this is important !

Hence my two tyre approach

As I said in my previous post, I like the Marathon. However, I have the Conti's on my Marin Muirwood (non electric) and in three years of use only had one puncture which was caused by a rather large thorn. I ran those at 90psi as well.

 

[Geebee]

If you google the land cruisers, vs most others there will be little speed improvement if you are running them at max PSI, when I first got them I compared them in roll down tests with a couple of coss over tyres, the difference was staggering around 10 kph.
Some reviews said the Land cruisers were as fast as city jets some said slower but overall pretty close them.
You may find a faster tyre but it will be a small difference and may be skittish on the "off road " section.

 

[Gubbins]

Try googling halo twin rail 2 multi. Just fitted them and am well impressed. Road based puncture resistant with good off road grip on dry tracks and gravel trails
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/halo-twin-rail-dual-compound-22-mtb-tyre/

 

[tillson]

I use Marathon Plus on my electric bike and they are excellent for that application. I also commute on an unassisted MTB (29er) and find Scwalbe Big Apple tyres work very well on that bike. It rolls nicely with little resistance and makes it a reasonably fast bike. The Big Apples work well on light trails too, such as canal tow paths.

I'd always thought that Marathon Plus tyres were a bit narrow for an MTB, but I could be wrong. The other thing I like about the Big Apples is that they preserve the look of the bike.

 

[flapajack]

If you google the land cruisers, vs most others there will be little speed improvement if you are running them at max PSI, when I first got them I compared them in roll down tests with a couple of coss over tyres, the difference was staggering around 10 kph.

Is this in favour of the land cruiser, or some other tyres tested?

 

[flapajack]

I haven't try running the tyres at max psi - just around 40psi. Perhaps that will make a difference although at around 40psi it is already quite "bouncy". However I understand the need for the trade off.

 

[Artstu]

bouncy will turn to harsh, 40 is too low.

 

[Geebee]

Is this in favour of the land cruiser, or some other tyres tested?

Sorry, yes in favour of the Land Cruisers.
On my roll down test with them going from 45 to 65 PSI, top speed went from 49 to 59 kph and it took a lot longer to start slowing down at 65 PSI.

Narrower slicks at high PSI will be faster but ride quality will plummet and punctures will increase.

 

[amigafan2003]

I was late to the party with the Schwalbe Big Apple tyres but popped a pair on last September and haven't looked back since. Superb on road, good on graveled paths and didn't even dump me on a muddy route down by the river last week - they do slide about but as they're so wide they give you loads of warning to correct. No punctures since fitting despite running though a field of broken glass and down a few lanes that had just had the hawthorn bushes trimmed.

They're 2.35 size and I run them at 5psi under max.

 

[RobF]

Useful info, amigafan.

The Big Apples don't have Schwalbe's ultra puncture protection, but the wider the tyre, the less likely it is to puncture so they probably don't need it.

Also, I imagine a rigid protection belt more than two inches wide wouldn't let the tread flex enough in corners.

 

[jhruk]

The Big Apples don't have Schwalbe's ultra puncture protection, but the wider the tyre, the less likely it is to puncture so they probably don't need it.

Schwalbe now do a 'Plus' version of the Big Apple as well, which has an extra 3mm protection layer.

http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/balloon-bike/big-apple-plus/

They only seem to list two sizes on their website although their 2013 catalogue also lists a 55-406 20” version. The regular Big Apple has also been revised and is now listed in two versions for some sizes. I think the old version uses 'KevlarGuard' and the newer one 'RaceGuard'. I've no idea what difference this makes.

My only experience is with the older Kevlar version which I've found to be excellent, except when it's muddy when they're a little too smooth.

 

[Zebb]

As per my other thread I went for the marathon plus, really pleased with them, quite good in soft mud grass if you dont over push them. Good on road and tracks. Max puncture resistant.

 

[flapajack]

Thank you everyone for your views and comments. I will first try running nearer max psi and see how this will change the ride and journey time. Could definitely do with better rolling especially when going on the miles-long gradual gradient, which can really takes it out if you.

 

[Wicky]

Quick question related to Marathon Plus - I have a brand new 700x28 Marathon Plus tire that was bought for my old racer but never fitted - Would it fit my Giant Escape 2 Hybrid (unelectrified) that has as stock 700x32?